The fairness of human resource management practices: an assessment by the justice sensitive.

Introduction: Although fairness is a pervasive and ongoing concern in organizations, the fairness of human resource management practices is often overlooked. This study examines how individual differences in justice sensitivity influence the extent to which human resource management practices are perceived to convey principles of organizational justice. Methods: Analysis was performed on a matching sample of 283 university students from three academic units in two countries having responded at two time points. Justice sensitivity was measured with the 40-item inventory developed and validated by Schmitt et al. (2010). Respondents were instructed to indicate to what extent each of 61 human resource management practices generally conveys principles of organizational justice. Results: Justice sensitivity was positively associated with subsequent assessments of the justice contents of human resource management practices. The distinction between self-oriented and other-oriented justice sensitivities was helpful in determining perceptions of these human resource management practices and of a subset of pay-for-performance practices. Discussion: The findings inform current research about the meanings borne by human resource management practices, and also increase understanding of entity judgment formation as an important aspect of systemic justice.

How do I stand compared to agency workers? Justice perceptions and employees' counterproductive work behaviours.

AIMS: To test the influence of comparative procedural justice on the counterproductive behaviours of permanent nurses and care attendants who work with agency workers, and explore whether the perceived climate of competition between permanent and agency workers alters this relationship. BACKGROUND: Despite steady reliance on agency workers in the health care sector, there is a dearth of research on the reactions of permanent employees who may respond negatively to the presence of this external workforce. METHODS: Questionnaires were distributed to employees of three long-term care facilities and their supervisors. Hypotheses were tested using moderated mediation analyses on a sample of 232 employee-supervisor dyads. RESULTS: Comparative procedural justice was indirectly related to counterproductive behaviours via employees' organization-based self-esteem. This relationship was weaker when perceived climate of competition was high. CONCLUSION: Promoting high levels of comparative procedural justice among permanent employees, rather than status differences with agency employees, should avert behaviours that could harm organizational functioning and therefore patient care. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING MANAGEMENT: We discuss the leadership challenges to support neutral treatment and avoid the development of a competitive climate between permanent and agency workers (e.g., politics based on respect and collaboration, positive leadership).

New Graduate Nurses' Professional Commitment: Antecedents and Outcomes.

PURPOSE: This study examines the factors that increase new graduate nurses' professional commitment and how this professional commitment in turn affects professional turnover intentions, anxiety, and physical health symptoms. DESIGN: The study was carried out in association with the nursing undergraduate's affiliation of Quebec, Canada. A three-wave longitudinal design was employed among nursing students. Nurses were surveyed before they entered the labor market, and then twice after they started working. METHODS: Participants were contacted by post at their home address. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION: Professional commitment explains why good work characteristics and the provision of organizational resources related to patient care reduce nurses' anxiety and physical symptoms, and increase their professional turnover intentions. Pre-entry professional perceptions moderate the effects of work characteristics on professional commitment such that when participants hold positive pre-entry perceptions about the profession, the propensity to develop professional commitment is higher. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: There is a worldwide shortage of nurses. From a nurse training perspective, it is important to create realistic perceptions of the nursing role. In hospitals, providing a good work environment and resources conducive to their professional ethos is critical for ensuring nurses do not leave the profession early on in their careers.