Comparing the effects of different absence entitlement contracts on attitudes towards absence and the psychological contract between two existing groups of employees at a north-west branch of Tesco

Abstract

This MA thesis discusses an area that has received very little previous investigation, but is becoming more relevant as organisations bring in new absence management techniques, creating different culture groups within the organisation. The study tacked three research objectives : 1) to assess whether the two groups psychological contracts differed, and which areas (i.e. trust, value, commitment, and fairness) were most affected, 2) to assess whether the two groups' attitudes towards absence differed, and finally 3) to assess whether the second group had lower absence levels