(Yukl 2005 ) will become more pervasive. As a result, they may be out of the control
of the HR department, which needs to ensure that line managers fully understand
their obligations as agents of the organization in making informal arrangements
with employees.
One way in which this might be achieved has been suggested by Bowen and
OstroV( 2004 ). They argue that to understand how HRM has an impact, we need to
look not only at the system of practices but also at supporting processes. They
highlight in particular the role of organizational climate as a powerful mediating
variable, a view supported in the research of Gelade and Ivery ( 2003 ). More
speciWcally, they acknowledge, in line with the conventional analysis of the psycho-
logical contract, that on the basis of their experiences, individuals will perceive
psychological climates; they argue that the key is to turn these into collective
climates and thereby enhance the strength of the HR system. Social exchange theory
has been used extensively within organizational behavior to explain how this might
be achieved, notably through the concepts of perceived organizational support
(Eisenberger et al. 1986 ). By providing a degree of consistency in supporting a strong
organizational climate, these additional elements of the environment should pro-
vide an important complement to the system of human resource practices.
Wright and Boswell ( 2002 : 261 ) argue that the psychological contract is import-
ant for the analysis of the relationship between HRM and workers because ‘psy-
chological contracts and related perceptions are perhaps best viewed as linking
mechanisms between HR practices and individual attitudes and behavior.’ This
view is reinforced by Rousseau (Rousseau 1995 ; Rousseau and Greller 1994 ) who
suggests that experience of HR practices helps to shape workers’ perceptions of the
exchange relationship. In other words, the psychological contract provides an
important linking mechanism that can help to explain how HRM might inXuence
employee attitudes and behavior and, if the further link can be demonstrated,
organizational performance. One advantage of utilizing the psychological contract,
also noted by Wright and Boswell, is that it focuses on workers’ perceptions of
HR practices. The emphasis therefore shifts from the organizational level and
managers’ statements about practices to the individual level and accounts of how
workers experience HRM (Mabey et al. 1998 ).
7.4 HRM, the Psychological Contract,
and Worker Well-Being
.........................................................................................................................................................................................
Conway and Briner ( 2005 ) suggest there are three ways in which the psychological
contract might aVect behavior. Each in turn can be related to human resource
hrm: towards a new psychological contract? 135