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PurposeTo investigate the level of organizational commitment in agency workers compared with permanent workers by taking into account relations between the two groups.Design/methodology/approachA mixed methods design was employed comprising of a quantitative survey of 157 call centre workers followed by 29 qualitative interviews with permanent workers, agency workers and employers.FindingsAgency workers had a significantly lower level of organizational commitment compared with permanent workers once the relation between agency and permanent workers was controlled. Significant correlations were found within the sample between organizational commitment, being valued and job satisfaction further supported by a hierarchical multiple linear regression.Research limitations/implicationsAs with all cross‐sectional research causality cannot be confirmed and difficulty accessing call centre workers led to a restricted sample size. The measurement of worker relations needs developing. Further research is proposed to address these limitations and extend the findings.Practical implicationsThe implication for human resource management is that employers must be aware of the possible adverse influence that agency workers may have on permanent workers and as such try to incorporate agency workers within the organization to support their commitment.Originality/valuePrevious studies have found inconsistent variations in the relative organizational commitment of permanent and temporary employees; a counter‐intuitive finding given the precarious employment contract held by temporary workers. This study casts light on these results by controlling for the relation between agency workers and permanent workers.

PurposeThe aim of this article is to test the assumption that both management and co‐workers constitute multiple contract constituencies, as advocated for in recent research on psychological contracts. It also aims to test the theory of cognitive schemas as predictors of psychological contract development. Finally, it aims to examine the validity of the relational subscale of psychological contracts.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through three survey studies in different workplaces, areas and settings and were analyzed through Fisher's exact test, principal component analysis and hierarchical regression analysis.FindingsThe results supported the notion of multiple contract constituencies. Partial support was found for the theory of cognitive schemas and their influence on psychological contract development. The study also revealed new sub‐dimensions of the psychological contract, here called "Fellowship" and "Challenge/Development". These new sub‐dimensions respond differently to predictors that, according to psychological contract theory, are supposed to generate similar effects.Research limitations/implicationsSince the findings of this study call into question some of the earlier research: it would be desirable to study psychological contracts, using a multiple foci approach, with a greater, random, sample.Practical implicationsThe results indicate a need to draw further attention to the role of the co‐workers in the integration of agency staff in client companies.Originality/valueSince no previous study has tested the notion of co‐workers as constituencies of the psychological contract, these empirical results will challenge much previous research on the concept of psychological contracts.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to investigate how temporary agency workers' job attitudes are influenced by the fulfilment of the psychological contract; a set of employees' expectations, formed with the temporary work agency and its client: the host organisation.Design/methodology/approach– The paper estimated moderated regressions with data collected through an online survey of 352 temporary agency workers employed by a large temporary work agency in Switzerland.Findings– Results suggest that temporary agency workers' job satisfaction, commitment towards the host organisation, and intentions to stay with the temporary work agency relate positively to the fulfilment of the psychological contract by both organisations. Additionally, reported spill-over-effects imply that the fulfilment of the psychological contract by one organisation moderates job attitudes towards the other organisations.Research limitations/implications– Results of the explorative study reveal that future research should consider the interrelated nature of psychological contracts in working arrangements when multiple employers are involved. However, for more generalisable results, a greater international sample, including different temporary work agencies, would be favourable.Practical implications– Findings will help temporary work agencies to better understand how they rely on host organisations to fulfil the temporary agency workers' psychological contract to attract and retain temporary agency workers.Originality/value– This paper contributes to the literature in the understudied field of non-traditional work arrangements as one of the few to examine these spill-over-effects both empirically and theoretically.

Purpose: – Based on the psychological contract (PC) theory, the purpose of this paper is to identify PC profiles, differentiating between permanent and temporary agency workers (TAW). Moreover, the authors analyzed whether different profiles presented different levels of work engagement. Design/methodology/approach: – A cross-sectional survey data analysis of 2,867 workers, of whom 1,046 were TAW, was analyzed using latent profile analyses. Findings: – Four PC profiles were identified, which differed quantitatively in terms of the overall dimension levels (i.e. balanced, relational and transactional) for PC (i.e. content and fulfillment). ANCOVAs showed that the relational/balanced dominant and transactional dominant profiles presented similar engagement levels for TAW, but for permanent workers the former profile showed higher engagement than the latter. However, for both permanent and TAW the fulfillment profile showed higher engagement than the unfulfillment profile. Research limitations/implications: – The cross-sectional design and the reliance on self-report measures are the limitations of this study, although no causality was claimed and method biases were controlled. Practical implications: – Actions that increase PC fulfillment positively affect the employment relationship of TAW with the client organization. Originality/value: – Few studies have addressed PC typologies. Furthermore, most studies have focussed on temporary workers, but not on TAW and their contract with the client organization. Finally, this study emphasizes the crucial role played by the PC in the levels of work engagement. ; This study is part of a larger research project "Temporary agency workers' transitions: motives, experiences and outcomes – PTDC/MHC-PSO/4399/2012" founded by the Foundation of Science and Technology from Portuguese Government. This grant is gratefully acknowledged. The authors are grateful to Lois Tetrick, René Schalk and two anonymous reviewers for their comments and suggestions on earlier drafts of this paper.