Organizational justice and human values in Brazil

Does meaningfulness in life moderate this relationship?

Abstract

Concerns about justice have been recorded in documents as old as The Code of Hammurabi. Studies suggest that the perception of injustice in the organization can generate several effects on employees’ thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, leading to negative consequences both for the organization and for employees. Human values serve as a guide for people to pursue their life goals (biological and social), functioning as predictors of various psychological constructs. Previous studies have suggested that in the Brazilian police force, the effect of values on organizational-related outcomes might be moderated by other variables. Meaningfulness in life (MIL), a generalized individual cognitive orientation, can be a potent moderator of the relationship between individual values and organizational-related outcomes. People who have high MIL tend to evaluate events as serving a purpose in one’s life, even in the presence, or perception of, unfair treatment. This study aims to investigate how values, moderated by MIL, may influence perceptions of procedural justice among Civil Police captains in Brazil. A total of 321 Police Captains responded to a paper-pencil questionnaire that included assessed values, perceived procedural justice, and MIL. Using a series of structural equation models (direct effects) and moderation analyses with PROCESS macro for SPSS, the hypotheses were supported. Values predicted procedural justice and this relationship was weaker for those low on MIL. Findings are discussed in terms of educational campaigns that reinforce structured rules that mobilize healthy values, while mitigating unhealthy values, as well as cognitive reframing of situations to improve perceived procedural justice.