Focusing work-life balanced psychological contract in Japan

2017 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25780231
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (B)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Management
• Research Institution: Yamanashi Gakuin University (2014-2017); Hitotsubashi University (2013)
• Principal Investigator: LIM YOUJIN 山梨学院大学, 現代ビジネス学部, 准教授 (40633889)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2018-03-31
• Keywords: ワーク・ライフ・バランス / 心理的契約

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The main purpose of this research is that figuring out how psychological contracts change and re-formed in context of work-life balance(WLB) practice use, and what organizational factors can manage employees' psychological contracts in a good shape. Psychological contracts refers a written and unwritten agreement between organization and individual employee.
Using qualitative and quantitative data, I found 1)using WLB practice, mainly parental leave or part-time arrangement for full-time employee made employee feel dual-sided feeling (guilty vs betrayal) for organization, 2)many employee changed their psychological contracts to more transactional one, 3)under proper HRM function and well-cared implement at workplace, employee re-form their psychological contracts to more relational one.

Free Research Field

人的資源管理