Algorithmic Management and Employee Withdrawal Intention: The Mediating Roles of Procedural and Interpersonal Justice

Algorithms are often used to perform the management functions of former human managers, but their impact on staff is still unknown. Based on Organisational Justice Theory, this study examines how algorithmic management affects employees’ intention to leave the company and investigates the mediating roles of procedural and interpersonal justice. Survey data were collected from 190 workers in all sectors of society. Reliability analysis, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation analysis were employed to investigate the above relationships. Therefore, algorithmic management is associated with a higher likelihood of employee attrition. Mediation studies have also shown that both procedural justice and interpersonal justice significantly moderate this relationship, and the main effect of algorithmic management is still considerable. Such results suggest that the response of workers to algorithmic management is not only determined by the use of the system but also by their assessment of the fairness of organisational procedures and personal care in algorithmically managed environments. Building on previous studies of algorithmic management, this paper adds research on organisational justice to explore why employees are less willing to quit. It also points out the need to maintain an equitable decision-making system and polite behaviour in the face of increased use of algorithms by management.