Interactional Justice: The Link Between Employee Retention And Employment Lawsuits

Organizational justice is one of the least understood and underutilized tools to create a better and more effective workplace. In this article, we’ll focus on interactional justice, look at its impact, and offer strategies for creating a climate that will help employers reap the rewards and reduce their risks of their human capital. There are three forms of organizational justice known as distributive, procedural, and interactional justice. Distributive justice refers to the “bottom line” of justice, i.e., was the outcome of a decision fair? This assessment of fairness generally involves a comparison between what an employee is experiencing to what is happening to others in the organization. Interactional justice is up close and personal. It pertains to the behavior of the organization's leaders in carrying out their decisions, i.e., how they treat those who are subject to their authority, decisions, and actions. Interactional justice is a key to employee motivation, retention and organizational commitment. Organizations that create a sense of organizational justice will reap the human capital rewards in improved motivation, retention and fewer employment lawsuits. Unfortunately, companies who don’t may find themselves limping while their competition sprints ahead.