This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Copyright © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Vilnius Gediminas Technical University DEMOGRAPHIC DIFFERENCES MATTER ON JOB OUTCOMES: PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTRACT’S MEDIATING ROLE Ali Ender ALTUNOĞLU 1*, Özge KOCAKULA 2, Ayşe ÖZER 3 1Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Turkey 2Management and Organization Department, Aydın Adnan Menderes University, Aydın, Turkey 3Department of International Relations and Trade, Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University, Muğla, Turkey Received 08 May 2021; accepted 07 January 2022 Abstract. Purpose – Drawing upon prior researches on the social exchange theory, we examine the effect of employee demographic variables on psychological contract fulfillment, which eventually influences employee’s job satisfaction, intention to leave, organizational citizenship behavior, cyni- cism, and task performance. Research methodology – Data from 274 employees of different manufacturing enterprises has been collected through the survey. Description and interpretation statistics are used through SPSS and also AMOS. Structural equality modeling is used to assess the psychological contract’s mediating function. Findings – Data analysis shows that psychological contract fulfillment mediated positive relation- ships between demographic variables and constructive job outcomes; in contrast, mediated negative relationships between demographic variables and destructive job outcomes. Research limitations – This paper applies data from the manufacturing industry operating in Turkey, which may prevent the generalizability of the paper. More study is needed to confirm these results on different samples in order to generalize findings. In addition, the data comes from a single source, raising the risk of common technique bias, and is focused solely on self-reports. Practical implications – The study suggests that organizations review and revise their ideas on the exchange connection with their workforce as job outcomes of employees are connected to PC ful- fillment. In practice, managers and leaders may highlight that such fulfillment constitutes an in- vestment of resources into and a long-term commitment to the employee in addition to satisfying relational responsibilities. Leaders should place a strong emphasis on increasing employee com- mitment levels. Creating a culture of trust and loyalty fosters beneficial behavioral and attitudinal results among employees. Originality/Value – This study investigated psychological contract fulfilment’s mediator effect on the relationship between demographic differences and job outcomes. Keywords: demographic variables, job outcomes, psychological contract fulfillment. JEL Classification: J21, J23, J24. Business, Management and Economics Engineering ISSN: 2669-2481 / eISSN: 2669-249X 2022 Volume 20 Issue 1: 1–22 https://doi.org/10.3846/bmee.2022.14895 *Corresponding author. E-mail: aealtunoglu@mu.edu.tr http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7610-0812 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9710-492X https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5615-5410 https://doi.org/10.3846/bmee.2022.14895 2 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... Introduction Unlike service, manufacturing companies pay more attention to issues such as produc- tion, quality, and safety. Other critical success factors like employee attitudes are generally neglected (Michael et al., 2005). However, enhancing workplace attitudes and behaviors are general and costly problems within their organization in the manufacturing sector (Lee et al., 2006). The literature on organizational behavior covers a wide variety of attitudes and behaviors. Drawing on the framework employed by Robinson (1996), this research investigates five job outcomes considered as crucial for organizational success. This study intends to focus on job satisfaction, intention to leave, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), cynicism, and task performance. While OCB, task performance, and job satisfac- tion are considered positive and constructive, intention to leave and cynicism are consid- ered harmful and destructive. These outcomes are interrelated and mutually affect each other. Therefore, it seems necessary to examine the association between these workplace attitudes and behaviors and their antecedents to provide an insight into the effectiveness of manufacturing companies. Hence, the underlying objective of this study is to examine the strike demographic variables with organizational outcomes such as intention to leave, job satisfaction, OCB, cynicism, and task performance through psychological contract fulfill- ment (PCF). Failure to form an employee’s psychological contract (PC) will make it dif- ficult for the organization to reduce motivation and performance, prevent organizational engagement, job satisfaction, and OCB, which is regarded as extremely important for the organization, will not be fully formed (Vos et al., 2005). In order to avoid destructive out- comes such as these, the concept of PC should be handled consciously. In this sense, PCs are regarded as one of the practice areas to examine employer and employee relations with changing management approaches. The first objective is to analyze the connection between demographic factors with PCF and workplace outcomes. Demographic factors seem and affecting factors of outcomes. This study investigates any relation between job attitudes and gender, age, education level, tenure, and occupational level in light of prior research. Possible results will support organizations in their efforts to enhance the level of employee job outcomes. The research’s second objective is to assess the link between PCF and workplace out- comes. Rousseau (1995) argues that a PC exists when an unwritten belief between the worker and the manager about the parties’ conditions and expectations. The common point of all reviews is a trade-off between employers and employees concerning the PC. The PC involves monetary obligations and exchanging socio-emotional elements (job satisfaction, cynicism, etc.). In this sense, the PC principle is founded on the employee’s reaction in the face of the employer’s behavior (Coyle-Shapiro & Kessler, 2002). Therefore, social exchange theory may be utilized to analyze the act of PCs upon employees’ approaches and actions. Given the sig- nificance of PCing, this research’s general goal is to explain the organizational consequences of strengthening workplace attitudes and behaviors within their organization. The study’s final goal is to display the mediating effect of PCF in the effect of demographic variables on destructive and constructive employee work attitudes. In addition, this research will expand the evolving empirical studies on PCF by examining PCF as a mediating variable. