“So, what's the deal?” the state of the psychological contract in a ‘new’ university

This article argues that there is a need to focus on, and have insight into, the nature of the psychological contract, or employment bargain, existing between senior managers and lecturers within the turbulent environment of a ‘new’ university in 1990s. The research discussed in this article analyses the changing nature of the contract through conversational analysis of interviews with senior managers and lecturers. It explores the understandings each group has of the contract and the subjective experience of work. The article concludes that there is a gap, between the two employee groups, in terms of the interpretation of the contract and the employment bargain. Effective management it is argued, must take account of the need for reciprocation and fit between perceptions of the work agenda.