Justice at Work, Job Stress, and Employee Health

Abstract

A small but growing literature has documented an association between justice at work and employee health. However, the pathways and mechanisms underlying this association are not well understood. This article proposes a conceptual framework that bridges the organizational justice, occupational stress, and occupational epidemiology literatures. Justice appraisals are proposed to be both important mediators and moderators in the causal flow from exposure to the organizational environment to employee health. The potential role of justice in enhancing employee health is compared to that of the well-established concepts of social support and job control. Directions for future research are suggested, along with strategies for overcoming challenges inherent in this multidisciplinary area of research. Implications for work-site health interventions are discussed.