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 3 This study is designed as follows to achieve these objectives. The first part covers demo- graphic factors and their possible associations with job attitudes and the PC. The following section examines PC and focused constructive and destructive work attitudes and highlights the advantages of higher job outcomes for organizations. These are traced by an analysis of the relationship between the PCF with those job attitudes. The discussion will be noted us- ing the survey method to gather data and measurement details for each variable. Finally, the conclusions, limitations and future directions of studies are outlined after evidence of results. 1. Theory 1.1. Demographic differences Rousseau (1995) goes beyond looking at exchanges between workers and managers and states the necessity to consider demographic differences since employees perceive contrac- tual psychological conditions based on their different motivations and attitudes. Therefore, demographic factors are considered crucial impact factors of job attitudes. The study explores any connection between job attitudes, PCF and gender, level of education, age, tenure, and occupational level given prior studies. Gender is one of the widely discussed individual differences in the literature. Gender is a socially created role, attitudes, habits, and traits that a particular culture assumes are ap- propriate for males and females (Bem, 1981). Gender can affect employee expectations from work and his/her job outcomes (Bal et al., 2008). Prior studies indicate distinctions between the PCF and gender job attitudes (Hoque, 1999; Abela & Debono, 2019). Work-family con- flict can occur, especially for women, when working in a male-dominated value system such as manufacturing. Sustaining employee job outcomes, especially women, is a challenge for today’s businesses. These disputes can cause unhappiness and distress in the workplace and family, leading the female to eventually leave (Netemeyer et al., 1996; Callister, 2006). Ac- cording to researchers, women face more disputes than men (Hammer et al., 1997). There- fore, the psychological agreement between males and females may vary. Moreover, gender differences have been linked to job satisfaction (A. Sousa-Poza & A. A. Sousa-Poza, 2003; Netemeyer et al., 1996), intent to leave (Du Plooy & Roodt, 2013), OCB (Kidder, 2002), cyni- cism (Sak, 2018), and task performance (Mackey et al., 2019). Age emerges as an individual difference that impacts the perceptual differences of the employees’ motivations and attracts researchers’ attention. Age differences have been as- sociated with PCF (Hess & Jepsen, 2009), job satisfaction (Kollmann et al., 2020), intent to leave (Al Zamel et al., 2020), OCB (Ng et al., 2016), cynicism (Chiaburu et al., 2013), task performance (Gajewski et al., 2020). Consistent with this study, an employee’s degree of education may influence his or her work expectations and attitudes. Even though the findings are mixed, there is a need to as- sess the impacts of demographic variables like education level. It has been related to the PC (Janssens et al., 2003). Besides, education level has been linked to job satisfaction (Knights & Kennedy, 2005), intent to leave (Lu et al., 2002), OCB (Williams & Shiaw, 1999), cynicism (Arabacı, 2010) and task performance (Anseel et al., 2009). 4 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... This study argues that tenure can affect employee expectations from work and his/her job outcomes. In their study examining dyadic relations, Ferris et al. (2009) stated that the time spent together is crucial for determining work relationships. The importance of time in relational PCs is addressed in the literature. Parties’ psychological agreements include mutual respect and trust, as well as ongoing reciprocation and the sharing of intangible structures over a prolonged period (Rousseau, 1995). When trying to get an idea of the relationship in its early stages, the parties may make false inferences. The parties evaluate these implications and become more precise over time (Conway & Coyle‐Shapiro, 2012). Moreover, tenure has been linked to job satisfaction (Castellacci & Viñas-Bardolet, 2020), intent to leave (Lall et al., 2020), OCB (Ng & Feidman, 2011), cynicism (Chiaburu et al., 2013), and task performance (Sturman, 2003). In this study, blue-collar and white-collar workers were considered as occupational cat- egories in manufacturing organizations. The PC has also been associated with occupational categorization (Janssens et al., 2003; Wang et al., 2019), job satisfaction (Hu et al., 2010), intent to leave (Baruch et al., 2016), OCB (Ersoy et al., 2011), cynicism (Van Hootegem et al., 2021), and task performance (Koopmans, 2014). In the light of discussions above, the hypotheses are developed as: H1: There is an interaction between demographic variables and job attitudes. H1a: Male workers are likely to act more constructive job attitudes (job satisfaction, OCB, task performance) and less destructive job attitudes (intent to leave, cynicism). H1b: While there is a positive correlation between higher age and constructive job atti- tudes (job satisfaction, OCB, task performance), there is a negative correlation with destruc- tive job attitudes (intent to leave, cynicism). H1c: While there is a positive correlation between a higher level of education and con- structive job attitudes (job satisfaction, OCB, task performance), there is a negative correla- tion with destructive job attitudes (intent to leave, cynicism). H1d: While there is a positive correlation between high tenure and constructive job at- titudes (job satisfaction, OCB, task performance), there is a negative correlation with destruc- tive job attitudes (intent to leave, cynicism). H1e: While there is a positive correlation between higher status and constructive job attitudes (job satisfaction, OCB, task performance), there is a negative correlation with de- structive job attitudes (intent to leave, cynicism). 