Restorative justice: not “rights”, but the right way to heal relationships at work

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the concept of restorative justice as a tool for rebuilding trust and repairing damaged relationships in the workplace. Design/methodology/approach The literature on restorative justice, found predominantly in the criminology field, is reviewed, and the origins and tenets of restorative justice are explained. Findings Research suggests that the goals of restorative justice are to repair the harm after a damaging incident, to repair the damaged relationship between the two parties in conflict, and restore the offender back to the community. Originality/value Restorative justice promises to address the issue of repairing damaged relationships at work, a critical problem in organizations that has yet to be thoroughly addressed in the management literature.