After the fall: Layoff victims' trust and cynicism in re‐employment

The relationship between an individual's psychological contract violation by a former employer and his or her attitudes toward a new employer was examined in a sample of lay off victims ( N =141). Violation was negatively related to trust in the new employer, and positively related to employee cynicism. The degree that participants worried about being similarly mistreated by their new employer mediated the relationship between violation and both trust and cynicism.