1.2. Psychological contract fulfilment The PC comprises the responsibilities that an employee assumes his/her organization is in debt to him/her and the responsibilities the employee assumes he/she is in debt to his/her organization reciprocally. As a result, social exchange theory may be used to explain the idea of the PC and its sources and effects. According to social exchange theory, individuals shape exchange relationships based on their interactions with others (Blau, 1986). Therefore, using the theory makes it possible to have a specific framework for explaining how workers react if they feel their PCs are fulfilled. The psychological agreement offers a chance to explore the employment relationship pro- cedures and content by focusing on specific agreements. The PC is mainly concerned with https://tureng.com/tr/ingilizce-esanlam/reciprocally Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 5 the individual employee-employer relationship. According to Rousseau (1995), individuals may have psychological agreements, but organizations may not. The mainstream PC research typically analyses from the individual worker’s perspective. Looking at PC through the em- ployer’s lens has a potential problem. The validity, feasibility and usefulness of an employer’s view on the PC have been criticized (Guest, 1998). In this study, the employee perspective is used as a basis for exploring the employment relationship, incorporating both employer and employee perspectives. PC studies are generally designed to determine the consequences that employees’ sense less than they are assured. On the other hand, employee attitudes can be affected by the company’s fulfillment of commitments (Turnley et al., 2003). Lambert et al. (2003) argue that results are more closely linked to fulfilling PCs than to agreements in general. This study utilizes a metric of PCF that enables to cover a wide variety of potential replies for the items of the PC examined here. In the employee-organization relationship, a fulfilled PC provides a sense of control and security. The antecedents of psychological contracting are less known, particularly comparing the types of workers within the PC regarding their exchange. Even though many factors that affect PC, such as trust, organizational culture and leadership style, are explored in the lit- erature, how individual factors shape PC is not adequately discussed. As a research subject, this study evaluated demographic characteristics that shape individual behaviors -gender, age, education, duration of employment, and position level. These associations are already discussed in the previous section. H2: There is an interaction between PCF and gender (H2a), age (H2b), education level (H2c), tenure (H2d) and title (H2e). 1.3. Psychological contract fulfillment and job outcomes Many studies have concentrated on assessing psychological agreements and their impact on employee outcomes. According to research, employee satisfaction is influenced by the violation or fulfillment of PCs (Zhao et al., 2007). Looking at the current definitions of the term “job satisfaction”, it is seen that the common idea is the satisfaction of an employee with the job (McDonald & Makin, 2000). According to Robinson et al. (1994), a breach of PC strongly influences relational obligations and those employees are less motivated to fulfill their work-related obligations. Larwood et al. (1998) noted that increased PCF and higher work satisfaction are related. The first reason for such a statement is the gap leading to dissatisfaction between expected and received. Secondly, employer promises but fails to provide can often be those dimensions of employee’ crucial job satisfaction sources (Rob- inson & Rousseau, 1994). By fulfilling the promised attempts and appeals, an individual is likely to reciprocate by fulfilling the commitments, establishing a good connection that both sides would satisfy. Employee intention to leave seems to be a crucial issue for manufacturing firms since it determines hiring policies. Because the left might need a long time of planning for the action (Acker, 2004), intent to leave is one of the essential components in quitting the job. Intent to leave is a dimension of employees’ destructive perceptions toward their work. Factors re- lated to employees’ intention to leave their employers include economic, organizational and 6 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... personal living conditional reasons (Cotton & Tuttle, 1986). These reasons may trigger each other in the process, causing the intention to leave to turn into quitting behavior. Chiang et al. (2012) stated a strong link between intention to leave and violation of the PC. The PC binds the parties. Both parties are supposed to benefit from the relationship (Robinson & Rousseau, 1994). Even if an employee feels his or her employer be attentive and cheerful, and even if he or she finds leaving the company to be a low cost and high profit, he or she can still respond to the organization with commitment and to accept as a caring and positive environment (Chi & Chen, 2007). It may be claimed that an employee’s perception of PCF demonstrates that the employer exposes reinforcement and caring. Therefore, fulfillments strengthen the tie. The employee may gain trust in the advantages of remaining in the relation and, as a result, is less likely to leave. However, if one of the sides fails to meet their commit- ments, this leads to a reduced intention to preserve the relationship. OCB is expressed as an additional role behavior that is not clearly stated in the orga- nization’s reward system, which increases the effectiveness of the employee’s organization (Organ, 1988). Moreover, Organ described organizational citizenship as “a readiness to con- tribute beyond literal contractual obligations” (1988, p. 22). Hence, the definition provides that OCB is relative to a formal employee-employer contract. Besides, OCB is consistent with the employee-employer exchange relationship. As noted earlier, Social Exchange theory is the critical concept in the literature on employee-employer contracts. Furthermore, the PC litera- ture states that employees will adapt their actions to their views about employment contract (Rousseau, 1995). Consequently, it seems reasonable to expect that employees’ perceptions of how well their company has met its obligations would affect their OCB within the company (Robinson & Morrison, 1995). Cynicism is defined as the way of thinking that individuals who believe that individuals are only observing their interests and who accept everyone as enthusiastic are called “cynical” (James, 2005). The concept of cynicism is based on dissatisfaction and anger resulting from the employee’s doubts and frustration towards the organization, resulting in the employee’s emotional leave from the organization. The violation of the PC, according to the research, is one of the significant reasons generating cynicism (Johnson & O’leary-Kelly, 2003; Anders- son, 1996). Task performance can be expressed as an indicator of employee productivity level in its simplest form. Task performance shows the main tasks and responsibilities related to the job, revealing the differences between the jobs (Jawahar & Carr, 2007). Empirical results indi- cate that employees maintain their balance by matching the positive contributions receiving from the organization to their effectiveness (Rosen et al., 2009; Conway & Coyle‐Shapiro, 2012). As a result of this interaction, a connection can be mentioned between PCF and task performance. H3: A fulfilled PC will relate positively to job satisfaction (H3a), OCB (H3b), task perfor- mance (H3c) but negatively to cynicism (H3d) and intention to leave (H3e). 