VOlUME 05 ISSUE 02 FEBRUARY 2026
1CHIOMA, Anita Oluigbo, 2AKEEM, Adekunle Kenku, 3Akawu Monday
1Federal Ministry of Art, Culture, Tourism & Creative Economy, Central Area, Abuja
2Department of Psychology, Nasarawa State University, Keffi
3Department of Psychology, Nasarawa State University, Keffi
DOI : https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2026.v5i2n22Google Scholar Download Pdf
ABSTRACT
This study investigated the relationship between organizational justice, organizational climate, and voluntary turnover intention in Nigerian public organizations. A total of 389 employees participated in the study, comprising 55% males and 45% females, with diverse age groups. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product-moment correlation, and an independent samples t-test. Findings from the first hypothesis revealed no significant relationship between the dimensions of organizational justice distributive, procedural, interpersonal, and informative justice and voluntary turnover intention, suggesting that employees’ fairness perceptions did not predict their intention to leave. However, results for the second hypothesis showed significant relationships between several dimensions of organizational climate and turnover intention. Vision (r = .187, p < .01) and information sharing (r = .098, p < .05) were positively associated with turnover intention, while safety and influence (r = –.120, p < .05) and support for innovation (r = –.124, p < .05) displayed negative associations. These outcomes imply that certain aspects of the work environment influence employees’ intentions to leave public organizations. The third hypothesis revealed a significant gender difference in voluntary turnover intention. Female employees reported significantly higher turnover intention (M = 17.86, SD = 2.46) compared to their male counterparts (M = 11.15, SD = 1.79), t(409) = –32.00, p < .001. Overall, the study concludes that while organizational justice does not significantly predict voluntary turnover intention, aspects of organizational climate and gender differences play critical roles in shaping employees’ intentions to leave public organizations in Nigeria. The findings underscore the importance of creating psychologically safe work environments, strengthening innovation-supportive cultures, and addressing gender-related workplace challenges in order to improve retention outcomes in Nigerian public organizations.
KEYWORDS:Organisational Justice, Organisational Climate, Voluntary Turnover Intention, Nigerian, Public Organizations
REFERENCES
1) Abassi, S. M., and Hollman, K. W. 2000. Turnover: The real bottom line. Public Personnel Management, 29(3), 333–342. https://doi.org/10.1177/009102600002900304
2) Abubakar, A. M., Bala, K. A., and Saleh, I. M. 2013. Turnover intention among nurses in public hospitals in Nigeria. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 3(8), 1–12.
3) Adams, J. S. 1965. Inequity in social exchange. In L. Berkowitz (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 2, pp. 267–299). New York, NY: Academic Press.
4) Adeniji, A. A. 2011. Human resource management: Theory and practice. Lagos: Pumark Nigeria Ltd.
5) Adewumi, T., and Akinbobola, T. 2019. Organizational climate and turnover intention among public sector employees in southwestern Nigeria. Journal of Public Administration and Governance, 9(3), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.5296/jpag.v9i3.15485
6) Adjei, E., and Kyeremeh, E. 2020. Influence of organizational climate on turnover intention among public sector employees in Ghana. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 10(2), 45–61. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v10i2.17002
7) Agarwal, U., and Gupta, M. 2018. Organizational climate and employee turnover intention: Mediating role of job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Management Science Letters, 8(5), 443–454. https://doi.org/10.5267/j.msl.2018.2.003
8) Al-Ahmadi, H. 2009. Factors affecting performance of hospital nurses in Riyadh Region, Saudi Arabia. International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 22(1), 40–54.
9) Amah, E. 2020. The impact of organizational climate on turnover intention among federal ministry employees in Abuja, Nigeria. Nigerian Journal of Management Research, 15(1), 22–38.
10) Bies, R. J., and Moag, J. S. 1986. Interactional justice: Communication criteria of fairness. In R. J. Lewicki, B. H. Sheppard, & M. H. Bazerman (Eds.), Research on negotiation in organizations (Vol. 1, pp. 43–55). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
11) Choong, W. H., Wong, K. L., and Tan, Y. H. 2013. Demographic antecedents of turnover intention among academic staff in Malaysian private universities. Journal of Applied Sciences, 13(16), 3211–3220.
