Alan Johnston
Academics’ psychological contract: applying discretionary effort
Johnston, Alan; Davies, Eleanor
Abstract
Limited research has been conducted on the academic psychological contract and the role it plays in influencing academic behaviour. This qualitative study investigated the impact that the psychological contract has on 18 academics working across 9 university business schools, by understanding how they perceive the employment relationship, and how this perception influences their work activities with a particular focus on the application of discretionary effort. The research conducted followed an interpretivist design using semi-structured questions to seek out the lived experience of the academics. Findings suggest that discretionary effort is focused on what individuals perceive as being or not being academic work, but is not readily recognised as such; instead, it is considered part of the job, suggesting that perhaps it may be considered induced and is an outcome of increased managerialism in the sector. The outcomes of this research provide an interesting insight into the workings of academics and as such should enable improvements in the employment relationship between academics and their host university. The research investigates the construct of the psychological contract from a different perspective.
Citation
Johnston, A., & Davies, E. (2025). Academics’ psychological contract: applying discretionary effort. Journal of Further and Higher Education, 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2025.2467396
| Journal Article Type | Article |
|---|---|
| Acceptance Date | Feb 10, 2025 |
| Online Publication Date | Feb 27, 2025 |
| Publication Date | Feb 27, 2025 |
| Deposit Date | Mar 21, 2025 |
| Journal | Journal of Further and Higher Education |
| Print ISSN | 0309-877X |
| Electronic ISSN | 1469-9486 |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Peer Reviewed | Peer Reviewed |
| Pages | 1-15 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2025.2467396 |
| Keywords | Psychological contract, discretionary effort, higher education, academics |
| Public URL | https://keele-repository.worktribe.com/output/1107126 |