1.4. The mediating role of psychological contract fulfillment First of all, this research expects that individual differences will result in a diverse PC as- sessment, which will result in more favorable reactions to the constructive and destructive https://tureng.com/tr/turkce-ingilizce/strengthen Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 7 work outcomes. PCF is anticipated to be a mediating variable that helps to clarify why demographic variables can be linked to attitudes and behaviors. Some studies revealed that PCs are strongly connected to employee loyalty, job attitudes, trust and turnover intentions (Robinson & Morrison, 1995; Robinson, 1996; Johnson & O’Leary-Kelly, 2003; Turnley et al., 2003). The perspective of PC is shaped by individual differences and significantly impacts the actions of employees. Therefore, PCs can be seen as a mediating factor between individual differences and the outcomes of employees. Employees will generate their perceptions based on the organization’s actions, which will determine their role in reciprocating their organiza- tions (Wayne et al., 1997). As discussed previously, individual differences are likely to affect the perceptions and expectations of employees about the organizational commitments and responsibilities underlying the employment relationships. Demographic differences may generate distinct perceptions of organizations making commitments. For example, if individuals consider their organization to be considerate and support their requirements, provide opportunities for safety and development in the work- place, they may create an obligation to reciprocate the organization with enhanced emotional bonds. The relationship between demographic variables and worker role behaviors might be mediated by employees’ comprehensions of replacing the contract between themselves and their employers. For instance, it seems fair to accept that older employee possibly experiences lower PCF levels, resulting in lower job satisfaction since age is considered an effecting factor on the perceptual differences of the employees’ motivations. The negative or positive emotions are associated with PCF. Demographic differences that form the social exchange expectations of employees can be attributed to higher PCF percep- tions of employees, and then employees are more willing to exercise job outcomes. Based on these reasons and the assumptions mentioned above, this research proposes that PCF mediate between demographic variables and work outcomes. H4a: PC fulfillment plays a mediating role in the effect of demographic variables on constructive job outcomes. H4b: PC fulfillment plays a mediating role in the effect of demographic variables on destructive job outcomes. 1.5. Conceptual link Undoubtedly, the importance of leadership styles and employee motivation in the emergence of PC and organizational citizenship behaviors cannot be underestimated (Khan et al., 2020). They further argue that organizational culture and organizational citizenship behavior play a crucial role in mediating and moderating leadership, social interaction, and leader-member interchange theories in predicting work behavior. Leadership is significantly connected to individual and group organizational citizenship behaviors (Euwema et al., 2017). Besides, the literature suggests that employees’ PCs can be influenced by leaders in general and leadership style in particular (Oorschot et al., 2020). Leaders are considered as the critical PC makers for followers from this perspective. (Agarwal et al., 2021). Apart from leader and leader- ship style, employees’ motivation towards job and organization are essential factors for PC 8 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... and OCB. Shim and Faerman (2017) found that motivation positively related to employees’ engagement in OCB. Vatankhah (2021) suggests that motivation would follow positive per- formance results and a reduced propensity to participate in negative workplace behavior. The PC is underlined as a motivation-increasing factor (Vatankhah, 2021). As the literature suggests, there is an inevitable linkage between OCB, motivation, PC and leadership. 1.6. Model of the study Figure 1 illustrates the research model that we built based on the study’s hypotheses. H4a H4b Demographic Variables H H Psychological Contract Constructive *H4a and H4b: Moderating role of the psychological contract between demographic variables and job attitudes H2 H1 Destructive H1a, H1b, H1c, H1d, H1e Job Attitudes H3 H2a, H2b, H2c, H2d H2e H3a, H3b, H3c, H3d H3e Figure 1. The model of the study 2. Methodology 2.1. Overview and participants Employees in the manufacturing sector from twelve different companies located in İzmir, Turkey, provided the data. The study was conducted between September–November 2019. All respondents voluntarily participated in the research. The confidentiality of respondents has been stressed and ensured. Four hundred (400) survey questionnaires were distributed among the companies. Unfortunately, 96 responses were both incomplete and 30 excluded responses were not available to use. Therefore, 274 collected questionnaire results were used in the study. 