Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze the nonlinear association between proportions of breached obligations within the psychological contract (PC) and three dimensions of employee well-being, and the mediating role of contract violation in these relationships. With this study the authors gain a more detailed understanding of PC evaluations and their consequences for well-being. Design/methodology/approach - The authors build on asymmetry effects theory and affective events theory to propose that breached obligations outweigh fulfilled obligations in their association with well-being. The hypotheses are tested using a sample of 4,953 employees from six European countries and Israel. Findings - The results provide support for the hypotheses, as the effect sizes of the indirect relationships for breached obligations on well-being via violation are initially strong compared to fulfilled obligations, but decrease incrementally as the proportion of breached obligations become greater. At a certain point the effect sizes become nonsignificant. Research limitations/implications - The study shows that PC theory and research needs to better acknowledge the potential for asymmetrical effects of breach relative to fulfillment, such that the breach of obligations can sometimes have a stronger effect on employee well-being than the fulfillment of obligations. Practical implications - Those responsible for managing PCs in organizations should be aware of the asymmetrical effects of breach relative to fulfillment, as trusting on the acceptance or tolerance of employees in dealing with breached obligations may quickly result in lower well-being. Originality/value - The findings have implications for the understanding of PC breach and its associations with employee well-being.

Purpose of this paper: The purpose of this study is to investigate the claim that high-performing employees lose their motivation to exert effort, and has a higher propensity to quit during the process of a closedown.

Design/methodology/approach: A longitudinal design was used, with one year between data collection points (T1 and T2). Data was collected using online and paper copies of the same questionnaire, with a response rate of 61% on T1 and 55% on T2. A 2 (T1 Job performance: Low vs. High) × 2 (T2 Overall justice: Low vs. High) between-subject analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was performed on two dependent variables (effort and turnover cognitions), while controlling for positive and negative affectivity.

Findings: The results showed that high-performers’ who perceived low justice received lowest scores on effort, while low-performers’ perceiving low justice received next highest score on effort. Whereas, all groups who perceived high justice had lower turnover cognitions than those who perceived low justice.

Practical implications: Using high-performers’ in key positions during a plant closure could be disappointment since the results suggest that high-performers’ could either be those who put forth most and least effort, depending on if they perceive low justice. Therefore, we suggest that it could be more productive to open up the key positions to all employees to apply and interview those who are interested.

Purpose - The pm-pose of this paper is to examine gender-related management stereotypes, perceived gender bias and evaluations of actual managers, and to directly compare stereotypes and ratings of actual managers. Design/methodology/approach - Questionnaires were distributed to employees in the bank and insurance sector, and 240 participants rated their actual managers and stereotypes of male and female managers. Findings - Men evaluated the female manager stereotype more positively on communal attributes, and the male manager stereotype more positively on agentic attributes. Women evaluated the female manager stereotype more positively on both communal and agentic attributes, but perceived a higher degree of gender bias in favor of male managers than men did. Actual male and female managers were rated similarly. Still, ratings of actual male managers corresponded more with stereotypes of male than female managers, and ratings of actual female managers corresponded more with stereotypes of female than male managers. Research limitations/implications - Future research needs to determine the direction of association between stereotypes and evaluations of actual managers, and the relative importance of agentic over communal attributes. Practical implications - While women appeared biased in favor of their own gender, men may underestimate the difficulties that female managers encounter. Managers and human resource practitioners should notice these different views, and recognize that gender equality is not achieved in Sweden. Originality/value - The present study contributes with data from an egalitarian society with a positive view of female managers, and a direct comparison of stereotypes and workplace evaluations.

Different forms of trust in the contemporary organizational settings of virtual organizations and time management (e.g., just‐in‐time, lean production, and total quality management) are discussed in conjunction with some Greek philosophical notions of human action, namely theoria/episteme, poiesis/techne, andpraxis/phronesis, together with the two notions of time, chronos/kairos and their spatial counterparts,chora/topos. It is suggested that time management concepts in production line settings are frequently based upon asymmetric power‐relations and rigid time‐control making most forms of organizational trust instrumental and/or weak. Virtual organization settings, on the other hand, are more likely to contain trust that appears to be fragile and temporal, and in demand of communication based on right moments to act judiciously.