Injustice hurts, literally: The role of sleep and emotional exhaustion in the relationship between organizational justice and musculoskeletal disorders

Abstract

The physical health consequences of perceived injustice at work are an important yet underexplored area of research. Using the job-stress recovery literature as an overarching framework, we argued that incomplete recovery because of sleep disorders and subsequent emotional exhaustion is a possible underlying mechanism through which organizational justice relates to employee musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Using both self-administered questionnaires and medical examination to assess MSD, we tested our argument in two studies. Based on a randomly selected sample of employees from a variety of organizations, Study 1 found organizational justice to be negatively related to MSD through diminished sleep-related disorders. Using a sample of employees in nursing homes for the elderly, Study 2 extended these results by showing that the organizational justice–MSD relationship is sequentially mediated by sleep disorders and emotional exhaustion.