A case study of the psychological contracts of dirty workers in the animal research industry

Daniels, Haley (2025) A case study of the psychological contracts of dirty workers in the animal research industry. Doctoral thesis (PhD), Manchester Metropolitan University.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the lived experiences of animal technicians working within animal research facilities across the UK. This thesis reports my findings in relation to the impact of dirty work on the psychological contract PC of animal technicians and animal facility managers working in animal research facilities and the implications of the findings on employment relationships. I adopt the Dynamic Phase Model of the PC (Rousseau, Hansen and Tomprou, 2018) as a framework to examine and understand the work in animal research facilities, conducting an in-depth case study within the biomedical research sector in the UK. Research conducted in animal research facilities, particularly focussed on the PC is extremely limited, and previous research on dirty work does not include the role of the animal technician and animal research facilities. Empirical literature assumes that the phases identified in the dynamic phase PC model are followed by all workers, without considering the impact of the dirty tasks conducted by dirty workers and the challenges experienced as a result of this. I interviewed 60 animal technicians and identified that the implications of conducting dirty work tasks were complex and had a significant impact on all phases of the PC construction resulting in a number of theoretical, empirical and practical implications; My research highlights theoretical contributions to the fields of dirty work and psychological contract theory, specifically in the context of animal research facilities. It expands standard PC obligations recognising the unique challenges in this sector which may be potentially applicable to other dirty work sectors, widening its impact. The first theoretical contribution extends PC obligations for dirty work and identifies two additional PC obligations specific to animal technicians; emotional support and physical/psychological safety. The second contribution to theory is by the extension of the caring/killing paradox to include a harming phase which specifically applies to licenced animal technicians who perform experimental procedures on animals. The third theoretical contribution incorporates the concept of Liminality into PC and dirty work. It recognises difficulties faced by animal technicians in the reality of the role, it highlights the inadequacy of unrealistic job previews that omit dirty work tasks and facilitates a deeper understanding of complexities and challenges faced in animal research facilities. This theoretical contribution extends existing dirty work and PC theory to include animal research facilities and suggests an amendment to the existing 3 dynamic phase PC model by the addition of a new liminality phase for animal technicians and animal research facility managers, as dirty workers. My research presents significant empirical contributions to the field of psychological contract and dirty work theory focussing on animal technicians. The first is an extension of dirty work research expanding the literature to the unique setting of the animal research facility. The research continues to extend dirty work and PC literature by highlighting how insufficient detail about dirty work tasks during recruitment negatively affects all phases of PC construction and has wider implications for organisational policy and practice. The research also extends the use of dirty worker coping strategies to the animal research sector, identifying their application during liminality, recognising previously unacknowledged adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies used by animal technicians. Finally, my research presents several key implications for policy and practice in the animal research sector, specifically addressing the challenges faced by animal technicians. The first implication is stigma management and organisational culture recognising that the work conducted by animal technicians is dirty work and is associated with additional challenges which require a supportive workplace culture and training programs specifically designed to address these challenges. The second implication is the implementation of a transparent recruitment process and the use of realistic job previews, addressing emotional and psychological challenges during recruitment, enabling informed choices for applicants, contributing to realistic PC construction. The third implication calls for effective PC management and for organisations to recognise unique PC obligations specific to the sector, addressing unfulfilled obligations and implementing specific support systems. Finally, organisations need to address the extended caring/harming/killing paradox recognising the implications of this extended paradox and develop supporting strategies to avoid transition into liminality and the liminal phase by incorporating management of liminal experiences into professional development initiatives.