2.2. Measurement of variables In the questionnaire, the data were obtained by providing employees’ beliefs regarding the factors. Demographic Variables: Gender and the age of the employee taken into consideration. Education level was divided into four categories: lower (education up to age 15), average (certification of high school), high (level of bachelor and master) and upper (level of master Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 9 or higher). Tenure is measured by time spent together in the company. Blue-collar and white- collar workers were considered occupational categories in manufacturing organizations. Table 1 illustrates the details of the demographic variables. Table 1. Distribution by demographic variables Gender Education Having child Position Parameter Male Female 1 2 3 4 Yes No Blue-collar White- collar Number 188 86 85 105 74 9 144 126 175 86 Percentage 68.6% 31.4% 31.1% 38.5% 27.1% 3.3% 53.3% 46.7% 67% 33% PC Fulfillment: This set of 9 items (α = .94) was adopted from Robinson and Rous- seau (1994) and included the following promises: performance evaluation and feedback, change management, promotion, remuneration, employee qualification, job security, train- ing and development, nature of the work, creating the opportunity for the organization to show him/herself by taking responsibility. In this study, these employer obligations are considered general promises or expectations relevant to all employees. Participants reacted to these statements using a five-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). Job Satisfaction: The scale was developed by Hackman and Oldham (1975) to determine individuals’ satisfaction due to the harmony between the individual and the job. The scale consists of 14 items (α = .94). Participants reacted to these statements using a five-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). Intention to leave: The scale was developed by Mobley et al. (1978) to measure the level of the intention of employees to leave their current jobs and consists of 3 items (α = .92). Reacts to these three statements were made on a five-point scale (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). Organizational Citizenship Behavior: The scale consisting of 19 items (α = .91) was de- veloped by Basım and Şeşen (2006). Responses to these statements were on five-point scales (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). Cynicism: The scale developed by Brandes et al. (1999) is based on three dimensions (α = .92), namely: cognitive, emotional and behavioral and consists of 13 items. Participants reacted to these 13 expressions using a five-point Likert scale (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). Task Performance: The scale prepared by Goodman and Syvantek (1999) consists of 9 items (α = .96). Reacts to these statements were made on a five-point scale (1 = “strongly disagree”; 5 = “strongly agree”). In order to minimize the bias in the information-seeking process, the scales in which va- lidity and reliability analyses were applied and used by numerous researchers in the literature were selected. Moreover, the questionnaires are delivered to participants working in different companies. Finally, the studies that reached contrary findings in the literature are reviewed to avoid bias in developing hypotheses. 10 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... Table 2. The alpha reliabilities among all the scales used in the study Scale Cronbach Alpha Job Satisfaction 0.939 Intention to leave 0.921 Organizational Citizenship Behavior 0.911 Cynicism 0.923 Task Performance 0.963 PC 0.940 2.3. Analysis of the data To test from H1 to H4, we performed Spearman’s rho correlation using SPSS 22.0. Hypothe- ses 4a and 4b are the hypotheses searching for a mediating role of PCF between demographic variables and job outcomes. The SEM approach was used because of its ability to deal with many endogenous, exogenous and latent variables determined as linear combinations of the observed variables throughout the covariance-based AMOS graphics to investigate the me- diating role of PCF. The SEM approach can deal with many endogenous and exogenous vari- ables and latent variables determined as linear combinations of the detected variables (Golob, 2003). The maximum likelihood approach in AMOS was applied to estimate the model. We examined the goodness-of–fit of the model which is proposed based on hypotheses 4a and 4b. Because of its restrictive structure (Bollen, 1989; Njite & Parsa, 2005; Hooper et al., 2008) overall fit and the local fit of individual parameters were conducted using additional fit indices in this study. In regard of its tenderness to the count of estimated parameters in the model (Hooper et  al., 2008), root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) regarded one of the most revealing fit indices (Diamantopoulos & Siguaw, 2000, p. 85; Hooper et al., 2008) indicates wellness of the model, with obscure but optimally chosen parameter estimates would fit the populations covariance matrix (Byrne, 1998; Hooper et al., 2008). Hooper et al. (2008) stated that an RMSEA in the range of 0.05 to 0.10 was considered an indicant of satisfactory fit and values above 0.10 can be accepted as inadequate fit (MacCallum et al., 1996); between 0.08 to 0.10 provides an average fit and below 0.08 indicates a well fit (MacCallum et al., 1996). The comparative fit index (CFI) (Bentler, 1990), which is one of the most popularly reported fit indices (Fan et al., 1999) because of being one of the measures least affected by sample size, accepts that all latent variables are uncorrelated (null/independence model) and compares the sample covariance matrix with this null model (Hooper et al., 2008). CFI scores between 0.0 and 1.0 with values closer to 1.0 were accepted indicating a good fit (Bentler, 1990). Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI) was another parameter to evaluate the goodness-of-fit of the structural regression models. TLI values in the area of 0.90 to 0.95 indicates a good fit (Hu & Bentler, 1999). Incremental fit index (IFI) (Bollen, 1989) was also one of the goodness-of–fit indexes to estimate the model of the study. Just as TLI, IFI values in the area of 0.90 to 0.95 also indicates a good fit (Bentler, 1980; Marsh et al., 2006). Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 11 3. Results As can be seen from Table 3, there is no connection between gender and job attitudes. According to Spearman’s rho correlation analysis (*p < 0.05, **p < 0.01) results; age was positively related to job satisfaction (r = 0.142; p < 0.05); OCB (r = 0.204; p < 0.01) and task performance (r = 0.0137; p < 0.05); and negatively associated with intent to leave (r = –0.238; p < 0.01) and cynicism (r = –0.232; p < 0.01). Education level was positively associated with OCB (r = 0.139; p < 0.05), task performance (r = 0.240; p < 0.01) and negatively associated with intent to leave (r = –0.154; p < 0.05). Tenure was positively related to job satisfaction (r = 0.159; p < 0.05), OCB (r = 0.160; p < 0.05) and negatively associated with intention to leave (r = – 0.260; p < 0.01) and cynicism (r = –0.219; p < 0.01). As status is concerned, there is positive relationship with job satisfaction (r = 0.133; p < 0.05), OCB (r = 0.187; p < 0.01), task performance (r = 0.154; p < 0.05); except that there is negative relationship with intent to leave (r = –0.238; p < 0.01) and cynicism (r = –0.142; p < 0.05). Table 3 details the cor- relation coefficients between demographic variables and job attitudes. Table 3. Spearman’s rho correlations for the relationship between demographic variables and job attitudes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1. Gender 2. Age .108 3. Education .210** .006 4. Tenure .116 .731** .029 5. Title .300** .138* .710** .161* 6. Job satisfaction .019 .142* .131 .159* .133* 7. Intent to leave .082 –.238** –.154* –.260** –.238** .372** 8. Organizational citizenship –.023 .204** .139* .160* .187** .579** .224** 9. Cynicism .066 –.232** –.068 –.219** –.142* .383** .620** –.173* 10. Task Performance –.014 .137* .240** .121 .154* .401** .174** .636** –.053 Note: *p < 0.05 **p < 0.01. According to the results of Spearman’s correlation analyses, PCF was positively associated with age (r = 0.124; p < 0.05) which supports H2b, education (r = 0.140; p < 0.05) which sup- ports H2c, tenure (r = 0.148; p < 0.05) which supports H2d, title (r = 0.168; p < 0.05) which supports H2e. Gender had a minor or insignificant association with the PCF (p > 0.05), not supporting H2a. Table 4 shows the results of Spearman’s rho correlation analysis. According to the results, as shown in Table 5, the PC had strong associations with job outcomes. PCF was positively related to job satisfaction (r = 0.781; p < 0.01) which sup- ports H3a, OCB (r = 0.565; p < 0.01) which supports H3b and task performance (r = 0.451; p < 0.01) which supports H3c; negatively related to intent to leave (r = –0.307; p < 0.01) and cynicism (r = –0.294; p < 0.01) which supports H3d and H3e. These results support H3. 12 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... Table 5. Correlations between PCF and job attitudes 1 2 3 4 5 6 1. PC 1.000 .781** –.307** .565** –.294** .451** 2. Job satisfaction .781** 1.000 –.372** .579** –.383** .401** 3. Intent to leave –.307** –.372** 1.000 –.224** .620** –.174** 4. Organizational citizenship .565** .579** –.224** 1.000 –.173* .636** 5. Cynicism –.294** –.383** .620** –.173* 1.000 –.053 6. Task Performance .451** .401** –.174** .636** –.053 1.000 Note: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. –.26 satisfact citizens perfor Psychological_contract Demograp Positive_joba .96 Gender Age Educatio Tenure Title .22 .65 0; .23 0; 139.91 .95 .47 1 100 1.69 33.62 2.02 1.20 2.632.63 10.50 1.32 35.13 46.90 e8 e5 e6 e7 e9 e5 e3 e2 e1 1 31.09 0; .20 0; .38 1 1 1 1 1 0; 66.80 e4 0; 65.32 0; 38.37 0; 97.81 0; –.02 1 1 1 71.67 0; 44.44 RMSEA: 0.211, CMIN/DF: 13.248, CFI: 0.666, IFI: 0.674, TLI: 0.400 Figure 2. PC mediating role in the effect of demographic variables on constructive job outcomes According to the model, as shown in Figure 2, demographic variables had an insignifi- cant association with job satisfaction, OCB and task performance which were labeled as constructive job outcomes in the study (p > 0.05). While there is a significant relationship Table 4. Spearman’s rho correlations for the relationship between demographic variables and PCF 1 2 3 4 5 1. Gender 2. Age .108 3. Education –.210** .006 4. Tenure .116 .731** .029 5. Title –.300** .138* .710** .062 6. PC –.020 .124* .140* .148* .168** Note: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 13 between demographic variables and constructive job attitudes according to Spearman’s rho correlation analysis as shown in Table 3, the fact that the relationship is unrelated according to SEM modeling supports the mediation effect of PCF. – .27 leave_in cynism Psychological_contract Demograp Negative_joba – .37 Gender Age Educatio Tenure Title 1.84 .65 0; .28 cc 2.02 1 1.69 33.62 2.02 1.23 2.682.68 10.51 1.32 1 1.00 0; 12.12 0; .37 1 – 1 e8 e6 e7 e8 0; 79.39 0; .68 0; 87.03 31.16 e5 e3 e2 e1 e4 0; .20 1 1 0; 66.80 1 0; 65.31 1 0; –.01 Figure 3. PCF mediating role in the effect of demographic variables on destructive job outcomes Similar to the constructive job outcomes, demographic variables had insignificant rela- tionships with job satisfaction, intention to leave and organizational cynicism, which were considered as destructive job outcomes in the study (p > 0.05). While Spearman’s rho correla- tion analysis shows a strong relationship between demographic variables and positive work attitudes (as seen in Table 3), the fact that the relationship is unrelated according to SEM modeling reinforces the mediation impact of PCF. 4. Discussion Although the importance of demographic variables in organizational psychology has long been recognized, these variables have not been systematically integrated into the PC as a mechanism for understanding exchange relationships and their impact on job attitudes. This research intends to analyze the impacts of the demographic variables on job attitudes and PCF and its possible mediating linkage between demographic variables-job attitudes are examined in the manufacturing sector. The present research leads in a way to previous knowledge of PCF. The research was one of the first studies to formulate hypotheses about the mediating role of PCF in the relationship between demographic factors and work attitudes. Employees show different levels of perseverance and motivation. Understanding the rea- sons behind such attitudes may help leaders to motivate and lead them. Therefore, personnel demographic differences are taken into account to understand their impact on job attitudes in this study. The results display that there are some interactions between demographic vari- ables and job attitudes. The very demographic variable considered in the study was gender. 