Poor Organisational Justice

Poor organisational justice involves a lack of procedural justice (fair processes to reach decisions), informational fairness (keeping people informed), or interpersonal fairness (treating people with dignity and respect).

Organisational justice is part of the psychosocial safety climate (PSC). PSC refers to the shared perceptions of employees of their organisation’s “systems, policies, practices and procedures for the protection of worker psychological health and safety”.

In organisations with high PSC, the well-being and safety of workers are prioritised commitments and efforts are made by senior management to involve and leverage workers’ participation in designing jobs and programmes that help create a safe and healthy work environment for improved well-being, safety and productivity.

Let’s Look at an Example

Paul works in a office. Recently one of his co-workers put in a bullying complaint against his manager. This information was shared across all the teams and the manager told all the team members not to speak to the co-worker until the investigation was resolved.

Paul was also experiencing bullying from the manager and was considering putting in a complaint but now that he has seen how his coworker was treated he is considering all his options. Paul begins to feel paranoid when at work and at home and has difficulty sleeping.

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Risk Factors For Poor Organisational Justice

Organisational justice is a psychosocial hazard that can lead to a number of negative outcomes for workers, including stress, anxiety, depression, and decreased job satisfaction. It can also lead to increased absenteeism, turnover, and accidents.

There are a number of risk factors for poor organisational justice, including:

• Unfair treatment of workers, such as discrimination, harassment, or bullying
• Lack of clarity about expectations and roles
• Lack of opportunities for feedback and input
• Lack of transparency and accountability in decision-making
• Unfair distribution of rewards and benefits

Impacts on Employees

Poor organisational justice can have a significant impact on workers’ health and well-being. It can lead to a number of negative outcomes, including:

• Stress
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Decreased job satisfaction
• Increased absenteeism
• Turnover
• Accidents

Control Measures

There are a number of control measures that can be used to reduce the risk of poor organisational justice, including:

• Creating a workplace culture that is based on fairness, respect, and equity
• Ensuring that all workers are treated fairly and equitably
• Providing clear expectations and roles
• Providing opportunities for feedback and input
• Being transparent and accountable in decision-making
• Distributing rewards and benefits fairly

Recommendations

The following recommendations are made to reduce the risk of poor organisational justice in the workplace:

• Develop a workplace policy on organisational justice and make it available to all workers.
• Provide training to managers and supervisors on how to create a fair and just workplace.
• Establish a system for workers to report concerns about organisational justice.
• Investigate all concerns about organisational justice promptly and fairly.
• Take appropriate action to address any problems with organisational justice.

By taking these steps, employers can help to create a workplace that is free from the negative effects of poor organisational justice.