Workplace Fairness Explained: How to Build Trust and Organizational Justice
Learn why fairness is critical in the workplace, explore organizational justice, and understand how fair decisions build trust and productivity.
CAREER & WORKPLACE SKILLS
Lesson 15: Fairness in the Workplace
Fairness isn’t just a moral ideal — it’s a practical necessity.
When people believe they’re treated unfairly at work, trust erodes quickly. Productivity drops, resentment grows, and turnover increases.
In this lesson, we’ll explore what fairness really means in organizations, the different types of fairness, and how managers and teammates can work toward more just workplaces.
Course Outline: Crash Course Business – Soft Skills
INTRODUCTION: Business Soft Skills – Course Overview
LESSON 1: Why You Need Trust to Do Business
LESSON 3: The Secret to Business Writing
LESSON 4: How to Speak With Confidence
LESSON 5: How to Make a Resume Stand Out
LESSON 6: How to Ace the Interview
LESSON 7: Prepare to Negotiate Your Salary
LESSON 8: How to Become a Better Negotiator
LESSON 9: How to Set and Achieve SMART Goals
LESSON 10: How to Make Time Management Work for You
LESSON 11: How to Make Better Decisions
LESSON 12: How to Work Effectively With a Team
LESSON 13: How to Handle Difficult Conversations
LESSON 15: Fairness in the Workplace
LESSON 16: The Many Forms of Power
LESSON 17: How to Avoid Burnout
Why Fairness Matters at Work
Fairness is one of the fastest ways to gain or lose trust.
When people perceive someone as unfair, they often assume that person is:
Incompetent
Self-serving
Opportunistic
None of these inspire confidence or loyalty.
In organizations, fairness influences:
Employee motivation
Job satisfaction
Retention
Willingness to cooperate
The perception that decisions are fair is known as organizational justice.
Humans (and Animals) Care About Fairness
Fairness isn’t just a human concern.
Primatologist Frans de Waal famously demonstrated that monkeys react negatively when they receive worse rewards than others for the same work.
Humans do the same thing — just with emails, performance reviews, and group chats instead of cucumbers.
The Three Types of Fairness
1. Outcome Fairness
Outcome fairness is whether people feel they received what they deserved.
There are three common norms people use to judge outcomes:
Need: Resources go to those who need them most
Equality: Everyone gets the same share
Merit: Rewards go to the highest contributors
Each norm makes sense in some situations — and causes frustration in others.
Because people value these norms differently, outcome fairness is highly subjective.
2. Procedural Fairness
Procedural fairness focuses on how decisions are made, not just what the outcome is.
A fair process has five key features:
Consistency – Rules apply equally to everyone
Voice – People can share their perspective
Accuracy – Decisions are based on correct information
Bias suppression – Personal bias is minimized
Correctability – There’s a way to appeal or fix mistakes
Even when outcomes are disappointing, fair procedures can reduce anger and resentment.
3. Interactional Fairness
Interactional fairness is about how people are treated during decision-making.
This means:
Respect
Honesty
Dignity
Clear communication
Interactional fairness often matters the most emotionally.
People may accept a bad outcome if they feel they were treated like a human being.
Bias and Self-Interest
Everyone has biases — especially self-serving ones.
People often support fairness rules that benefit them personally:
Parents may prefer schedules aligned with school hours
Night owls may favor later workdays
Being fair means recognizing your own perspective isn’t neutral.
Some organizations try bold approaches to fairness, like when Dan Price introduced a $70,000 minimum salary to reduce income inequality — a decision that sparked intense debate.
Fairness isn’t always about pleasing everyone.
It’s about making informed, thoughtful choices.
When Fairness Breaks Down
Perceived unfairness can lead to counterproductive work behaviors, such as:
Reduced effort
Cyberloafing
Sabotage
Quitting
Often, these behaviors come from frustration rather than laziness or malice.
Open conversations and clear criteria can sometimes fix these problems before they escalate.
Advocating for Fairness
Not all unfairness is intentional.
If something feels unfair:
Frame the issue calmly
Focus on specifics
Provide evidence
Share what you want to change
Fairness improves when people are willing to listen — and when concerns are raised respectfully.
Key Takeaways
Fairness is essential for trust and productivity
Organizational justice includes outcomes, processes, and interactions
Outcome fairness is subjective due to need, equality, and merit norms
Fair procedures can soften disappointing outcomes
Treating people with dignity is non-negotiable
Next lesson, we’ll bring everything together and talk about how to empower others — and yourself — at work.
FAQ
1. Why is fairness so important at work?
Because perceived unfairness leads to disengagement, conflict, and turnover.
2. Can a decision be fair even if people dislike the outcome?
Yes. Fair procedures and respectful treatment can make outcomes feel more acceptable.
3. Is fairness the same as equality?
Not always. Fairness can involve need, merit, or equality depending on the situation.
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