The Dynamic Nature of Justice: Influential Effects of Time and Work Outcomes on Long-Term Perceptions of Justice

Competing hypotheses are used to test whether justice perceptions change over time, and if so, whether the changes become more polarized over time (more positive or negative) or whether the changes fluctuate over time based on subsequent work outcomes. Results suggest there is no polarizing or fluctuating effect in perceptions of interpersonal justice over time and no polarizing effect in perceptions of procedural justice for individuals with high initial perceptions of procedural justice. However, individuals with low initial perceptions of procedural justice increased procedural justice perceptions over time, resulting in a polarizing effect in the opposite direction of the prediction. Hierarchical regression analysis indicates initial perceptions of procedural justice tend to fluctuate over time due to intervening work decision outcomes, although in the opposite direction of what was predicted.