Exploring sources of employment dissatisfaction and perceptions of organizational fairness in the Canadian Armed Forces.

Introduction: Research has established compelling links between organizational fairness and a variety of desirable human resource outcomes in both military and civilian employment settings. For instance, personnel who feel that they are treated equitably at work report higher levels of personal well-being and lower turnover intentions and are inclined to engage in organizational citizenship behaviours. Despite the importance of this construct, little research has been conducted on the situational antecedents of perceptions of organizational fairness, particularly in military settings. Given the strong association between organizational fairness and career intentions in this context, examining aspects of military employment where perceived breaches in fairness may occur could inform Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) retention and reconstitution efforts. Methods: Leveraging qualitative data from a CAF-wide survey, main themes associated with perceived unfairness across four key employment aspects (postings, career management, performance evaluations, and promotions) were identified through thematic analyses. Results: Substantial similarities were evident in the themes across employment aspects: a large proportion of concerns over both career management and posting unfairness centred on a lack of input by members, the mistreatment of personnel, and inadequate career management; similarly, fairness concerns over performance evaluations and promotion decisions centred on a lack of objectivity, the underweighting of competence, and the emphasis on criteria unrelated to one's occupation. Discussion: Implications for culture change efforts, employee well-being, and retention are discussed, as well as directions for future research.