Influence of Organizational Justice on Commitment of Employees in Health Sector Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya

Abstract

Organizational justice refers to employee perceptions of fairness in the workplace. These perceptions can be classified into four categories: distributive, procedural, informational, and interpersonal. Distributive justice reflects perceptions regarding fairness of employment outcomes, while procedural justice reflects perceptions of processes that lead to these outcomes. Informational justice relates to the accounts provided for justice-related events in the workplace. Interpersonal justice reflects perceptions of interpersonal interactions and treatment. The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of organizational justice perceptions on commitment of employees in health sector Non-Governmental Organizations in Kenya. The study adopted descriptive and correlational research designs with a statistical sample of 195 employees responsible for key result areas in 17 Non-Governmental Organizations. Justice perceptions were measured using Colquitt’s four construct model comprising of distributive, procedural, interpersonal and informational justice while commitment was measured through Meyer’s three component model comprising of affective, continuance and normative commitment. Inferential statistics comprising of correlation, multiple linear regression models and ANOVA analysis were applied to establish the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Qualitative data was analyzed through the use of questionnaires. Results of the study show that distributive justice perceptions, procedural justice perceptions, interpersonal justice perceptions and informational justice perceptions have a significant relationship with affective, continuance and normative commitment in health sector non-governmental organizations in Kenya. The study findings provide support to the contention that employees evaluate their employer/employee interactions from a justice perspective and interpret the experience as just or unjust treatment. This justice perception in turn impacts on their affective, normative and continuance feelings of commitment toward the organization. However, human resource practices (socialization, involvement, training and development) were shown not to be significant moderators of the relationship between organizational justice and commitment. The study findings extend the knowledge of the relationship between employee justice perceptions and commitment and the need for organizations to treat their employees fairly. The study therefore recommends that NGO organizations enhance their organizational justice in order reap the positive outcomes of highly committed employees.