Perceived overall injustice and organizational deviance—Mediating effect of anger and moderating effect of moral disengagement

Abstract

IntroductionThis study is dedicated to exploring the influence of perceived overall injustice on employee anger and deviant behavior. Based on fairness heuristic theory and cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, a model was developed to investigate the relationship between perceived overall injustice, anger and organizational deviance. Based on social cognitive theory, the moderating role of moral disengagement was proposed.MethodsThe data were collected from three Chinese manufacturing corporations with a total effective sample size of 264. SPSS 26 and Mplus 8.3 were adopted to analyze data. Confirmatory factor analysis, descriptive statistics analysis and correlation results were illustrated. Hierarchical regression was used to test the model.ResultsStatistical results showed that there is a significant positive relationship among perceived overall injustice, anger and organizational deviance. The moderating effect of moral disengagement on the relationship between perceived overall injustice and organizational deviance is significant, while that on the relationship between anger and organizational deviance is insignificant.DiscussionThis study built a model to discuss the emotional and behavioral influences of perceived overall injustice. The findings suggest that individuals feel more anger as the level of perceived overall injustice increases, which thus lead to higher level of organizational deviance. Morally disengaged employees are more likely to engage in organizational deviance after being treated unfairly. However, the moderating effect of moral disengagement on the relationship of anger and organizational deviance was insignificant. The reason might be because anger is an aggressive emotion and individual experiencing anger may lead to impulsive behavior regardless of moral rules. Implications and limitations have been discussed.

When the victims fight back: the influence of workplace ostracism on employee knowledge sabotage behavior

“…Research has shown that angry individuals who suffer from unfair treatment (such as intentional insults and injuries), goal interference and negative interpersonal events tend to adopt negative opinions toward the organization, leading to strong confrontational and aggressive behavior (Chow et al, 2008;Leary et al, 2006). For example, angry individuals achieve psychological balance by engaging in organizational deviance (Qin and Zhang, 2022) and counterproductive behavior (Zhu and Zhang, 2021). In addition, anger is closely related to aggressive behavior, withdrawal behavior and theft (Chen and Spector, 1992) and can also increase the tendency to abuse others (Mawritz et al, 2014).…”

“…Research has shown that individuals have basic needs for belonging and connection with others (Leary et al, 2006). Due to the traditional Chinese circle culture and collectivist culture, individuals have more pronounced needs for harmonious interpersonal relationships and belonging (Qin and Zhang, 2022;Zhao et al, 2016). Becoming a member of a circle can result in a sense of belonging, identity and self-worth (Turner, 1975) and even offer the opportunity for the individual to exchange value with other people within the circle (Dienesch and Liden, 1986).…”

Does injustice perception threaten organizational performance in the healthcare setting? A sequential mediation examination

“…POI can be a powerful driver of moral disengagement (MD) among employees (Qin and Zhang, 2022). MD refers to the cognitive processes that enable people to rationalize/justify their injurious/harmful conduct.…”

“…Over time, repeated instances of POI and MD can foster a toxic work environment that undermines trust, collaboration and productivity. To prevent POI from negatively affecting employee behavior, businesses must encourage fairness, openness and high ethical standards at work (Qin and Zhang, 2022).…”

“…Employees may lose motivation, lose interest in their work and even develop resentment towards their employer if they believe that they are being treated unfairly (Lee, 2022). POI can be a powerful driver of MD among employees (Qin and Zhang, 2022).…”