Industrial and organizational psychology/Module 11

Fairness, Justice, and Diversity in the Workplace

Module 11.1 - Justice and Fairness

Justice and fairness are terms used to describe an event or an exchange relationship. Trust is the belief in how a person/organization will behave in a specific, future occasion. Organizational justice consists of a web of organizational procedures, outcomes, and interpersonal interactions.

Types of Justices

• Distributive justice - The fairness seen on outcomes or rewards given out by staff. "Fair" could be seen as merit, need norm, or equality norm.
• Procedural justice - The fairness seen on the process in the reward distribution. Having a voice in the matter is the ability to influence the process or outcome of reward distribution. This affects layoffs and one's self-esteem.
• Interactional justice - Answers: "How well are employees treated by each other/their employer?". Includes informational and interpersonal justice.

Injustice

When one experiences injustice, this may lead to retaliation, reduced work effort/motivation by the employee, and a noticeable impact on the employee's attitudes and behavior.

On the other hand, if an employee thinks that justice is a value held by the organization they work at, they'll usually put extra effort ("going the extra mile"), and have satisfactory feelings of being a part of a "family" and that their contributions are significant and worthwhile.