A research on determining the role of career management in the relation between psychological contract and intention to leave

Career implies a process that is influenced by several factors such as family, environment and personality, shaped by education and changed by the organization. Employees develop themselves with a view to their future prospects by trying to enhance their strengths, which could be named as career planning. Organisation, on the other hand, operates to reach organisational goals by using human resources practices, which is named as career management. The individual employee intends to be respected, to be paid well and to be supported in their education-development efforts, while the organisation seeks to reach its goals by utilizing its employees. Both parties use career development practices with mutual and various expectations. These implicit and mutual expectations of the individual and the organisation constitute a psychological contract. Employees, when their expectations are not satisfied, can get the impression that the psychological contract is violated. This can influence the individual's attitude and behaviour and consequently lead to an intent to leave job. A literature review shows that the concepts of career management, career planning, psychological contract and intention to leave job have mainly been discussed separately. However, there are not sufficient number of studies which addresses these concepts together. In order to obtain in depth data, this study employs a mixed method conducted among the employees in the General Directorate, Izmit Regional Directorate and the central branch under the District Directorate of a public bank. Accordingly to the mixed method approach, the study consists of two phases, one being the quantitative phase using a survey and the second, the qualitative phase using interviews. 321 questionnaires were obtained in the first stage and 32 interviews conducted in the second stage were analyzed. This study investigates the relations between the concept of psychological contract that includes two sub dimensions and the intent to leave job, while aiming to explain how the mediation role of career management, influence that relation. The study found that career management and career development have intermediate roles in the correlation between operational relational psychological contract which is a sub division of psychological contract and intention to leave job. Career planning was found to have an intermediary role in the correlation between relational psychological contract and intention to leave. The study also found that career management and career development have intermediary roles in the correlation between breach of psychological contract and the intention to leave job. Keywords: Career Management, Career Development, Career Planning, Psychological Contract, Intent to Leave Job