Enhanced Tobacco Control Initiative at Johns Hopkins Health System: Employee Fairness Perception

Area of Science:

• Workplace health
• Organizational behavior
• Public health policy

Background:

• Organizations struggle with employee perceptions of fairness during benefit changes.
• Johns Hopkins Health System (JHHS) updated its tobacco control program in 2016.
• The updated program included enhanced smoking cessation benefits and premium reductions for non-smokers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To apply the four-component model of procedural justice to JHHS's tobacco testing program.
• To analyze the fairness of implementing voluntary tobacco testing for insurance premium reductions.
• To provide insights for other employers implementing workplace changes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the four-component model of procedural justice as a framework.
• Reviewed the implementation of voluntary tobacco testing at JHHS.
• Analyzed employee participation and management concerns regarding the testing process.

Main Results:

• Approximately 75% of JHHS employees participated in the voluntary tobacco testing program.
• The shift from self-reporting to testing raised concerns about employee trust among some management.
• The procedural justice model offered a lens to evaluate the fairness of the implementation.

Conclusions:

• The JHHS experience demonstrates the utility of the procedural justice model in evaluating workplace benefit changes.
• Effective implementation of such programs can lead to high employee participation.
• Lessons learned can help other organizations minimize unintended consequences and ensure fairness.