Effects of Organisational Justice and Job Stressors Onemployee Health: A Multilevel Mediation Approach

Vanisa Karupaiah; Mohd. Awang Idris; Marzuki Isahak

doi:10.32890/ijms2025.32.2.5

Authors

Vanisa Karupaiah Institute for Advanced Studies, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
Mohd. Awang Idris Department of Anthropology & Sociology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya, Malaysia
Marzuki Isahak Upstream Health, Safety & Environment, Petronas, Malaysia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.32890/ijms2025.32.2.5

Keywords:

Organizational justice, challenge stressor, hindrance stressor, multilevel research

Abstract

Research to date, has found that organisational justice enhances different kinds of work outcomes in an organisation. However, while most studies have investigated the effect of organisational justice on employees’ outcomes via several mediational pathways, a lack of studies is evident on how organisational justice influences employee health via two different kinds of job stressors, namely challenge and hindrance stressors. Drawing from the notion that working conditions are created by upper-level management, the current study tested the influence of organisational justice via challenge and hindrance stressors. Using a cross-sectional multilevel design, 129 individuals from 25 manufacturing companies from Peninsular Malaysia were involved in the study. Results from a Hierarchical linear modelling (HLM) analysis indicated that all three, the procedural, distributive and interactional sub-dimensions of organisational justice had a positive relationship with challenge stressors but were not related to hindrance stressors. Interestingly, while hindrance stressors are commonly known to have detrimental effects on employee health, the study’s results indicated that these relationships were positive. The study provides evidence that good management practices, mainly via organisational justice, not only boost employees’ interpretation of job stressors as positive, but also improves their health.

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Author Biographies

Mohd. Awang Idris, Department of Anthropology & Sociology, Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences, Universiti Malaya

Professor Mohd Awang Idris, expertise is in Work and Organisational Psychology, Department Anthropology and Sociology, University of Malaya. He is Past President of the Asia Pacific Academy for Psychosocial Factors at Work (APAPFAW www.apapfaw.org). Currently he is Chair, Training and Development for APAPFAW. His research interests mainly in occupational health psychology including psychosocial safety, employees' wellbeing and team performance. He has published more than 50 publications (in books, chapters and journals), and also a reviewer for some well-known journals such as Safety Science, Work & Stress, Journal Occupational and Organizational Psychology, International Journal of Stress Management, Cross-Cultural Management: An International Journal; and Journal Occupational Health Psychology.
Marzuki Isahak, Upstream Health, Safety & Environment, Petronas

Dr Marzuki Isahak obtained his Bachelor in medical and surgery in 2003, a Master degree in 2008 and doctorate in 2013. He is currently the Principal in Occupational Health in Upstream Health, Safety and Environment, PETRONAS. Dr Marzuki is registered as Public Health Medicine Specialist with National Specialist Registry and Occupational Health Doctor with DOSH. With 21 years of experience, he is currently the Council member of the Academy of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Malaysia. He was the Head of Department of Public Health and Occupational Safety, Health and Environment Unit for University Malaya Medical Centre (UMMC) and an Associate Professor in Occupational and Environmental Health in Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya. He has published more than 40 articles in refereed journals and presented many papers in international conferences.

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