Perceptions of Organizational Justice Among State Government Employees: The Effect of Years of Public Service

• DOI: 10.1177/0091026018816348
• Published date: 01 September 2019
• Author: Darima Butitova
• Date: 01 September 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026018816348

Public Personnel Management

2019, Vol. 48(3) 345 –368

© The Author(s) 2018

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DOI: 10.1177/0091026018816348

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Article

Perceptions of Organizational

Justice Among State

Government Employees:

The Effect of Years of Public

Service

Darima Butitova1

Abstract

Over the past several decades, researchers across public and private organizations

accumulated evidence that perceptions of organizational justice influence work

attitudes and performance. Building on previous research, the present study

examines the determinants of perceived organizational justice, including the effect

of years of public service. By focusing on years of public service, the study explores

how perceived organizational justice changes depending on time spent working in

public organizations. Based on the regression analysis of the survey data of 522 state

government employees, the study concludes that state government employees who

report more years of public service are less likely to perceive their workplace as fair.

The findings of the study are discussed in terms of their practical implications for

improving a quality of workplace experiences among government employees, as one

of the essential factors for maintaining high-performing public organizations.

Keywords

organizational justice, state government, public service

Introduction

Do current government employees perceive their workplace as fair? It is important to

answer this question for several reasons. First, the theory of organizational justice

states that in both public and private organizations, employee perceptions of

organizational justice influence work attitudes and behavior. Empirical studies tested

1University of Missouri, Columbia, USA

Corresponding Author:

Darima Butitova, 7822 Madison Street, River Forest, IL, 60305.

Email: dbutitova@gmail.com

816348PPMXXX10.1177/0091026018816348Public Personnel ManagementButitova

research-article2018

346 Public Personnel Management 48(3)

this theory and found that perceived organizational justice is associated with organiza-

tional citizenship behavior (Moorman, 1991), organizational identification and com-

mitment (Tyler & Degoey, 1995), and increased trust (Aryee, Budhwar, & Chen,

2002). On the contrary, perceived unfairness at work is associated with sabotage

(Ambrose, Seabright, & Schminke, 2002), theft (Greenberg & Scott, 1996), and mis-

conduct (De Schrijver, Delbeke, Maesschalck, & Pleysier, 2010). In other words,

organizations that are perceived to be fair tend to have more committed employees,

whereas organizations that are perceived to be unfair are more likely to suffer from

employee misconduct. Therefore, high-performing organizations rest on work envi-

ronments where employees believe they are treated fairly.

Second, fairness is essential for public organizations. Taxpayers fund public orga-

nizations, including government, to deliver public services based on values of equity

and fairness (J. V. Denhardt & Denhardt, 2015; R. B. Denhardt & Catlaw, 2015; R. B.

Denhardt & Denhardt, 2000; Frederickson, 1990, 2010; Stone, 2002). Being represen-

tatives of larger communities (cities, states, nations), government employees are

expected to put public interest above their private interest to ensure the general wel-

fare. It may be difficult to do so if government employees perceive their workplace as

unfair. Therefore, fairness should be an operating principle of public organizations not

only externally but also internally.

Last but not least, exploring perceptions of workplace fairness among government

employees is especially important nowadays, when government is constantly critiqued

by media and citizens, and overall trust in government reached its historic low (Pew

Research Center, 2017). In an attempt to respond to this critique, government agencies

undergo numerous civil service reforms and changes to personnel policies. As a result,

current government employees are likely to not only face negative attitudes from the

public that they serve but also experience frequent changes to their organizational

structures and policies. Thus, studying perceptions of organizational justice among

government employees is essential for understanding today’s government as a

workplace.

The present study aims to make two contributions. First, the study explores how

years of public service, along with other individual and work-related characteristics of

government employees, may influence their perceptions of organizational justice. This

approach differs from most studies, which conceptualize organizational justice as a

determinant of a variety of organizational attitudes and behavior (Cho & Sai, 2012;

Choi, 2011; De Schrijver et al., 2010; Hassan, 2013; Lavena, 2016; Rubin, 2009). In

doing so, it builds on the findings of previous studies and provides more insight into

the characteristics of government employees who are more likely to perceive their

workplace as fair or unfair.

Second, the study develops a more dynamic view of organizational justice in public

organizations by focusing on how perceived organizational justice varies among gov-

ernment employees reporting between 1 and 40 years of working for the government.

Although the study does not track the same individuals over years, it provides an

important perspective on how perceptions of fairness differ among present-day gov-

ernment employees at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of their careers.