Supervisor interpersonal justice and worker turnover intention in global supply chains: evidence from Bangladesh garment factories

Global brands’ simultaneous commercial and social compliance requirements may exacerbate supervisor stress and abuse of workers at export factories. Yet, the impacts of supervisors have been underexamined in private regulation. This paper draws on the organizational justice literature to analyze the effects of supervisor interpersonal justice (SIJ)—treating workers with respect and propriety—on workers and how these effects are shaped by labor rights institutions in the workplace and external environment. Specifically, we hypothesize that SIJ can reduce workers turnover intention directly and indirectly through engendering positive affect. We further propose that the effects of SIJ are stronger in the presence of workplace collective voice mechanisms and external stringent monitoring programs, which may facilitate more personal and stable enactment of SIJ and favorable worker attributions. Analysis of survey data from garment workers in Bangladesh finds initial evidence for most of our hypotheses, highlighting the impacts of supervisors to outcomes relevant to worker and factories as well as its synergy with labor rights institutions at multiple levels.