Edited by: Hannes Zacher, Queensland University of Technology, Australia
Reviewed by: Christian Stamov Roßnagel, Jacobs University Bremen, Germany; Sara Zaniboni, University of Bologna, Italy
*Correspondence: Justin P. Brienza
D. Ramona Bobocel
This article was submitted to Organizational Psychology, a section of the journal Frontiers in Psychology
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Fairness in the workplace attenuates a host of negative individual and organizational outcomes. However, research on the psychology of aging challenges the assumption that fairness operates similarly across different age groups. The current research explored how older workers, vis-à-vis younger workers, react to perceptions of fairness. Integrating socioemotional selectivity theory and the multiple needs theory of organizational justice, we generated novel predictions regarding the relations between perceptions of workplace justice, emotional exhaustion, and employee deviance. Specifically, we hypothesized and found that employee age moderates the negative relation between justice facets and deviance (Study 1) and emotional exhaustion (Study 2). We also found that emotional exhaustion mediates the differential effects of justice on deviance, and that this relation depends on employee age (Study 2). Relative to younger workers, older workers are more sensitive to informational and interpersonal justice; in contrast, relative to older workers, younger workers are more sensitive to distributive and procedural justice. The research supports and extends existing theory on organizational justice and on the psychology of aging. Moreover, it highlights the importance of considering employee age as a focal variable of interest in the study of justice processes, and in organizational research more generally.
Fair treatment can alleviate negative psychological states, such as emotional exhaustion (e.g., Liljegren and Ekberg,
The current research integrates two previously separate theoretical frameworks—the multiple needs model of justice (MNM; Cropanzano et al.,
Therefore, integrating MNM and SST, we predicted that employee age would moderate the effects of justice on employee deviance and emotional exhaustion. We focus on employee deviance and emotional exhaustion given their theoretical relationship with the fulfillment of needs. When instrumental and relational needs are satisfied, as when people experience fair treatment, negative emotional states that can increase emotional exhaustion are alleviated, leaving intact the self-regulatory resources required to maintain appropriate job behavior and suppress inappropriate job behavior. Thus, we expected that emotional exhaustion would mediate the negative relations between justice and workplace deviance, and that employee age would moderate these relations. Figure
The current research makes several contributions. First, the findings reveal that employee age dramatically alters the relations among important organizational variables (i.e., justice, emotional exhaustion, and deviance), adding to the growing scholarship on age-related psychological changes in the organizational context. Moreover, the research underscores the importance of considering employee age in the study of organizational justice specifically; although much is known about the effects of justice on employee behavior (see Colquitt et al.,
In the next section, we review the theoretical rationale underlying the present research by drawing on the SST and MNM. Then, we derive novel hypotheses from the integration of these literatures, which we test in two studies.
Socioemotional selectivity theory (SST; Carstensen,
The broader psychological literature provides converging evidence for an age-related transition from instrumental to relational orientation. As people age, they increasingly prioritize positive social emotion and down-regulate negative social emotion (Gross et al.,
In summary, evidence reveals a transition from instrumental to relational orientation as a function of age. Therefore, employee age might alter the personal relevance of workplace experiences that are associated with fulfilling instrumental and relational needs. As discussed below, despite theory suggesting that fairness can satisfy such needs, no research has integrated the literatures on aging and organizational justice to examine whether age may alter employees' sensitivity to different facets of justice.
Justice researchers generally distinguish between four justice concepts. Distributive justice refers to people's perceptions of the fairness of outcomes they receive, such as compensation and benefits. Procedural justice refers to people's perceptions of the fairness of the processes by which decisions are made. Informational and interpersonal justice refer to people's perceptions of the quality of treatment they receive when authorities are implementing decisions, for example, whether they received adequate explanations and respectful treatment, respectively (for review, see Colquitt et al.,
According to the MNM (Cropanzano et al.,
From MNM and justice research, it is clear that fair treatment fulfills employees' instrumental and relational needs. From research in the broader psychological literature, it is also clear that when people perceive fulfillment of instrumental and relational needs, they experience lower levels of negative psychological states that lead to emotional exhaustion (e.g., low vitality, anxiety; Twenge et al.,
Organizational research supports the above reasoning. The negative association between justice and employee deviance is well-established (e.g., Aquino et al.,
Interestingly, despite early theorizing, only recently have researchers begun to examine the possible mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the relations between justice and organizational outcomes. For example, Campbell et al. (
In summary, there is ample reason to expect that organizational justice will relate negatively to both employee deviance and emotional exhaustion, and that emotional exhaustion will mediate the relations between justice and deviance. Nevertheless, in the present research, we also develop more fine-grained hypotheses regarding the justice-to-deviance relations by integrating MNM and SST.
