Tales from the Other Side: An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Third-party Enforced Psychological Contract Breach Risk on Breachers and their Relationships During a Work-to-rule Teacher Strike

Abstract

Little research has been done on psychological contract breach situations from the perspective of the breacher, including situations in which potential breach actions were enforced by a third-party. This exploratory study aims to see how enforced breach affects the breacher, their reactions to the situation, and their relationships with community stakeholders. Semi-structured long-form interviews with Canadian teachers whose union decided to go on a work-to-rule strike, risking relational breaches with school community stakeholders, were undertaken. Teachers experienced negative emotions and engaged in breach mitigating actions. Implications include being aware of the negative effects on unwilling breachers and the relationships with the source of breaches, and the possibility of mitigating breaches while still removing obligations if breachers engage in mitigating actions.