Age, the psychological contract, and job attitudes: A meta-analysis

The meta-analysis investigated the relations between age and psychological contracts. It was expected that age would be positively related to the employer obligations, and that age would moderate the relations between contract breach and job attitudes. The hypotheses were tested by means of a meta-analysis of 76 studies with in total 28,773 respondents. It was found that age is related negatively but marginally to the psychological contract, and that age moderated the relations between psychological contract breach and job attitudes. The relations between contract breach on the one hand and trust and affective commitment on the other hand were stronger for older workers, whereas the relation between contract breach and job satisfaction was stronger among younger workers. The theoretical and practical implications are discussed.