As explained earlier, research demonstrates that the salience of instrumental and relational needs change with age; relatedly, justice facets differentially fulfill these same needs. Employees perceive distributive justice when they believe that their outcomes are equitable; thus, distributive justice has direct instrumental value. Similarly, employees perceive procedural justice when they believe that they have control over the procedures through which outcomes are generated; thus, procedural justice also has instrumental value by affording employees indirect control over their outcomes. In contrast, employees perceived informational and interpersonal justice when they believe that authorities have adequately explained decisions and have treated them respectfully when implementing decisions; thus, relative to distributive and procedural justice, informational and interpersonal justice are more likely to satisfy employees' relational needs (for similar reasoning, see Johnson et al.,
It is important to note that theory and research on the group-value model of procedural justice (Lind and Tyler,
Integrating MNM and SST, we suggest that, whereas younger employees should be more responsive to distributive and procedural justice, older employees should be more responsive to informational and interpersonal justice. Employee age should therefore moderate the negative relations between organizational justice and both deviance and emotional exhaustion. Therefore, we made the following predictions:
Furthermore, drawing on the extant research on justice, emotional exhaustion, and deviance, we expected that employee emotional exhaustion will mediate the justice-deviance relations. Given this, and extending Hypotheses 1 and 2, we expected that the mediating role of emotional exhaustion in the justice-deviance relations will differ as a function of employee age. Therefore, we made the following moderated mediation (Baron and Kenny,
To begin, Study 1 investigated the moderating role of age in the justice-deviance relations (Hypotheses 1a and 1b). Note that both Studies 1 and 2 were reviewed and approved by the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Waterloo.
One hundred and ninety-four US working adults (99 female) were recruited via Amazon.com's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) to complete an online survey for payment (Buhrmester et al.,
We assessed employees' perceptions of justice in their current workplace over the past year, using Colquitt's (
We assessed employee deviance using a 15-item measure, with items from Bennett and Robinson (
Employees provided demographic information including their age, and three other variables, for use as covariates in the primary regression analysis, following the recommendations of Becker (
As in prior research (see Colquitt et al.,
At the bivariate level, distributive, procedural, and informational/interpersonal justice correlated significantly with employee deviance (see Table
Age | 39.78 (14.20) | ||||||||
Gender |
1.49 (0.50) | −0.089 | |||||||
Tenure |
6.96 (7.60) | 0.524 |
−0.063 | ||||||
Income (median) | US$ 30-39k (2.63 |
0.272 |
0.120 | 0.292 |
|||||
Dist. | 3.55 (1.17) | 0.022 | 0.016 | 0.075 | 0.218 |
(0.95) | |||
Proc. | 3.40 (0.89) | 0.189 |
−0.015 | 0.163 |
0.213 |
0.533 |
(0.87) | ||
Info./inter. | 3.96 (0.94) | 0.144 |
−0.172 |
0.154 |
0.168 |
0.409 |
0.581 |
(0.94) | |
Dev. | 1.97 (0.83) | −0.203 |
0.245 |
−0.035 | −0.026 | −0.260 |
−0.253 |
−0.287 |
(0.91) |
To test Hypotheses 1a and 1b, we conducted a hierarchical regression analysis with deviance as the criterion (see Table
Constant | 1.486 |
1.372 |
1.449 |
Gender |
0.348 |
0.289 |
0.259 |
Tenure | 0.002 (0.007) | 0.014 (0.008) | 0.013 (0.008) |
Income | −0.020 (0.021) | 0.011 (0.021) | 0.007 (0.020) |
Dist. | −0.123 |
−0.131 |
|
Proc. | −0.090 (0.076) | −0.084 (0.077) | |
Info./inter. | −0.093 (0.068) | −0.123 (0.068) | |
Age | -0.011 |
−0.010 |
|
Dist. × age | 0.010 |
||
Proc. × age | 0.001 (0.006) | ||
Info./inter. × age | −0.011 |
||
0.054 |
0.192 |
0.246 |
|
Δ |
0.138 |
0.054 |
|
Δ |
3.556 |
7.847 |
4.301 |
The three focal interaction terms were entered into Step 3 of the regression analysis and accounted for significant incremental variance. There was a significant interaction between employee age and distributive justice (
As recommended by Aiken and West (
Study 1 provided some support for our conceptual model in which we reasoned that employee age would moderate the relations between different facets of justice and deviance. More specifically, we found partial support for Hypothesis 1a and full support for Hypothesis 1b: distributive justice predicted deviance in younger but not older employees, and informational/interpersonal justice predicted deviance in older but not younger employees. Unexpectedly, procedural justice did not interact with employee age.
