Nathan Bennett

The Role of Justice Judgments in Explaining the Relationship between Job Satisfaction and Organizational Commitment

The organizational literature includes a number of studies examining the relationship between satisfaction and commitment. In all, the discrepant findings characteristic of this research seem to be a function of both the range of independent variables used by researchers to model the satisfaction-commitment relationship and the choice of satisfaction-commitment measures. We argue generally that justice judgments are central to the development of satisfaction and commitment. Specifically, the literature suggests that procedural justice is closely related to global evaluations of systems, leaders, and institutions (e.g., commitment); whereas distributive justice is closely linked to evaluations of specific personally relevant outcomes (e.g., facet satisfaction). Four competing models linking distributive and procedural justice to employee satisfaction and commitment were tested using confirmatory analytic techniques. Results suggest that, when considering the role of justice judgments, satisfaction and commitment are causally independent. Implications for both managerial practice and further research are discussed.

A Multilevel Analysis of Procedural Justice Context

Using a multilevel framework, we hypothesized that both employee perceptions of procedural justice and a work unit level measure of procedural justice context would be associated with employee reports of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. 323 employees from 53 branches of a savings and loan corporation were used to test this hypothesis. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that procedural justice context explained variance in employee job satisfaction beyond that accounted for by individual perceptions of procedural justice. With regard to organizational commitment, this hypothesis was not supported. The results are discussed in connection with contextual aspects of procedural justice.

Relationships between Bases of Power and Work Reactions: The Mediational Role of Procedural Justice

Though research has addressed relationships between social power bases and several work-related variables, processes that may underlie such relationships have generally not been examined. The present study considered relationships between bases of social power and subordinates’ affective work reactions, hypothesizing that procedural justice would mediate such relationships. Two samples, one drawn from two service-oriented companies and one collected from a hospital, were used to test a mediational model reflecting this hypothesis. Using theoretically grounded measures of social power and procedural justice, support was found for full mediation effects in connection with subordinates’ affective work reactions. Implications regarding the development of social power bases are discussed.

Electronic Surveillance as Employee Control: A Procedural Justice Interpretation

Despite a significant growth and mounting popular interest in electronic monitoring and surveillance of workers, there has not been a great deal of systematic research into the relationship among various monitoring techniques, employee reactions to such monitoring, and outcomes such as employee satisfaction, organizational commitment, job performance and job stress. By applying the concept of procedural justice, this paper develops propositions to guide research on electronic control systems.

A Comparison of ‘Traditional’ and ‘Atypical’ Workers: Demographic, Behavioral, and Attitudinal Differences

Differences among full-time (n=1066), part-time (n=132), and moonlighting employees (n=153) in a variety of occupations were examined. Moonlighters as compared to full-timers were younger, more frequently male, perceived less educational fit with their main jobs, and were primary wage earners. Full-timers as compared to part-timers were more frequently male, married, and primary wage earners. Part-timers had the greatest turnover, but no differences were detected for other withdrawal behaviors. Part-timers were more satisified with working conditions but were less satisfied with extrinsic rewards and life in general. Moonlighters expressed a stronger work ethic and placed less importance on working conditions.

Employee Attitudes Toward Drug Testing: Effects of Individual Characteristics and Employment Setting

Testing for the presence of drug continues to gain popularity as a method for controlling drug use in the workplace. It is important that employers understand how potential applicants and current employees will react to the various types and purposes of drug testing. Employees (n = 529) were interviewed to investigate the role of attitudes toward drugs and work setting characteristics in explaining acceptance or rejection of drug testing. Individuals believing users should be held responsible for becoming dependent on cocaine, who felt the primary cause of cocaine addiction was weak moral character, and those who felt cocaine users should be treated as criminals were more supportive of drug screening and the testing of current employees.