Social justice represents an indispensable part of sustainable development. This chapter investigates how the concept of mindfulness may bring higher social justice propensity among employees. By conducting an integrative literature review, this study provides a framework that identifies the mindfulness mechanisms and social justice implications across three individual domains (cognitive, behavioral, and emotive), which comprehensively contribute to developing the social justice propensity of employees. Practical implications and future research agenda are presented to sustain further exploration of the topic.
TopIntroduction
Today’s daunting societal challenges, such as civil rights protection and climate change, are compelling organizations to look for more sustainable practices in human resource management (HRM) (Ramos et al., 2020) that better fulfill companies’ social, financial, and environmental goals in the long run (Ehnert et al., 2014). Social justice, defined as a state in which human rights and resources are distributed fairly, moderately, and equitably in society (Torres-Harding et al., 2012; Tyler & Smith, 1995; United Nations, 2006), represents a fundamental step towards more sustainable development (Langhelle, 2000). It represents a “social transformation directed toward meeting human need and enhancing the quality of life—economic equality, health care, shelter, human rights, species preservation, and democracy—using resources sustainably’’ (Hofrichter, 1993, pp. 4–5).
Previous research has suggested some practices that contribute to instilling social justice propensity among employees within a working environment (e.g., corporate training, practicing corporate social responsibility at an individual level) (Byrd, 2018a; Collins & Chlup, 2014; Miller & Katz, 2002). Today, however, to sustainably operate at home and abroad, organizations need to deploy more attentive attitudes and account for the needs of people both within and outside organizations (Bapuji et al., 2020; Byrd, 2018b). Particularly, previous research highlights the necessity to foster a deeper understanding of the causes, consequences, and realization of an interdependent form of well-being (Torres-Harding et al., 2012), and underscores the prominence of mindfulness (Hick & Furlotte, 2009; Nilsson & Kazemi, 2016; Sajjad & Shahbaz, 2020; Wamsler, 2018; Wamsler et al., 2018).
Mindfulness, defined as “a socially concerned practice that leads the practitioner to an ethically minded awareness, intentionally situated in the here and now” (Nilsson & Kazemi, 2016, p. 190), is currently in vogue from both an academic and managerial perspective (AMRA, 2021; Reb et al., 2020). In workplaces, mindfulness has indeed yielded many positive results, such as improved mental health, well-being, and employee productivity (Good et al., 2016; Johnson et al., 2020). Beyond positive individual outcomes, mindfulness has also been suggested as a potential source for promoting sustainable development, for example, by raising awareness of the relationship between oneself and nature and others (Wray & Batada, 2017).