We need a new Psychological Contract

Because trust is low, the old promises are broken, and most people already know it

If you work in internal comms or HR, you’ve probably talked about employee engagement more times than you can count. And if you’ve done the job long enough, you’ve probably also felt a creeping sense that something bigger is broken. Something that no new initiative, platform, or engagement survey is going to fix.

We used to talk about the psychological contract like it was a given. An unspoken agreement: work hard, stay loyal, and the organisation will look after you.

But in most places now, that contract is broken. And the silence around it is deafening.

Trust is the real elephant in the room

People still want to care about their work. But they don’t always trust that it will care about them back.

It’s not that anyone stood up and said “we no longer guarantee job security, fairness or growth.” It’s that the system changed — flatter orgs, relentless change cycles, economic pressure — and no one rewrote the expectations.

We’ve seen wave after wave of restructuring dressed up as transformation. Promotion paths that lead nowhere. Performance frameworks that promise fairness but deliver inconsistency. Values that get printed, launched, and quietly ignored.

None of this is new. But it’s becoming more visible — and more corrosive.

Because once trust goes, everything takes longer.

Every message is met with suspicion.

Every change feels like a threat.

Every silence feels like it means something.

Surveys aren’t the answer. They’re barely even the question.

We keep asking how people feel — and we should. But we often forget to ask why. Why are they disengaged? Why aren’t they speaking up? Why are they staying quiet, staying safe, doing just enough?

It’s not because the benefits aren’t good enough. It’s because the story they’ve been told about work no longer matches the reality they’re living.

We measure sentiment, but we don’t examine the system.

And unless we’re willing to talk about the gap between what’s expected and what’s experienced, we’ll stay stuck in a cycle of initiatives with no impact.

So what does a new contract look like?

It starts by being honest about the deal on the table.

Not the aspirational one in the brand film.

The real one.

No, we can’t guarantee job security.

No, there may not be a clear next step in your career here.

No, we can’t pretend work won’t be pressured, imperfect, and constantly changing.

But:

Yes, we’ll be honest with you.

Yes, we’ll give you clarity when things shift.

Yes, we’ll treat you like an adult.

And yes, we’ll help you grow — even if that means helping you leave well.

A new contract doesn’t mean more promises. It means fewer, delivered more consistently.

It means inviting people to own their side of the relationship — not because we’re outsourcing responsibility, but because we’re finally willing to share it.

What this means for leaders

You can’t keep selling certainty.

You have to start offering credibility.

That means making fewer statements, and asking better questions.

It means acknowledging limits, not just painting vision.

It means walking through the complexity, not waving from the balcony.

If you’re in a position of influence — whether that’s in HR, comms or leadership — the challenge isn’t to create another narrative. It’s to confront the one that’s already being told through experience.

Because people don’t remember your comms plan.

They remember how you behaved when things got tough.

That’s the contract they’re working with. Whether you like it or not.

The opportunity is still there

People still want to do good work. They want to trust. They want to be part of something that feels real. But they can spot the gaps faster than ever — and they’re tired of pretending not to.

So let’s stop asking people to believe in a deal we quietly stopped offering.

Let’s build one we can stand behind. One based on clarity, not promises. On presence, not perfection.

And on grown-up conversations that start with, “here’s what’s true — and here’s what that means for us.”

Because without truth, there can’t be trust.

And without trust, there is no engagement worth talking about.