36 Academy of Management Perspectives Navember getting what we want and playing by the rules. we are treated unfairly. Brockner, Tyler, and Coo­ The two tend to go together, but less so than per-Schneider (1992) assessed the commitment of many believe. For example, pay satisfaction is only a group of employees before a layoff occurred. modestly correlated with perceptions of pay jus­ After the downsizing those people who were ini­ tice (Williams, McDaniel, & Nguyen, 2006). If tially the most committed responded the most neg­ "justice" were based exclusively on obtaining ben­ atively to the downsizing. When we treat workers efits, then one would expect a higher association. unfairly, we may end up doing the most harm to Later we shall discuss evidence suggesting that those who are most loyal. individuals can accept an unfortunate outcome as Ethical considerations. People also care about long as the process is fair and they are treated with justice because they believe it is the morally ap­ interpersonal dignity (e.g., Goldman, 2003; Skar­ propriate way others should be treated (Folger, licki & Folger, 1997). 2001). When individuals witness an event they Social considerations. People are social animals. believe is ethically inappropriate, they are likely We wish to be accepted and valued by important to take considerable risks in the hopes of extract­ others while not being exploited or harmed by ing retribution (Bies & Tripp, 2001, 2002). Such powerful decision-makers. In the "group-value unfortunate (from the organization's point of model," just treatment tells us that we are re­ view) reactions may occur even when an em­ spected and esteemed by the larger group. We are ployee simply witnesses the harm and is not per­ also at less risk for mistreatment. This sense of sonally wronged (Ellard & Skarlicki, 2002; Spen­ belonging is important to us even apart from the cer & Rupp, 2006). Consider, for example, a day­ economic benefits it can bring (Tyler & Blader, to-day problem faced by many service workers. 2000; Tyler & Smith, 1998). As you might ex­ When these employees see a customer treating pect, this can pose a potential problem for orga­ one of their coworkers unfairly, the observing nizations. To the extent that justice signals our worker is apt to experience stress symptoms. value to an employer, the more we care about the organization the more distressed we become when Through this mechanism, injustice may spread ill will throughout a workgroup. Table 1 Components of Organizational Justice Three Components of Justice 1. Distributive Justice: Appropriateness of outcomes. esearch has shown that employees appraise • Equily: Rewarding employees based on their contributions. three families of workplace events. They ex­ • Equalify: Providing each employee roughly the same compensation. amine the justice of outcomes (distributive • Need: Providing a benefit based on one's personal requirements. R justice), the justice of the formal allocation pro­ 2. Procedural Justice: Appropriateness of the allocation process. cesses (procedural justice), and the justice of in­ • Consistency: All employees are treated the same. terpersonal transactions they encounter with oth­ • Lack of Bias: No person Or group is singled out for discrimination Or ill- treatment. ers (interactional justice). These are shown in • Accuracy: Decisions are based on accurate information. Table 1. • Representation of All Concerned: Appropriate stakeholders have input into Distributive, procedural, and interactional jus­ adecision. tice tend to be correlated. They can be meaning­ • Correction: There is an appeals process or other mechanism for fixing fully treated as three components of overall fair­ mistakes. ness (Ambrose & Arnaud, 2005; Ambrose & • Elhics: Norms of professional conduct are not violaled. Schminke, 2007). and the three components can 3. Interactional Justice: Appropriateness of the treatmenl one receives from work together. However, if one's goal is to pro­ authority figures. mote workplace justice, it is useful to consider • Interpersonal Justice: Treating an employee with dignity, courtesy, and them separately and in detail. This is because each respect. component is engendered in distinct ways, arising • Informational Justice: Sharing relevant information with employees. from different managerial actions.