The mediating role of job satisfaction in the effect of perceived organizational justice on organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behavior: An application for health sector employees

A multitude of variables within the work environment can either enhance or diminish employee productivity. To comprehend the impact of these variables on organizations, numerous scientific studies are undertaken in the field of organizational behavior. This study's primary objective is to investigate the effects of perceived organizational justice on organizational cynicism and organizational citizenship behavior among healthcare professionals. Furthermore, it aims to determine the potential mediating role of job satisfaction within these relationships. The research hypotheses were tested with data collected from a sample of 385 healthcare employees working in hospitals in the Giresun province, which represents the study's population. Convenience sampling, a non-probability sampling method, was employed due to time and budgetary constraints. The four scales utilized in the study were previously validated instruments adapted for a Turkish context. Nonetheless, their validity and reliability were re-assessed for the current research. The hypotheses were subsequently evaluated and tested using regression analysis on the collected data. The findings reveal that the influence of organizational justice on cynicism is predominantly driven by the distributive justice dimension. Specifically, distributive justice was found to have a significant negative impact on cognitive, affective, and behavioral cynicism. Conversely, no significant relationships were identified between procedural and interactional justice and the sub-dimensions of cynicism. These results suggest that employees' justice perceptions are particularly sensitive to distributive aspects, which in turn most significantly shape their levels of organizational cynicism. In conclusion, the results indicate that organizational justice perception partially and negatively influences organizational cynicism, with job satisfaction playing a significant partial mediating role in this association. The findings demonstrate that certain dimensions of organizational justice exert a negative effect on various levels of organizational cynicism, both directly and indirectly through the dimensions of job satisfaction. Keywords: Organizational Justice, Organizational Cynicism, Job Satisfaction, Organizational Citizenship Behavior