No (Organizational) Justice in the NFL
“That’s not fair!”
We’re all familiar with that phrase. We’ve said it since we were kids playing tag in the back yard, and we probably also say it (or at least think it) on a regular basis at work. I admit that phrase slips into my mind when I clean out the cat litter box for the umpteenth time or unload the dishwasher once again.
It just seems that we crave things to be fair. Which brings us to the NFL. If you’re a football fan you’ve heard about the new crackdown on “illegal” hits, especially on Quarterbacks. An illegal hit is defined as, well, “illegal.” And that definition of “illegal” seems to change from ref to ref and player to player. And just as you’d expect, this has caused a lot of controversy.
Especially from the two teams from Pennsylvania (Steelers and Eagles).
Both of these franchises believe their quarterbacks are being “illegally” hit but not receiving the same protection from “illegal” hits that other quarterbacks are getting. Ben Roethlisberger (Steelers) has had his foot injured (twice) and his nose broken on plays. While Michael Vick (Eagles) has taken his share of beatings, including late hits out of bounds.
In other games and to other people those have drawn penalties. But against these two quarterbacks, nothing has been flagged.
Now it’s possible that the NFL has some super-secret vendetta against these teams. Both Roethlisberger and Vick have had legal problems. Maybe the NFL doesn’t want them to do well. Maybe the refs just don’t like Pennsylvania. But I think there’s a more likely reason: the NFL just lacks organizational Justice.
When Roger Goodell (the current NFL commissioner) came into power, he wanted to clean up the image problems that were starting to plague the NFL. The fear was that the NFL would quickly become image-tarnished like the NBA. So he started assigning fines and suspensions for people who violated a “personal code of conduct” policy. Unfortunately these fines and suspensions aren’t always consistent. It seems that some people get away with more (including possibly Roethlisberger) than others. When these fines and suspensions are handed out they seem to be arbitrary in how they’re made. Goodell hasn’t made it public in how he makes these decisions. He wouldn’t even say how long Roethlisberger would be suspended at the start of the 2010 season. It could have been 4 games or it could have been 6 games. (It ended up being 4 games.)
I suppose Goodell believes this gives him flexibility or allows him to keep a player motivated to change. But what it really does is give the impression there’s no guidelines, only dictatorial decrees. It creates a sense that it’s not really justice the NFL is handing out, it’s revenge.
This same principle holds true in your organizations. If your boss just “decides” things without explaining the process, it’s likely you’ll hear cries of “that’s not fair!”
For employees to be successful and productive, they need to know how the “game” is played. This is true for NFL players or the janitor at Walmart. When we don’t know the rules, we naturally assume that someone is out to “get us.”
As long as Goodell refuses to explain the rules for illegal hits or how suspensions and fines are determined, people will always complain it’s not fair. There will always be accusations of favoritism and suggestions of secret agendas.
Football, as a game, has its legitimacy based on it being a fair contest. This is why we hate cheating so much in sports, because cheating prevents a fair competition. But the NFL is just a game. What you do at work really matters. And the image of justice you give to your employees means something. It impacts how hard they work. It determines whether they give you their best, or work just hard enough to save their jobs.
So if you find people always accusing you of “not being fair.” Then maybe you need to look at how you make decisions. If you aren’t being consistent and open, then you aren’t providing the organizational justice you need to. And it’s no wonder people think you’re playing favorites, just like Goodell and the NFL.
photo provided by flickr user rattler97
It seems that every few weeks Goodell gives me a good (ha!) reason to re-post this column. It’s too bad that someone can’t teach him the basics of how organizational justice / perceptions of fairness work. Or, if maybe he just pretended he cared.
As an avid football fan, I realize Goodell is just trying to avoid lawsuits, but this is no the way to go about it!
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