14 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... Even though the literature provides many papers (A. Sousa-Poza & A. A. Sousa-Poza, 2003; Bal et al., 2008; Netemeyer et al., 1996; Callister, 2006; Du Plooy & Roodt, 2013), this study did not underline any interaction between gender and job attitudes. The reason behind such a finding could be the socio-economic fact of comparatively fewer job prospects for both men and women in Turkey, and gender has little effect on work attitudes. As far as age is concerned, it seems to integrate job attitudes. The literature review provides that age is related to job satisfaction (Kollmann et al., 2020), OCB (Ng et al., 2016), intent to leave (Al Zamel et al., 2020), cynicism (Chiaburu et al., 2013), task performance (Gajewski et al., 2020). As expected, the paper displays that older employee showed stronger reactions in positive and weaker for negative job attitudes. Older workers seem to respond weakly to adverse events occurring within the organiza- tion. The reason might be their more significant emphasis on constructive work interactions and comfortable relationships with their employer and their more robust control of emotions compared to the younger employees. The paper findings note that more educated workers are unwilling to leave the organization and their OCB and task performance are higher than less educated ones. The findings are consistent with the previous studies (Knights & Kennedy, 2005; Lu et al., 2002; Williams & Shiaw, 1999; Arabacı, 2010; Anseel et al., 2009). More educated employees might significantly be more satisfied with their pay and beholding a higher position in the organization, which will eventually withdraw them from leaving the organization. Besides, more educated workers seem to be respectful to colleagues and focus on collaboration instead of creating problems. More educated workers also manage the duties given by the organization and fulfill their responsibilities. The reason for such a finding might be the fact that education fosters decision-making skills and critical thinking. The more a person learns, the more he/she earns. When an in- dividual learns, he/she begins to innovate, cooperate, and consider all the opportunities that lie before him/her. The time spent in the company also seems to be related to job attitudes apart from task performance. The findings align with previous research (Castellacci & Viñas- Bardolet, 2020; Lall et al., 2020; Ng & Feldman, 2011; Chiaburu et al., 2013, Sturman, 2003). At the beginning of their career in an organization, individuals might tend to leave to find a “better” job. Besides, employees who stay longer in an organization might resolve job and career issues which eventually affect their job satisfaction level. They are highly involved with the organization resulting in higher OCB. A tenured employee might be better to modify their expectations to the organizational goals. As job tenure increases, employees may gain esteem by the spent time in the job that might prevent them from behaving cynically towards the organization. The results note that being in a different hierarchical level (blue-collar and white-collar worker) might be related to job attitudes apart from job satisfaction. The results are in line with previous research (Van Hootegem et al., 2021; Baruch et al., 2016; Ersoy et al., 2011; Koopmans, 2014). Low pay scales and long hours at blue-collar positions may leave the company and have cynical behaviors. As responsibilities are higher at white-collar posi- tions, they may collaborate more with co-workers and avoid conflicts. Besides, promotional advances playing a crucial role in overcoming tasks and duties are higher in upper levels. Because psychological breach of contract is a subjective term, the negative effects on the outcome can be intensified or absorbed by individual characteristics. For example, women’s Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 15 career aspirations are generally much lower than men’s (Blomme et al., 2010). The reason behind such a statement might be a constructive approach to align family and job obliga- tions for women. However, our study did not notice any relationship between gender and PCF. Because of the lack of career opportunities for both men and women in Turkey, workers are more likely to accommodate organizational policies. The younger the respondents, the more emphasis on positive work interactions and their comfortable relationship with their employer and organization was also expected. Nevertheless, the study did not show any interaction between age and PCF. As Jans- sens et al. (2003) noted, the study results unveil that less-educated employees seem to react less emotionally to their incidences of fulfillment. Higher educated workers appear to have higher perceptions of their organization’s incentives. A possible reason for this could be that even though the organization does not meet the promises, less educated employees are more likely to accommodate that since finding another job is more difficult for less-educated workers. The findings of this study, in line with the literature (Rousseau, 1995; Conway & Coyle‐Shapiro, 2012), indicate that the positive effects of PCF on the affective engagement of employees were more excellent and more pronounced for workers with longer tenure in the organization. One potential explanation for this may be that longer-tenured employees seem to be more likely to tolerate and view a violation of contract as an inevitable breach that will be remedied throughout time. The parties can be drawing false conclusions at the beginning of a relationship while trying to understand the relationship. The parties analyze those con- sequences and are more specific over time. According to research findings, white-collar em- ployees might assume a certain degree of PCF relating to their employer. As the past literature (Wang et al., 2019; Janssens et al., 2003) argues, the research findings note that employees of various levels are likely to demand PCF based on their status as white-collar employees or more general purposes. Voluntary turnover among blue-collar employees is likely to be less at the first sign of instability as the chances of low alternative job opportunities. PCF had strong associations with job outcomes as the literature suggests. PCF was posi- tively linked to job satisfaction (Larwood et al., 1998; Zhao et al., 2007), OCB (Robinson & Morrison, 1995) and task performance (Conway & Coyle‐Shapiro, 2012; Rosen et al., 2009) negatively related to intent to leave (Chiang et al., 2012) and cynicism (Andersson, 1996; Johnson & O’leary-Kelly, 2003). Keeping commitments stated by the employer dur- ing recruiting and not feeling betrayed by their organization seems to increase job security and realize prospects for the future for employees. Such behaviors might eventually result in higher job satisfaction. Furthermore, an organization that keeps guarantees on the level of job protection one may expect and has fewer differences between expected and actual pay and benefits is likely to face less intention to quit behavior since the employer upholds