Making do by getting real: Psychological contract violations and proactive career agency among medical professionals

Health care professionals face greater uncertainty in their careers as traditional jobs wither and new, organizationally controlled jobs proliferate, reducing economic security and professional autonomy.

We apply psychological contract and self-efficacy theory to examine the career agency of early-career physicians. We ask the following: (a) What are the unfulfilled expectations and emotions experienced by young physicians at the training and early career stages? (b) What are the forms of career agency exhibited by young physicians in response to unfulfillment?

We conducted a study on 48 U.K. early-career primary care physicians, known as general practitioners. The sample comprised both trainees as well as newly qualified physicians. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions.

Physicians interpreted their early-career experiences based on predominantly ideological expectations around what it means to be a successful professional. However, the realities of practice resulted in highly emotional experiences of violation that were associated with a "reactive" agency and job behaviors that were more transactional and less relational.

This study identifies the expectations of early career professionals, which helps understand how and why psychological contract violations occur. It also expands the conceptualization of career agency from a positively framed aspect of professional behavior to one that includes haphazard and self-serving elements.

Our study highlights several implications of the shifts in physician career agency for primary care practice. It discusses the potential effects of the purposeful self-interest among doctors on professional identity and power, as well as patient care.