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Cited by 431Job Satisfaction and Organizational BehaviorAI and HR TechnologiesEmployment and Welfare Studies

Productive employment and decent work: The impact of AI adoption on psychological contracts, job engagement and employee trust

Open access
Braganza, Ashley, Chen, Weifeng, Canhoto, Ana, Sap, Serap·2021·Journal of Business Research
DOI 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.018PMC PMC7434459
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Abstract

This research examines the tension between the aims of the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal 8 (SDG 8), to promote productive employment and decent work, and the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Our findings are based on the analysis of 232 survey results, where we tested the effects of AI adoption on workers' psychological contract, engagement and trust. We find that psychological contracts had a significant, positive effect on job engagement and on trust. Yet, with AI adoption, the positive effect of psychological contracts fell significantly. A further re-examination of the extant literature leads us to posit that AI adoption fosters the creation of a third type of psychological contract, which we term "Alienational". Whereas SDG 8 is premised on strengthening relational contracts between an organization and its employees, the adoption of AI has the opposite effect, detracting from the very nature of decent work.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.018

Cites

88 of 88 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

5 of 40 cited sources checked · 1 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Premisecitation

    AI and related technologies weaken the relationship between employees and their employers' psychological contracts.

    “Since technological changes trigger uncertainty at work, adoption of AI and related technologies weakens relationships between employees’ psychological contract with employers (Conway and Briner, 2005, Østhus, 2007, Nam, 2019)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim2 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Conway and Briner, 2005 source

      The exact sentence appears in “Productive employment and decent work: The impact of AI adoption on psychological contracts, job engagement and employee trust” (score 0.836), which cites Conway and Briner (2005) alongside two other works. That later paper provides a clear source for the AI-specific wording, but its citation does not establish that Conway and Briner themselves made the AI claim. The cited book’s full text is unavailable here, and both paper-scoped searches failed, so its support for the claim cannot be verified; the later paper’s citation also rules out a confident misattribution verdict. (LLM, conf=0.72)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Østhus, 2007 source

      Two searches of Østhus (2007) returned no full-text snippets, so its support for the psychological-contract claim could not be checked. A 0.988 unscoped match in “Productive employment and decent work: The impact of AI adoption on psychological contracts, job engagement and employee trust” reproduces the citing sentence itself and explicitly cites Østhus; it is not evidence that the claim originated in a different paper. The available evidence therefore does not establish either confirmation or misattribution. (LLM, conf=0.78)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Nam, 2019 source
  • Findingown data

    AI adoption did not significantly moderate the association between job engagement and job trust.

    “Our study finds that AI has no significant impact on employees’ trust of the company they are working for and has no notable effects on AI Adoption*Job Engagement -> Trust (H2m: not significant) and AI Adoption*Psychological Contract -> Trust (H3m: not significant) relationships.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The cross-sectional survey data can support causal or directional conclusions about AI adoption's effects on psychological contracts, engagement, and trust.
  • Findingown data

    Employees' psychological contracts did not have a statistically significant association with their trust.

    “Our study reveals that psychological contracts have no significant impact on employees’ trust (H3: β = 0.201; t = 1.049, ns).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The cross-sectional survey data can support causal or directional conclusions about AI adoption's effects on psychological contracts, engagement, and trust.
  • Findingown data

    In the authors' survey, employee engagement had a direct positive effect on workers' trust in the employer.

    “Moreover, our survey results show that employee engagement has a direct and positive affect on workers’ trust in the employer.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    The study's sample of 232 responses is relatively small.

    “The research sample size (232) we have collected for this study is also relatively small.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 22
  • May combine two claims. 11

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationcitation

    Decent work requires an in-depth understanding of workers and their context.

    “It also requires an in-depth understanding of workers and their context (Cowls, King, Taddeo, & Floridi, 2019), particularly those with disabilities and other special needs (Lillywhite & Wolbring, 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Cowls, King, Taddeo, & Floridi, 2019 source
    • cites Lillywhite & Wolbring, 2020 source

      The Introduction (page not provided) identifies workplace impacts of AI/ML on disabled people, and the Conclusions (page not provided) call for research into its effects on their lived situations. This supports paying particular attention to disabled people, but the paper does not extend that point to workers with other special needs or establish a general requirement for decent work. The broader claim about understanding workers is attached to a different citation. (LLM, conf=0.84)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    AI has the potential to improve society by addressing issues such as worker inclusion, gender discrimination and sexual harassment at work, and cyberbullying.

    “AI has the potential to improve society by addressing issues such as improving worker inclusion (Lillywhite & Wolbring, 2020), eliminating gender discrimination and sexual harassment at work (Cowls et al., 2019) and reducing cyberbullying (Kumari, Singh, Dwivedi, & Rana, 2019).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Lillywhite & Wolbring, 2020 source
    • cites Cowls et al., 2019 source
    • cites Kumari, Singh, Dwivedi, & Rana, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    AI has the potential to promote inclusion of workers in at-risk groups, such as disabled workers.