The purpose of Study 2 was to replicate and extend Study 1 by examining the age-moderated mediating role of emotional exhaustion between justice perceptions and deviance (Hypotheses 2a–b and 3a–b). The fact that we predicted and observed two 2-way interactions in Study 1 renders common method variance an unlikely threat to the interpretation of the findings; nevertheless in Study 2, we utilized a two-wave survey format in which the focal variables were assessed at different times, to minimize the impact of common method variance by design (Podsakoff et al.,
Two hundred and thirty-one US working adults were recruited via StudyResponse.net. StudyResponse.net is an academic organization that provides researchers with access to employees who participate in online research for pay, and has been used in prior psychological research (e.g., Piccolo and Colquitt,
Colquitt's (
Emotional exhaustion was measured using 6-items from Maslach and Jackson's (
In Study 1, we assessed deviance broadly. Although the results supported our predictions using this broad measure, we observed higher means (and larger standard deviations) on the subset of items that referenced the organization rather than the supervisor. The majority of these items assessed
As in Study 1, employees provided demographic information including their age, tenure, income, and gender, to be used as covariates in the primary regression analysis, following the recommendations of Becker (
We included two “instructed response items” (e.g., Meade and Craig,
As in Study 1, informational justice and interpersonal justice items were combined given their substantial overlap,
As expected, at the bivariate level, negative affect was highly correlated with emotional exhaustion, deviance, distributive/procedural justice, and informational/interpersonal justice (Table
Age | 42.15 (13.55) | |||||||||
Gender |
1.46 (0.50) | 0.021 | ||||||||
Tenure |
8.97 (8.09) | 0.527 |
0.021 | |||||||
Income (median) | US$ 70-79k (2.60 |
−0.133 | −0.183 |
0.043 | ||||||
Dist./proc. | 3.49 (0.84) | −0.151 |
−0.155 |
0.010 | 0.230 |
(0.95) | ||||
Info./inter. | 3.96 (0.90) | −0.219 |
0.007 | −0.101 | 0.126 | 0.570 |
(0.94) | |||
NA | 1.67 (0.77) | −0.115 | −0.048 | 0.012 | 0.038 | −0.213 |
−0.271 |
(0.91) | ||
EE | 17.12 (7.50) | −0.113 | 0.054 | −0.043 | −0.126 | −0.348 |
−0.342 |
0.664 |
(0.94) | |
Dev. | 2.31 (1.24) | −0.192 |
−0.128 | −0.048 | 0.127 | −0.125 | −0.183 |
0.672 |
0.533 |
(0.94) |
We used Hayes's (
In the first test, we entered distributive/procedural justice as the predictor variable, employee age as the moderating variable, emotional exhaustion as the mediating variable, and deviance as the criterion. Consistent with Study 1, we entered informational/interpersonal justice and the age × informational/interpersonal justice product term as covariates in the model in order to control for their effect in the current analysis, thereby isolating the effect of distributive/procedural justice (see Hayes and Preacher,
Results are presented in Table
Dist./proc. ( |
− |
− |
−0.022 (0.106) | −0.187, 0.230 |
Emotional exhaustion ( |
||||
Employee age ( |
−0.044 (0.035) | −0.113, 0.026 | −0.010 (0.006) | −0.022, 0.003 |
−0.008 (0.007) | −0.022, 0.007 | |||
Gender | 1.019 (0.790) | −0.541, 2.579 | −0.215 (0.140) | −0.492, 0.062 |
Income | −0.206 (0.156) | −0.513, 0.101 | 0.049 (0.028) | −0.006, 0.103 |
Tenure | −0.011 (0.057) | −0.122, 0.101 | 0.001 (0.010) | −0.019, 0.021 |
Negative affect | ||||
Constant | 7.160 (1.965) | 3.281, 11.039 | −0.313 (0.360) | −2.859, 2.045 |
Younger employees | 0.129 (0.149) [−0.166, 0.423] | − |
||
Older employees | −0.085 (0.142) [−0.366, 0.195] | −0.006 (0.027) [−0.045, 0.068] |
In the second test, we entered informational/interpersonal justice as the predictor variable, employee age as the moderating variable, emotional exhaustion as the mediating variable, and deviance as the criterion. As with the above analysis, we entered the control variables, as well as distributive/procedural justice and the age × distributive/procedural justice product term as covariates in the analysis.
