Exploring the content of the psychological contract of nurses in public hospitals

Psychological contracts are defined as employees' beliefs and perceptions of implicit and explicit obligations in working relationships with the organization. The aim of this study was to discover the content of psychological contracts of public hospital nurses.

A qualitative study is needed to properly understand the content of nurses' psychological contracts. The required data were collected from semi-structured interviews and with emphasis on the lived experience of nurses in public hospitals. In this regard, participants were selected using purposive sampling method and snowball technique and 19 interviews were conducted to ensure theoretical saturation.

Findings showed that psychological contracts in nurses included 3 main themes (transaction-based, relation-based and value-based) and 14 sub-themes. Transaction-based contracts included five sub-themes: good work climate, fair payment, non-work problems, workplace safety, and a peaceful environment. Relation-based contracts included five sub-themes: decision-making permission, superior support, job challenge, promotion opportunity, and job security. Value-based contracts included four sub-themes: fulfillment of individual values, fulfillment of collective values, fulfillment of educational values and fulfillment of moral values.

Conclusion:

 Findings showed that psychological contract of nurses with two themes (transactional and relational) is not comprehensive and nurses had very important values ​​beyond personal and organization interests, which were related to the nature of the nursing profession, and these values are reflected in the value-based psychological contract. As a result, in order to increase organizational commitment and job satisfaction and reduce nurses' turnover, it is necessary to pay attention to the content of all three types of psychological contract.