Informational injustice with respect to change and negative workplace emotions : The mitigating roles of structural and relational organizational features

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the hitherto unexplored relationship between employees’ perceptions of informational injustice with respect to change and their negative workplace emotions, as well as how this relationship might be mitigated by structural and relational features of the organizational context. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on quantitative data collected through the 2011 Workplace Employment Relations Survey. The hypotheses are tested with ordered probit analysis using random effects. Findings – The findings show that informational injustice enhances the development of negative workplace emotions, yet this effect is attenuated at higher levels of job influence, reward interdependence, trust, and organizational commitment. Research limitations/implications – The findings contribute by identifying several contingencies that attenuate the harmful effect of informational injustice with respect to change on negative workplace emotions. The limitations of the study include the lack of data on change-specific outcomes and the reliance on the same respondents to assess the focal variables. Practical implications – The study suggests that organizations facing the challenge of sharing complete information about internal changes can counter the employee stress that comes with limited information provision by creating appropriate internal environments. Originality/value – The study adds to research on organizational change by providing a better understanding of an unexplored driver of negative workplace emotions (i.e. informational injustice with respect to change) and explicating when such informational injustice is more or less likely to enhance these emotions.