12) Chukwuma, I., and Obiefuna, T. 2019. Organizational justice, climate, and turnover intention among university administrative staff in Nigeria. African Journal of Business Management, 13(9), 320–333. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJBM2019.8762
13) Cohen-Charash, Y., and Spector, P. E. 2001. The role of justice in organizations: A meta-analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 86(2), 278–321. https://doi.org/10.1006/obhd.2001.2958
14) Colquitt, J. A. 2001. On the dimensionality of organizational justice: A construct validation of a measure. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 386–400. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.386
15) Colquitt, J. A., Conlon, D. E., Wesson, M. J., Porter, C. O., and Ng, K. Y. 2001. Justice at the millennium: A meta-analytic review of 25 years of organizational justice research. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86(3), 425–445. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.3.425
16) Colquitt, J. A., LePine, J. A., and Wesson, M. J. 2013. Organizational behavior: Improving performance and commitment in the workplace (3rd ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
17) Elaine, H. 1997. Gender differences in career mobility and turnover intentions. Journal of Career Development, 23(2), 85–96.
18) Eze, C. 2018. Organizational climate, justice, and turnover intention: Evidence from Nigeria Police Force officers. Journal of African Public Administration, 10(1), 45–61.
19) Fapohunda, T. M. 2014. Causes and consequences of labour turnover in the Nigerian banking sector. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 4(5), 265–270.
20) Greenberg, J. 1987. A taxonomy of organizational justice theories. Academy of Management Review, 12(1), 9–22. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1987.4306437
21) Greenberg, J. 1990. Organizational justice: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Journal of Management, 16(2), 399–432. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639001600208
22) Griffeth, R. W., Hom, P. W., and Gaertner, S. 2000. A meta-analysis of antecedents and correlates of employee turnover: Update, moderator tests, and research implications for the next millennium. Journal of Management, 26(3), 463–488. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600305
23) Hassan, A. 2019. Organizational justice and turnover intention among employees in Nigerian service industries. Nigerian Journal of Management Studies, 18(2), 12–27.
24) Hom, P. W., and Griffeth, R. W. 1995. Employee turnover. Cincinnati, OH: South-Western College Publishing.
25) James, L. R., Joyce, W. F., and Slocum, J. W. 2008. Organizational climate: A review of theory and research. In J. C. Quick & L. E. Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of occupational health psychology (pp. 213–234). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
26) Judeh, M. 2012. Determinants of employee turnover in Jordanian organizations: Gender perspectives. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(17), 45–55.
27) Judge, T. A., Thoresen, C. J., Bono, J. E., and Patton, G. K. 2001. The job satisfaction–job performance relationship: A qualitative and quantitative review. Psychological Bulletin, 127(3), 376–407. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.127.3.376
28) Khatri, N., Fern, C. T., and Budhwar, P. 2009. Explaining employee turnover in an Asian context. Human Resource Management Journal, 19(3), 30–45.
29) Kim, M., Fernandez, S., and Kim, S. 2017. Employee turnover and organizational performance: Evidence from the public sector. Public Management Review, 19(6), 847–867. https://doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2016.1252905
30) Kim, M., Lee, J., and Lee, S. 2019. Organizational justice and turnover intention among nurses in South Korea: The mediating role of organizational commitment. Journal of Nursing Management, 27(6), 1230–1240. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12798
31) Lambert, E. G., Hogan, N. L., and Griffin, M. L. 2019. The impact of distributive and procedural justice on turnover intentions: A longitudinal study. Criminal Justice Policy Review, 30(6), 872–894. https://doi.org/10.1177/0887403418770153
32) Light, A., and Ureta, M. 1992. Early-career labor mobility: Gender differences in turnover among young workers. Journal of Labor Economics, 10(2), 230–256.
33) Litwin, G. H., and Stringer, R. A. 1968. Motivation and organizational climate. Boston: Harvard University Press.
34) Lynch, L. M. 1992. Private-sector turnover: Gender differences and explanatory factors. Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 45(3), 495–511.
35) Lyness, K. S., and Judiesch, M. K. 2001. Gender egalitarianism and work-life balance: Are they compatible? Journal of Organizational Behavior, 22(5), 409–429.
