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

Objective: We examined the association of organizational justice (ie, 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.