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What about ‘MEE’: A Measure of Employee Entitlement and the impact on reciprocity in the workplace

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2016

Kristie M Westerlaken ,
Peter J Jordan  and
Sheryl Ramsay
Kristie M Westerlaken
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Peter J Jordan*
Affiliation:
Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
Sheryl Ramsay
Affiliation:
Griffith Business School, Griffith University, Nathan, Australia
*
Corresponding author: Peter.Jordan@griffith.edu.au
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Abstract

A basic underlying assumption of the psychological contract is that both parties come to a mutual agreement about the expectations and obligations of a contract of employment. Recent research provides evidence of the potential for employees to develop unrealistic expectations from this contract and this has been described as a sense of entitlement. In this article, we outline two studies. In the first study, we test the internal structure and reliability of a scale we developed and named the Measure of Employee Entitlement. In the second study, we test the predictive validity of the Measure of Employee Entitlement against a measure of reciprocity. The development and validation of the Measure of Employee Entitlement extends our knowledge of sense of entitlement in the workplace and situates entitlement as a factor that may impact on the development of psychological contracts. This research provides a platform from which researchers and practitioners can continue to coherently and consistently investigate the phenomenon of employee entitlement.

Keywords

psychological contractemployee entitlementscale developmentreciprocity
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Management & Organization , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , May 2017 , pp. 392 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press and Australian and New Zealand Academy of Management 2016 

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