Employee Grievance Redressal in China: A Qualitative Study From the Legitimacy Perspective

ABSTRACT Labour discontent has been rising in China, but knowledge about how workplace grievances are handled and the perceived legitimacy of the grievance and resolution remains limited. Adopting a legitimacy perspective, this study analyzes qualitative data from 358 grievance cases reported by managers and employees, including 191 interviews, and reveals characteristics of employee grievance handling in China. It reveals that employee grievances are mainly handled in an informal manner via a hierarchical order of managers, which does not guarantee fair outcomes. It identifies the key stakeholders involved in grievance redressal and their strategies. Managers and employees deployed various strategies and tactics in the process to achieve favorable outcomes. We conceptualize three types of management strategies: organization‐interest‐oriented, balance‐oriented, and employee‐interest‐oriented, which leads to differing grievance redressal outcomes. A key issue underpinning these types of management strategies is the lack of effective representational bodies for the workers. The study extends the field of grievance management as an important part of labour relations management from the legitimacy perspective.