What is fairness really?
When most people talk about fairness, they talk about the
concept as an absolute and objective term, things are either fair or they are
not. This is also how people behave although it is blaringly obvious that even
two people can disagree on what is fair. If fairness truly was objective we
would have no wars, sufferings or extreme inequality – there would be enough
for everybody.
Fairness is a very subjective concept and it is shaped by
age, culture, religion, age and a whole host of other dimensions. Fairness also
changes according to context; in scarce situations like who should have the
last bottle of water in a desert, people’s perception of fairness changes
dramatically.
Anybody that has been in a situation they deemed unfair
knows that the response is instantaneous and can be quite powerful. This
reveals that fairness is hardwired in the emotional parts of the brain, in
particular the amygdala – where also anger gets trigged and the two often works
in concert.
Why fairness impacts Employee Engagement
For companies the fairness concept really is a tightrope
that needs to be walked. If you trip, you risk getting a powerful emotional response
from people that can have a dramatic and instantaneous impact of the engagement
levels – disengagement can increase very fast.
Fairness is also a positive engagement factor but it builds
slowly over time as the company demonstrates that it is a fair company. Communication
strategies cannot only be built around rational business strategies and
decisions – it will need to respect the fact that fairness is emotional in
nature.
The 3 Dimensions of fairness
Taking a deeper dive into the concept of fairness, reveals
that there are three dimensions that needs to be considered when dealing with
Employee Engagement and the fact that they interact.
Fairness towards Self
The relationship between the employee and the employer can
be seen in the light of fairness. The tangible elements of fairness are what
the employee gives in terms of presence and effort compared to what the company
gives back in pay and benefits. The tangible elements of fairness are closely
related to satisfaction but not much to motivation and engagement.
The intangible elements of the relationship, like how you
are treated, trusted and listened to combined with other leadership and
cultural elements has a high impact on how motivated and engaged the employee
is. Engagement is not about money – it is about how you treat people.
Fairness compared to others
Another dimension of fairness is when employee compares their
situation to those of others. This could be colleagues, leaders, similar groups
outside the organisation. When employees start to compare their situation to
others, their perception of fairness can change very rapidly. What they were
happy with a second ago is now completely unacceptable when they have seen what
the others get. This is key in designing engagement, you need to either be transparent
and up front or be secretive if you have very differential pay or treat people very
different.
Fairness towards others
The last dimension is about how fair the company treats
others and can have a significant impact on the engagement. Companies that only
focus on shareholder value are typically short term oriented and see conflicts between
the shareholder and other stakeholders like workers, customers, society and the
environment.
Fortunately a lot of the younger more successful companies
are built on a foundation of a strong worthwhile purpose and know that serving
multiple stakeholders eventually benefits the shareholder. If a company treats
all stakeholders well and respect them their reputation, brand and image as an
employee grows. This can significantly increase employee engagement.
If you want to create engagement in your company you need to
be able to manage fairness along the three dimensions