36) March, J. G., and Simon, H. A. 1958. Organizations. New York, NY: Wiley.
37) Meyer, J. P., and Allen, N. J. 1991. A three-component conceptualization of organizational commitment. Human Resource Management Review, 1(1), 61–89.
38) Mobley, W. H. 1977. Intermediate linkages in the relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover. Journal of Applied Psychology, 62(2), 237–240. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.62.2.237
39) Mokaya, S., and Kituyi, G. 2018. Organizational climate and employee turnover intention in South African public sector organizations. South African Journal of Human Resource Management, 16, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.4102/sajhrm.v16i0.847
40) Ndungu, P. 2021. Organizational climate, job stress, burnout, and turnover intention: Evidence from Kenyan public sector employees. International Journal of Human Resource Studies, 11(3), 54–71. https://doi.org/10.5296/ijhrs.v11i3.18867
41) Newman, A., Cooper, B., and Holland, P. 2019. Organizational climate and employee well-being: Implications for turnover intention. Journal of Management & Organization, 25(5), 709–725. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2017.68
42) Ng, E. S., and Burke, R. J. 2005. Person–organization fit and the war for talent: Does diversity management make a difference? International Journal of Human Resource Management, 16(7), 1195–1210.
43) Ogbeide, S., and Alaka, H. I. 2017. Organizational justice and turnover intentions among employees in Nigerian manufacturing firms. Journal of Business and Management, 19(6), 22–30.
44) Okpu, O., and Kpelai, E. 2015. Compensation and turnover intention among Nigerian public employees. Journal of Human Resource Management, 3(2), 45–55.
45) Olatunji, S., and Mokuolu, O. 2014. Public sector work environment and turnover intention in Nigeria. International Journal of Business and Social Research, 4(6), 21–32.
46) Ovadje, F. 2015. Organizational justice and turnover intention among Nigerian federal civil servants. Public Personnel Management, 44(1), 76–93. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091026014564902
47) Owolabi, A. 2012. Organizational justice and employee turnover intention in Nigerian public universities. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 3(17), 112–119.
48) Oyenuga, V., and Akanbi, O. 2022. Work engagement as a mediator between organizational climate and turnover intention among Nigerian public employees. Journal of African Business, 23(1), 110–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/15228916.2021.1929012
49) Parker, C. P., Baltes, B. B., Young, S. A., Huff, J. W., Altmann, R. A., Lacost, H. A., and Roberts, J. E. 2003. Relationships between psychological climate perceptions and work outcomes: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 24(4), 389–416. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.198
50) Patterson, M., Warr, P., and West, M. 2005. Organizational climate and company performance: The role of employee attitudes and well-being. Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology, 78(2), 193–216. https://doi.org/10.1348/096317905X40835
51) Şahin, F., and Çankır, S. 2018. The effect of organizational climate on turnover intention: Evidence from hotel employees in Turkey. Tourism Review, 73(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1108/TR-07-2017-0107
52) Schneider, B. 1990. Organizational climate and culture. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
53) Schneider, B., Ehrhart, M. G., and Macey, W. H. 2013. Organizational climate and culture. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 361–388. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143809
54) Sicherman, N. 1996. Gender differences in career mobility: Evidence from personnel records. Industrial Relations, 35(3), 361–378.
55) Sousa-Poza, A., and Sousa-Poza, A. A. 2007. The effect of gender on job mobility and turnover intentions: A cross-country analysis. International Journal of Manpower, 28(3/4), 219–232.
56) Tett, R. P., and Meyer, J. P. 1993. Job satisfaction, organizational commitment, turnover intention, and turnover: Path analyses based on meta-analytic findings. Personnel Psychology, 46(2), 259–293. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.1993.tb00874.x
Cite this Article:Oluigbo, C. A., Kenku, A. A., & Monday, A. (2026). Relationship between Organizational Climate, Organizational Justice and Voluntary Turnover Intention in Nigeria Public Organizations . INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SOCIAL SCIENCE HUMANITY & MANAGEMENT RESEARCH, 5(2), 421-433. https://doi.org/10.58806/ijsshmr.2026.v5i2n22