Results are presented in Table
Info./inter. ( |
−0.641 (0.636) | −1.897, 0.614 | −0.026 (0.113) | −0.249, 0.196 |
Emotional exhaustion ( |
||||
Employee age ( |
−0.046 (0.035) | −0.115, 0.024 | −0.010 (0.006) | −0.022, 0.003 |
− |
− |
0.002 (0.007) | −0.013, 0.016 | |
Gender | 1.019 (0.790) | −0.541, 2.579 | −0.215 (0.140) | −0.492, 0.062 |
Income | −0.206 (0.156) | −0.513, 0.101 | 0.049 (0.028) | −0.006, 0.103 |
Tenure | −0.011 (0.057) | −0.122, 0.101 | 0.001 (0.010) | −0.019, 0.021 |
Negative affect | ||||
Constant | 10.953 (2.898) | 5.233, 16.673 | 0.238 (0.533) | −0.814, 1.289 |
Younger employees | −0.052 (0.182) [−0.411, 0.308] | −0.014 (0.042) [−0.065, 0.100] | ||
Older employees | −0.001 (0.108) [−0.214, 0.212] | − |
The current research drew on two previously separate theoretical frameworks—socioemotional selectivity theory of human aging (Carstensen,
In the present research, we integrated organizational justice theory with the literature on human aging. In so doing, we add to a growing body of research that demonstrates the important role of employee age for the organizational sciences in general (Baltes and Finkelstein,
The present research has several important implications for research on organizational justice and employee deviance. Although past research has demonstrated a reliable negative relation between organizational justice and deviance (Cohen-Charash and Spector,
Our findings also have broader implications for justice theory. In particular, they provide indirect support for the multiple needs model of justice (Cropanzano et al.,
A key strength of the present research is the general convergence in findings across the two studies. Study 2 was designed as a constructive replication of Study 1, which allowed us to determine whether similar results would be observed within a different sample of employees and with a different survey design (time lagged vs. cross-sectional). As well, Study 2 extended Study 1 by examining mediation of the moderating effect of age. Although procedural justice did not have the expected role in Study 1, the results were similar, and in line with our conceptual model. Moreover, in Study 2, age did not moderate the direct path from justice to deviance when emotional exhaustion was included; nevertheless, our higher-order moderated mediation model was supported. Future research should investigate the conditions under which age determines the direct relations between justice and organizational outcomes.
Our research also has some key limitations. First, the data are correlational, and therefore causal inference is not permitted. Nevertheless, the results are consistent with our conceptual model, which we derived by integrating theory and prior research in different domains, justice, emotional exhaustion, deviance, and the psychology of aging. Moreover, in Study 2, we took steps to reduce third-variable alternative explanations, including using a two-wave study design and controlling for negative affect. Still, future research is needed to replicate our findings using experimental or longitudinal research designs, which enable causal inference among the variables.
In addition, employees may have exaggerated reports of unfairness and underreported the frequency of deviance given that our measures are self-reported. However, preliminary examination of the data revealed that responses to all measures in both studies were normally distributed and not excessively skewed; since responses were anonymous, threat of inflated or deflated reports is reduced (see Berry et al.,
Our research also raises questions for future research. First, we hypothesized that employee age would moderate the relations between justice perceptions and psychological and behavioral outcomes due to age-related changes in the relative salience of basic psychological needs. Although we derived our hypotheses from existing theory and research, we did not assess the relative salience of instrumental and relational needs in the present research. Given this, we cannot make firm conclusions regarding the underlying role of psychological needs from the present research. Whereas the pattern of our data, the double dissociations in particular, are consistent with the underlying theory, it is necessary in future research to investigate directly the extent to which the salience of needs (e.g., across time or contexts) shapes employees' sensitivity to fairness.
