Organizational Justice and Cognitive Failures in Japanese Employees: A Cross-Sectional Study

Objective We examined the association of organizational justice (i.e., procedural justice and interactional justice) with cognitive failures, and the mediation effect of psychological distress on this association in Japanese employees. Methods A total of 189 men and 35 women from two sites of a manufacturing company in Japan were surveyed using a self-administered web-based questionnaire. A multiple mediation analysis was conducted. Results A significant negative total effect of procedural justice on cognitive failures was observed (c = -0.180 [95% confidence interval: -0.315 to -0.044]). Furthermore, the mediation effect of psychological distress was significant (c-c' = - 0.213 [95% confidence interval: -0.323 to -0.115]). Similar patterns were observed for interactional justice. Conclusions Employees may be more likely to experience cognitive failures in daily activities in work settings where organizational justice is lower, which seems to be explained by psychological distress.