In the paper we argue that no single statement of relative value can be sufficient for the evaluation of work organization change. The paper reviews the literature on organizational effectiveness and recent proposals for a ‘social justice’ approach to evaluation. We conclude that a more refined approach to evaluation is needed, largely for tactical reasons. Proposals for such an approach, based on exchange notions are sketched out and employed in the analysis of a case study of work organization change. The analysis is exploratory but does appear to suggest that the proposed approach to the evaluation of change would present a fruitful avenue for further work.