Informational Justice: Using Communication and Education for Risk Management

"What we've got here is failure to communicate." expands on The Risk and Expense of Terminated Participants and how victims of downsizing can perceive their layoff as unfair and retaliate:

But the "What we have here is failure to communicate" situation goes beyond the non-receipt of documents. The grudge part that Mr. Benna alludes to has to do with the plan sponsor's integrity - or lack thereof as perceived by the terminated employee…. So if we translate their academic research into practical retirement plan communication practices, the origins of retaliation, i.e., lawsuits, don't begin with the employee's termination but in the context of the employer's past behavior. Effective, consistent communication and investment education can be good risk management.

The post includes a discussion of When explanations for layoffs are not enough: Employer's integrity as a moderator of the relationship between informational justice and retaliation:

Victims of downsizing often perceive their layoff as being unfair, which can lead to various forms of retaliation. Informational justice, defined as providing employees with adequate explanations in a timely manner, has been prescribed as a way to mitigate the retaliation tendencies associated with unfairness perceptions.