Association Between Deviation of Fairness Perceptions from Group Average and Serious Psychological Distress in Japanese Worksites: a Cross-Sectional Study

Background Workers with deviating fairness perceptions are likely to be excluded and become isolated at worksites, leading to psychological distress. The study aimed to examine the cross-sectional association between deviation of fairness perception from the group average and serious psychological distress in Japanese worksites. Methods Secondary data analysis of an existing Japanese occupational cohort data using a multilevel logistic regression model was conducted for 8701 workers from 12 companies in Japan who participated in the baseline survey (from April 2010 to March 2012). Individual perception of interactional and procedural fairness was measured with the Japanese version of the Organizational Justice Scale. Group averages were calculated within workers’ reference groups, categorized by company affiliation, age group, gender, and occupational class. Psychological distress was measured using the K6 scale, and serious psychological distress was defined as a total K6 score of 13 or more. Results Both low deviation and high deviation of interactional fairness perception were significantly and positively associated with serious psychological distress (odds ratio (OR) = 1.24, 95% confidence intervals (CI); 1.03–1.49 and OR = 1.57, 95% CI; 1.12–2.19), independently of individual-level fairness perception, group-level mean fairness perception, demographic characteristics, and health-related behaviors. Only high deviation of procedural fairness perception was significantly and positively related to serious psychological distress (OR = 1.51, 95% CI; 1.11–2.06). Conclusions The results indicated that divergent perceptions of fairness at worksites may deserve further exploration for equal achievement of workers’ psychological well-being.