I present the findings of an exploratory qualitative enquiry into how employees in U.K.-based nonprofit organizations with clearly espoused organizational values experience values (in)congruences. Participants tended to adopt one of three positions—idealism, disillusionment, or cynicism—which they may transition between at different times. I use the theoretical lenses of the ideological psychological contract, organizational identification, and organizational cynicism to interpret these employees’ experiences. These data show how ideological psychological contract and organizational identification processes are entwined as employees fluidly navigate values (in)congruence in nonprofits. This analysis supports a critical reading of organizational cynicism, demonstrating how nonprofit values can be experienced as a form of managerial control, against which employees may wish to defend their selfhood. Several directions for future research are indicated.

我提出了一项探索性定性研究的结果，以调查英国非营利组织中具有明显拥护的组织价值观的员工如何体验价值观。参与者倾向于采取以下三种立场之一：理想主义，幻灭或玩世不恭，他们可能会在不同时间进行过渡。我使用思想心理契约，组织认同和组织犬儒主义的理论视角来解释这些员工的经历。这些数据表明，随着员工在非营利组织中顺应价值观的变化，意识形态的心理契约和组织认同过程是如何交织在一起的。此分析支持对组织犬儒主义的批判性解读，表明如何将非营利价值作为管理控制的一种形式来体验，员工可能希望捍卫自己的生活。指出了未来研究的几个方向。