    “AI has the potential to promote inclusion of workers in at risk groups, such as disabled workers (Lillywhite & Wolbring, 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Lillywhite & Wolbring, 2020 source

      The Introduction says AI/ML may affect disabled people through employers’ workplace use, and §4.2.1 reports highly techno-optimistic coverage of robotics and disabled people’s employment. The paper does not establish that AI promotes workplace inclusion, or extend that possibility to other at-risk groups. (LLM, conf=0.78)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Workers with relational contracts are positively engaged with their employers.

    “It is perhaps unsurprising that workers with relational contracts are positively engaged with employers.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Both relational and transactional psychological contracts increase employee engagement.

    “This result suggests that both relational and transactional psychological contracts engender higher levels of employee engagement.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The survey included reverse-coded questions to encourage careful reading and answering.

    “Furthermore, our study has reverse questions to ensure respondents read and answer the survey questions carefully.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Relational contracts are linked to mutually positive outcomes, while transactional contracts are linked to negative outcomes such as lower engagement and commitment.

    “Because of this focus, relational contracts are associated with mutually positive outcomes for both employers and workers; whereas transactional contracts, because of the materialistic and short-term focus, are associated with more negative outcomes, including lower engagement and commitment (Raja et al., 2004, Rousseau, 1995).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Raja et al., 2004 source
    • cites Rousseau, 1995 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Greater trust leads to benefits such as a better working environment, more teamwork and more open communication.

    “prior research suggests that greater levels of trust lead to several benefits including a better working environment, greater levels of team working and more open communication (Jones and George, 1998, Kiffin-Petersen and Cordery, 2003).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Jones and George, 1998 source
    • cites Kiffin-Petersen and Cordery, 2003 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Workers with transactional contracts are aware that their contribution is recognized through financial remuneration without further commitments or demands.

    “They are aware that their contribution is recognized by way of a financial remuneration with no further commitments or demands to be made (Jensen et al., 2010).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Jensen et al., 2010 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductnone given

    A pilot study was conducted to improve the questionnaire and test the validity and reliability of measurement items.

    “Before collecting the main survey data, full ethical approval was received and a pilot study was conducted to improve questionnaire design and to test the robustness of validity and reliability measurement items.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Employee engagement is essential for organizational success.

    “The extant literature shows that employee engagement is vital to organizational prosperity (Bal et al., 2013b, Lin, 2010, Rayton et al., 2012, Saks, 2006).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Bal et al., 2013b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Lin, 2010 source
    • cites Saks, 2006 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Breaches of psychological contracts lead to lower job engagement, job satisfaction, and job trust.

    “Breaching psychological contracts or organizations’ promises leads to negative effects, poorer behavioral standards and lower cognitive work outputs, such as decreases in job engagement (Bal et al., 2013a), job satisfaction (Conway et al., 2011, Tomprou et al., 2012) and job trust (Pate et al., 2000).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Bal et al., 2013a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Conway et al., 2011 source
    • cites Pate et al., 2000 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    AI has greater potential to replace workers in tasks needing mechanical and analytical intelligence, and less potential in tasks needing intuitive or empathetic intelligence.

    “Therefore, there is higher potential for AI to be deployed – and replace workers – in tasks that require mechanical and analytical intelligence, and limited potential in tasks that require intuitive or empathetic intelligence.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Huang and Rust (2018) source
    • cites Hengstler et al., 2016 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Workers with relational contracts both influence and are influenced by their environment.

    “Workers that have relational contracts both influence and are influenced by the environment (Thomas et al., 2003).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Thomas et al., 2003 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Decent work requires closer working relationships between employers and workers.

    “This suggests decent work requires closer working relationships between employers and workers.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Workers with relational psychological contracts have closer, longer-lasting and deeper ties.

    “Workers with relational psychological contracts have closer, more long-lasting and deeper ties (Rousseau, 1990, Parks and Schmedemann, 1994).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Rousseau, 1990 source
    • cites Parks and Schmedemann, 1994 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    AI adoption undermines decent work, contrary to SDG 8's aim of strengthening relational contracts.

    “Whereas SDG 8 is premised on strengthening relational contracts between an organization and its employees, the adoption of AI has the opposite effect, detracting from the very nature of decent work.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The West London survey sample is representative of the broader working population affected by AI, so the findings can inform SDG 8 globally.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Employee engagement is positively related to job trust.

    “Previous scholars found positive relationships between employee engagement and job trust (Agarwal, 2014, Ertürk and Vurgun, 2015, Mulki et al., 2006).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Agarwal, 2014 source
    • cites Ertürk and Vurgun, 2015 source
    • cites Mulki et al., 2006 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    All constructs show convergent validity, with average variance extracted above 0.5 and square roots of AVE exceeding inter-construct correlations.

    “In terms of Convergent Validity, Average Variance Extracted (AVE) are all above 0.5. All the square roots of AVE are also greater than inter-construct correlations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The study is the first to examine changes to psychological contracts caused by AI adoption.

    “It is the first to examine changes to psychological contracts due to AI adoption.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationnone given

    The study contributes to and advances the literature on the impact of AI adoption on relationships among psychological contract, job engagement and employee trust.

