The role of procedural justice in managers’ experiences in layoffs

Abstract

Drawing on the organizational justice literature and the construct of necessary evil, this paper examines the experience of layoffs from an under-researched perspective - managers. The managers often play conflicting roles in an organizational necessary evil; they are both witnesses to and survivors of the harm caused to employees by layoffs. Applying insights from cognitive appraisal theory, we propose a serial mediation model whereby the effect of procedural justice in a layoff context on managerial exit intentions is serially mediated by managerial feelings of control and well-being. We test and confirm our hypotheses using survey data from 144 managers in a large European telecommunications company that had conducted layoffs. In line with cognitive appraisal theory, our work extends current research on the importance of organizational justice as a resource for managers in the context of necessary evils. We also extend understanding of necessary evils and how their burden can be made less severe to managers – both for those tasked with them and observing them - and confirm the positive effects of procedural justice for managers’ health and exit intentions.