The Flexible Psychological Contract? Career Management in an Era of Insecurity

This paper proposes to examine the management of the psychological contract — particularly that for professional and managerial staff — in the context of organizations with a recent history of job losses or downsizing. It offers a critical examination of one of the central tenets of human resource management: that organizations should seek to invest in their employees as assets by providing them with development and career opportunities. The empirical evidence is drawn from an intensive three year study of human resource management conducted jointly by the London Business School and the Judge Institute of Management, University of Cambridge.