Examining the Effect of Organizational Justice on Turnover Intention and the Moderating Role of Generational Differences: Evidence from Korean Public Employees

Abstract

The government sector in South Korea is witnessing a significant increase in employee turnover rates, a phenomenon that challenges the notion of organizational sustainability. This trend is particularly influenced by the influx of Generation MZ public employees who possess professional values distinct from those of older generations, thereby eroding the longstanding view of public service as a lifelong commitment. This shift necessitates the implementation of human resource management strategies that prioritize organizational justice to effectively reduce turnover intention in public employees, especially among the MZ generation, whose members strongly demand fair compensation and treatment. This study delves into the impact of distributive, procedural, and interactional justice on the turnover intentions of public employees while also exploring how these effects vary between Generation MZ and older generations. The study’s findings indicate that all three dimensions of justice inversely affect turnover intention. Interestingly, while generational differences do not significantly moderate the effects of distributive justice and interactional justice on turnover intentions, the influence of procedural justice in mitigating turnover intention is more pronounced among Generation MZ employees compared to their older counterparts. These insights highlight the critical need for human resource practices that bolster organizational justice. In public organizations with a significant number of Generation MZ employees, enhancing procedural justice can effectively reduce their intentions to leave. Additionally, the study underscores the importance of devising generational management strategies, particularly those that focus on fair processes for compensation distribution and supervisor treatment, to curb turnover intention, especially within the Generation MZ cohort of public employees in South Korea.