The Employment Relationship Amidst and Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Role of (Responsible) Inclusive Leadership in Managing Psychological Contracts

In this conceptual chapter, we consider the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has affected what employees value in their employment relationship. Drawing from the psychological contract framework, we consider potential shifts in the types of obligations employees find important in the post-pandemic era. We propose that the main dimensions of the psychological contract—transactional, relational, and ideological—are upheld in post-COVID-19 psychological contracts. However, we expect that ideological obligations will generally become more important across industries and job types. Moreover, we posit that the type of obligations underlying the three dimensions will likely change and more importance is expected to be placed on dimensions such as safe working environments, inclusion, and diversity. We discuss the important role of (responsible) inclusive leadership in fulfilling psychological contracts and we present key challenges managers may face in employing (responsible) inclusive leadership in managing psychological contracts remotely beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. We specifically focus on challenges brought on by distrust, micromanaging, and generational differences. We conclude with the limitations of our conceptual endeavour and offer recommendations for future research and implications for practice.