The Psychological Contract and Job Satisfaction: Experiences of a Group of Casual Workers

Recent changes to the Australian workforce raise questions about the impact of casualisation on employees. This study explored the effects of casual employment on a group of university students using the psychological contract as an interpretative framework. Qualitative data indicated that while these employees adopted a transactional work orientation, they expressed concern over the relational obligations of employers. These findings were substantiated with quantitative research, which revealed low job satisfaction and problems with the psychological contract. Although respondents thought that the transactional dimension was satisfied, the relational contract remained mostly unfulfilled. In particular they felt exploited and treated less fairly than fulltime employees. This suggests management should pay more attention to the relational needs of all their employees.