Making sense of fairness at work: Different perspectives

Session Leaders: Jennifer Deal and Alec Levenson

Thursday June 2, 2022
8:00am PT / 11:00am ET / 3:00pm GMT / 4:00pm BST

Fairness at work is a central issue that drives a lot of how people feel about their jobs, the people they work with, and their willingness to contribute to the organization’s success. But people don’t all agree on what fair means. What is perceived as fair – and what is not – is framed very differently by different theories and contexts.

This session will address the question of fairness from the perspective of different frameworks (e.g., organizational behavior, economics) and different contexts (e.g., manufacturing, tech, professional services), and discuss some of the issues organizations are facing right now that are being framed in terms of fairness such as who has to go back to the office and who doesn’t – and how fairness affects implementation, organizational culture, and engagement.

The range of topics considered will include how jobs are designed and managed, compensation and benefits, opportunities for advancement, access to development and training, DEI, and more. We will ask the participants to talk about the ways issues are framed in terms of fairness – and what ones are not – so please come primed with examples.