I-Deals: Idiosyncratic Terms in Employment Relationships

TLDR

Idiosyncratic employment arrangements (i‑deals) can benefit employees and employers, but may provoke negative coworker responses unless certain conditions are met. The authors aim to distinguish functional from dysfunctional i‑deals, develop propositions on how ideals form and affect workers and coworkers, and outline implications for research and management. They propose a framework detailing the formation of i‑deal ideals and their impact on workers and coworkers. The paper presents evidence of i‑deals from prior research and discusses their implications for contemporary employment relationships.

Abstract

Idiosyncratic employment arrangements (i-deals) stand to benefit the individual employee as well as his or her employer. However, unless certain conditions apply, coworkers may respond negatively to these arrangements. We distinguish functional i-deals from their dysfunctional counterparts and highlight evidence of i-deals in previous organizational research. We develop propositions specifying both how ideals are formed and how they impact workers and coworkers. Finally, we outline the implications i-deals have for research and for managing contemporary employment relationships.