The Daily Floggings Will Continue Until Morale Improves: An Examination of the Relationships Among Organizational Justice, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment and Intention to Turnover

Abstract

Although the relationships among organizational justice, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment have been studied frequently in recent decades, researchers continue to produce inconsistent findings. Questions regarding the causal order and relative impact of these variables on each other still remain. That said, findings regarding these variables and their relationship to turnover intentions (voluntarily quitting an organization) are consistent, with high job satisfaction and organizational commitment resulting in lower intentions to turnover. This study examines the strength and direction of these relationships, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative data, within a mid-size southwestern police department. The results suggest that organizational justice is positively associated with job satisfaction and organizational commitment. This research paid particular attention to how each dimension of organizational justice affects different facets of job satisfaction. In addition, both satisfaction and commitment are shown to be negatively associated with turnover intentions. While most studies of job satisfaction and organizational commitment have examined demographic characteristics as control variables, this study also assessed the moderating effects that level of education and rank had on the relationships between job satisfaction/organizational commitment and turnover intentions. The results show that demographic characteristics have relatively little impact, either as antecedents or in moderating these relationships. These findings contribute to the literature of organizational justice, job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intentions.