Second, the theory guiding our research suggested that distributive and procedural justice should have similar effects, given their instrumental value to employees, as should informational and interpersonal justice, given their relational value. Thus, we had no reason
Third, whereas Study 1 used a broad measure of deviance, in Study 2 we focused on production deviance specifically. We made this adjustment in Study 2 because production deviance is more frequent than the more anti-social types of deviance (e.g., abuse, theft), especially among older employees. Furthermore, whereas emotional exhaustion should be sufficient to impair employees' ability to maintain appropriate job-related behavior, we expected that the more anti-social types of deviance may require additional motivational mechanisms, such as the desire for revenge (see Footnote 4). Thus, we reasoned that production deviance would be especially pertinent to our model. Although this adjustment provided greater specificity in Study 2, the inconsistency between the two studies remains. Future research is needed to examine whether employee age also alters the effect of justice on motivational mechanisms such as the desire for revenge, which tend to amplify the more anti-social types of deviance.
Fourth, we measured employees' perceptions of justice using an established measure, which assesses the extent to which respondents perceive that particular normative rules are upheld. Recent research suggests the utility in also assessing perceived
Considering injustice may also have implications for studying the more anti-social types of deviance, discussed earlier. That is, given that people experience losses more intensely than gains (e.g., Kahneman and Tversky,
Finally, future research should examine other personal or situational factors that affect the salience of employees' instrumental relative to relational needs that may moderate the impact of the different facets of justice, similar to our findings with employee age. For example, personality characteristics (e.g., strong other-orientation), may relate to greater needs for relational belonging, and therefore to greater sensitivity to informational and interpersonal justice, relative to distributive and procedural justice. Importantly, much research in psychology has demonstrated that individuals' self-identities can shift as a function of situational factors (e.g., Markus and Kitayama,
Our findings have practical importance for organizational policy and decision-making. In particular, whereas managers need to understand the importance of distributing outcomes fairly and using fair decision-making procedures, our results suggest that they also need to recognize the increasing importance of ensuring informational and interpersonal justice, within the context of an aging workforce. The current findings also highlight that, despite the importance of all forms of fair treatment, it is important to consider the “fit” between fairness-related policies and employee age. Specifically, equitable pay and fair procedures may be insufficient to satisfy older employees, in the context of an organizational climate that fails to emphasize respectful treatment. Similarly, a respectful climate may be insufficient to satisfy younger workers, in the context of relatively less equitable pay.
Beyond implications for fairness-related policies, the findings could have implications for the success of any policies that fulfill employees' instrumental or relational needs, given that reactions to such policies might differ as a function of employee age. In particular, by considering age-related changes in the salience of needs, practitioners may gain insight into why such policies are (or are not) effective. It may also suggest ways to make certain that policies appeal to a broader range of employees. For example, past research showed that older employees are less motivated than younger employees to participate in training programs (Kooij et al.,
By integrating socioemotional selectivity theory, research of human aging, and the multiple needs theory of justice, we developed and tested a novel, more nuanced understanding of the relations among organizational justice, emotional exhaustion, and employee deviance. Whereas fairness is relevant to employees of all ages, our findings suggest that there are significant differences in the type of justice to which employees are especially sensitive, as a function of age. Overall, our research has scientific and practical value, and contributes to a growing literature aimed at better understanding and improving important workplace phenomena by considering employee age.
The present research was conducted as part of JB's master's degree. This research was carried out in accordance with the recommendations of the Human Research Ethics Committee at the University of Waterloo, with written informed consent in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
JB provided the initial study concept. JB and DB contributed to the design. JB collected the data and conducted data analysis in collaboration with DB. JB drafted the manuscript. DB and JB revised manuscript and approved final copy for submission.
This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Insight Grant 435-2012-0306 awarded to DB.
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
1Two extreme cases on deviance were observed (studentized residuals of 4.229 and 3.975) and excluded from the present analyses as outliers (Cohen et al.,
2Although distributive and procedural justice were more highly inter-correlated in Study 2 than in Study 1, the magnitudes of association in the present research are within the range reported in recent meta-analytic reviews:
3One extreme case on emotional exhaustion was observed (studentized residual of 3.406) and excluded from the present analyses as an outlier (Cohen et al.,
4Spector et al. (