Organizational justice perception and employees’ social loafing in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic: the mediating role of organizational commitment

Employees, as the cornerstone of enterprises, played a pivotal role in navigating COVID-19-related challenges. Pandemic-driven unemployment and new work arrangements (e.g., remote work, employee sharing) led employees to reconsider their relationship with organizations, collaboration levels, and commitment. In this context, enterprises faced the challenge of inhibiting employees’ social loafing and stimulating enthusiasm to rely on collective strength. Heightened environmental uncertainty increased the salience of organizational justice perceptions and organizational commitment in shaping social loafing. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study examines how employees’ perception of organizational justice reduces social loafing and incorporates organizational commitment as a mediator within the COVID-19 context. Using data from 276 questionnaires, results show: (1) organizational justice negatively impacts employees’ social loafing; (2) organizational commitment fully mediates the relationship between organizational justice and social loafing.