    “This study contributes to and advances the literature on the impact of AI adoption on relationships among psychological contract, job engagement and employees trust.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    For AI to deliver its social good promise, understanding the context of its deployment is crucial.

    “for AI to deliver in its social good promise, it is crucial to understand the context in which it is deployed (Cowls et al., 2019).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Cowls et al., 2019 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The study proposes alienational as a new type of psychological contract and theorizes its characteristics.

    “This study proposes alienational as a new type of psychological contract and has theorized its characteristics.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The new concept of alienational psychological contracts will play a larger role in framing employer-worker relationships as AI adoption spreads.

    “the new concept of alienational psychological contracts, introduced in this paper, will play a bigger role in framing relationships between employers and workers as AI adoption spreads.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    A limitation of the study is that it focuses on only one SDG.

    “A limitation of this study is that it concentrates on one SDG.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Pressure to adopt AI technologies is likely to grow due to competition, consumer preferences or regulatory requirements.

    “The pressure to use AI technologies is likely to increase, whether that is due to increased levels of competition, consumer preferences or regulatory requirements (Makridakis, 2017, Pluta and Rudawska, 2016, Zarouali et al., 2018).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Makridakis, 2017 source
    • cites Pluta and Rudawska, 2016 source
    • cites Zarouali et al., 2018 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Relational, transactional and alienational contracts can be placed on a theoretical continuum of employer-employee relationships.

    “we suggest that relational. transactional and alienational contracts can be located on a theoretical continuum of employer-employee relationships.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    On this continuum, relational contracts are nearer the interdependent end, alienational contracts nearer the independent end, and transactional contracts in between.

    “On this continuum, relational contracts are closer to the interdependent end and alienational contracts are closer to the independent end of the continuum, with transactional contracts located between the two.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
28 of 28

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The West London survey sample is representative of the broader working population affected by AI, so the findings can inform SDG 8 globally.

    “The survey instrument was distributed to individuals in West London, UK, which has large companies including Heathrow, Canon Inc., Sharp Corporation, Marks and Spencer and GlaxoSmithKline as well as numerous small-and-medium-sized employers.”
    “Our study focuses on SDG 8 - Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The cross-sectional survey data can support causal or directional conclusions about AI adoption's effects on psychological contracts, engagement, and trust.

    “Our findings are based on the analysis of 232 survey results, where we tested the effects of AI adoption on workers’ psychological contract, engagement and trust.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The survey items used for AI adoption validly measure AI adoption in the workplace.

    “Questions for AI adoption and psychological contract were derived from the existing literature.”
3 of 3

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Claim that AI lowers engagement conflicts with its positive reported effect

    Major

    The reported direct effect of AI adoption on job engagement is positive and significant, whereas the discussion describes adoption as lowering engagement. The negative interaction with psychological contract does not make the reported direct effect negative.

  • Abstract claims a significant trust effect that the results reject

    Major

    The abstract says psychological contracts significantly increased trust, but the hypothesis test reports a nonsignificant effect on trust and rejects H3.

  • H3 has two different reported t-values

    Minor

    Table 5 gives the psychological-contract-to-trust test a t-value of 1.490, while the results prose gives it as 1.049.

  • Social-enterprise percentage does not match its count

    Minor

    Fourteen respondents out of 232 are about 6.0%, not the reported 14%.

    Reported 14 · recomputed 6.034483

  • Organization-type counts exceed the stated sample

    Minor

    The five organization-type counts total 247, exceeding the stated sample of 232 by 15.

    Reported 232 · recomputed 247

5 of 5

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

4 of the 92 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. Bates, 2004, Getting engaged, HR Magazine, 49, 44
  2. ILO (1999). Decent Work. Report of the Director-General, International Labour Conference, 87th Session. Geneva.
  3. ILO (2001). Reducing the Decent Work Deficit: A Global Challenge. Report of the Director- General, International Labour Conference, 89th Session. Geneva.
  4. Richman, A., (2006). Everyone wants an engaged workforce: How can you create it? Workspan, 49(1), 36–39. https://www.wfd.com/PDFS/Engaged%20Workforce%20Amy%20Richman%20Workspan.pdf Accessed 29 August 2019.
  5. Shore, 1994, The psychological contract as an explanatory framework, Trends in Organizational Behavior, 1, 91

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Braganza, A., Chen, W., Canhoto, A., & Sap, S.
Affiliations
  • Brunel University of London (GB)
  • Abdullah Gül University (TR)
Corresponding author
Chen, Weifeng
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Business Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-07
Volume
131
Pages
485-494
ISSN
0148-2963 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.08.018
PMC
PMC7434459
OpenAlex
W3075346249
Cited by
431
References
92
Citations by year
2026: 113 · 2025: 120 · 2024: 81 · 2023: 64 · 2022: 35 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 2
FWCI
31.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Business Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Brunel University Research Archive (BURA) (Brunel University London) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
  • Brunel University Research Archive (BURA) (Brunel University London) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › Job Satisfaction and Organizational Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management › AI and HR Technologies
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Employment and Welfare Studies
Keywords
artificial intelligence adoption, psychological contract, work engagement, employee trust, productive employment, decent work, SDG 8, human-AI relationship, employee-organization relationship

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