Belief in a just world, perceptions of organizational justice and affective commitment in government entities in Kampala City

Abstract

Justice is a core fundamental theme for individuals in organizations. Justice perceptions is greatly influenced by the belief in a just world. Employees who believe that they are not being handled equally and that the world is a very unjust place will experience reduced morale, a loss of confidence, and dysfunctional interactions, which can contribute to immoral behavior or disruptive activities. This study sought to assess the relationship between organizational justice, belief in a just world and affective commitment among employees in government entities in Uganda. The study targeted government entities employees aged between 18 to 60 years both male and female from YMCA, Makerere Institute of Social Development and Public Service, Makerere University, using self-filled closed ended questionnaires. Data was collected from 372 participants. Data was analyzed using Statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 23 and PROCESS Macro version 3.0, using model 1. Results indicated that there was a positive significant relationship between belief in a just world and organizational justice, a positive significant relationship between organizational justice and affective commitment, a positive significant relationship between belief in a just world and affective commitment. Belief in a just world does not moderate the relationship between organizational justice and affective commitment. If an individual receives justice in an organization, their affective commitment is more like to develop. If the belief in the existence of a just world is high, their affective commitment will increase, and if an individual believes that the world is just personally, they may see justice in an organization. Therefore, human resource managers, policy makers, government organizations need to establish justice and see that their employee’s believe in some form of justice so that they can be affectively committed thus productivity.