According to Chester Barnard, directives falling within the zone of indifference are obeyed, whereas those falling outside of it are not considered legitimate under the terms of the psychological contract.

Chester Barnard's concept of the zone of indifference refers to the range of directives or requests that fall within the scope of an employee's acceptance or agreement to comply with. Directives falling within this zone are considered legitimate by the employee and are likely to be obeyed, while those falling outside of it are not considered part of the psychological contract between the employee and the organization and may not be obeyed.