the promises. It is essential for a company when employees obey company rules and regulations and help orient new people. Such behaviors display OCB attitudes. Fulfillment increases trust as an employer develops a common concept in the workplace; like good faith and honesty, trust increases. By developing trust between parties, employees are more likely to obey rules and regulations even without control. Cynicism is affected by policies such as organization is running improvement programs, being more concerned about its priorities and needs than in its employees’ welfare or employees are sceptical when an application was said to be 16 A. E. Altunoğlu et al. Demographic differences matter on job outcomes: psychological contract’s... done in the organization. These policies may have an impact on the level of cynic behavior. As far as task performance is concerned, in PCF circumstances where employees feel that an organization lives up to its promises, they are encouraged to take additional actions and undertake their tasks. PCF was anticipated to be a mediating variable that helps to clarify why demographic variables can be linked to constructive attitudes and behaviors. The research supports the hypothesis by testing the mediating effect between variables (H4a). The findings underlined that PCF fully mediated the relationship between demographic variables and constructive job attitudes. If individuals consider their organization to be considerate and support their requirements, provide opportunities for safety and development in the workplace, they will create an obligation to reciprocate the organization with enhanced emotional bonds. Em- ployees’ views of the exchange contract between themselves and their organizations seem to mediate the relationship between demographic factors and the constructive job outcomes of workers. Employees might be motivated by their education level, status or tenure to exert constructive efforts because of PCF. As far as destructive job attitudes are concerned, the study findings also supported the hypothesis (H4b). The negative job outcomes are associ- ated with PCF. Individual differences that form the social exchange expectations of employ- ees can be linked to higher PCF perceptions of employees, and then employees are likely to exercise destructive job outcomes. Organizational implications This present study highlights that, leaders creating a PC in a favourable condition among employees result in positive and substantial advantages for the organization. In today’s vola- tile business climate, many organizations find it challenging to carry out their organizational commitments consistently and promises to their employees. As a result, organizations face a problem in effectively monitoring and managing the PC (Turnley et al., 2003). The current study’s conclusions suggest that organizations review and revise their ideas on the exchange connection with their workforce as job outcomes of employees are connected to PCF. In practice, managers and leaders may highlight that such fulfillment constitutes an investment of resources into and a long-term commitment to the employee in addition to satisfying relational responsibilities. Therefore, leaders should place a strong emphasis on increasing employee commitment levels. In addition, developing a culture of trust and respect fosters beneficial behavioral and attitudinal results among employees (Laulie & Tekleab, 2016). Aside from this, leaders should encourage open communication with workers to match individual and corporate interests. Limitations of the Study and Future Research This paper applies data from the manufacturing industry operating in Turkey, which may prevent the generalizability of the paper. Future research is needed to replicate these findings on different samples in order to generalize findings. Furthermore, the data is obtained from a single source which raises the likelihood of common method bias and is focused solely on self-reports. Finally, individual perceptions may differ across countries and influence how employees approach work and their PC with their employer. For instance, because of the Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 2022, 20(1): 1–22 17 high power distance society in Turkey, followers are likely to provide a biased opinion about their supervisor, contaminating the overall findings. Ultimately, it can be argued that fulfillment and breach are two separate PC components (Conway & Briner, 2005). The paper analyzed the correlations of fulfillment to demonstrate PC. However, the consequences of breaking promises and not fulfilling obligations may be different. Therefore the future studies may focus on the different consequences of fulfillment and breach of the PC. Conclusions The research was one of the first studies to formulate hypotheses about the mediating role of PCF in the relationship between demographic factors and work attitudes. The results display some interactions between demographic variables and job attitudes. Nevertheless, the study did not show any interaction between age and PCF. PCF had strong associations with job outcomes, as the literature suggests. PCF was anticipated to be a mediating variable that helps to clarify why demographic variables can be linked to constructive attitudes and behaviors. The current study’s conclusions suggest that organizations review and revise their ideas on the exchange connection with their workforce as job outcomes of employees are connected to PCF. In practice, managers and leaders may highlight that such fulfillment constitutes an investment of resources into and a long-term commitment to the employee in addition to satisfying relational responsibilities. Therefore, leaders should place a strong emphasis on increasing employee commitment levels. Disclosure statement Authors declare that they do not have any competing financial, professional, or personal interests from other parties. References Abela, F., & Debono, M. (2019). The relationship between PC breach and job-related attitudes within a manufacturing plant. SAGE Open. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244018822179 Acker, G. M. (2004). The effect of organizational conditions (role conflict, role ambiguity, opportunities for professional development, and social support) on job satisfaction and intention to leave among social workers in mental health care. Community Mental Health Journal, 40(1), 65–74. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:COMH.0000015218.12111.26 Agarwal, U. 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