Perceptions of justice afforded by formal grievance systems as predictors of a belief in a just workplace

Abstract

This study investigates the relationship between workers' perceptions of distributive and procedural justice afforded by a grievance system and their more general belief in an underlying moral order in the workplace. Using samples representing five ocupationally distinct groups, the presence of any moderating effects of occupation received only weak support. Consistent with previous work, however, workers' perceptions of procedural justice (i.e., fairness in the process) were a stronger predictor of workers' belief in workplace justice than were perceptions of distributive justice (i.e., fairness of outcomes).