Abstract

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.