MZMORALE ZEROthe antithesis of employee engagement
DIRECTIVE 080 / FAIRNESS

MAKE FLEXIBILITY PERSONAL

A fair policy treats everyone consistently. A flexible policy remembers who asked whom.

Avoid clear rules for special schedules, development opportunities and customized arrangements. Let employees negotiate individually with their managers. The resulting differences demonstrate responsiveness to individual needs and the value of a strong relationship.

Primary: FAIRNESSPOWERBELONGING
RATIONALE
Individualized deals provide flexibility without forcing the organization to define who should qualify in advance.
SUCCESS INDICATOR
Employees know flexibility exists and devote substantial attention to understanding who is allowed to obtain it.
COMMON FAILURE
Using individualized arrangements transparently enough that legitimate customization does not become unexplained privilege or a persistent source of coworker injustice.
STATUS
Canonical / approved

Reconstructed Handbook series.

THE UNFORTUNATE PART

Unfortunately, the research…

Claim

Idiosyncratic deals can benefit recipients, but coworkers also interpret individualized arrangements through fairness and comparison processes; reactions depend on the deal, performance, interdependence and perceived opportunity for similar treatment.

Evidence

Research on i-deals and organizational justice finds individualized arrangements can affect justice perceptions, while coworker-focused work identifies both positive and negative reactions depending on distributive fairness and context.

Strength: Moderate

Sources

The Directive is satire. The research summary is not. Evidence is stated separately and qualified to the underlying literature rather than treated as proof of the joke.

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