Abstract
The aim of this study is to determine the current state of the psychological contract and more generally explore whether a satisfactory employment relationship exists in semi-state organisations in Ireland. This will be done by examining the levels of fairness and trust and views about whether obligations are being met and the implicit deal is being delivered among a representative sample of those working in various state-sponsored bodies. However this study aims to go further than this by identifying some of the key influences on the psychological contract such as human resource policies and procedures. This research project reviews existing literature on the psychological contract to record concisely what expert authors have written on the subject. Furthermore a large survey was conducted of sixty semi-state organisations, with ten questionnaires sent to each one. A response rate of thirty percent was recorded, covering thirty seven organisations. It was generally found that overall a positive psychological contract does exist for many of the employees surveyed. There is also a wealth of evidence to support the theory that semi-state organisations do have a lot of good human resource policies and practices in place, however the aforementioned studies makes us aware that there is also room for improvement and various recommendations have been outlined.
