Organizational justice (OJ) is one of the important factors in increasing employee satisfaction and commitment. Organizational justice scholars seek to understand how individuals perceive justice and what they consider. Therefore, organizational justice prioritizes subjective fairness above objective justice. According to the organizational justice theory, justice is socially produced and subjective (Adamovic, 2023). The employees must perceive the organization’s management, processes, and practices relatively. The employees’ fair perception of internal practices, procedures, and processes is of great importance for employee satisfaction and productivity. OJ is one of the powerful factors affecting JS. OJ has a strong influence on employee behaviors. If a person in a workplace perceives fair pricing and fair promotion opportunities, they will be satisfied with their job (Robbins, 1998). When organizations treat their employees fairly, employees develop a positive feeling and attitude toward the organization (Imran et al., 2015). Employees treated relatively can be happier and more satisfied, making their organizations more effective (Lazarus, 2000; Bakotic, 2016).

Fairness is the cornerstone of Equity Theory (Adams, 1965), which has been widely used in organizational behavior (Chen et al., 2015). OJ is founded on the notion of justice or fairness. Theoretically, three types of OJ are widely mentioned in organizational research literature: distributive justice (DJ), procedural justice (PJ), and interactional justice (IJ; Karkoulian et al., 2016), each of which can contribute to the variance in JS either individually or collectively. To begin, DJ refers to an individual’s perception of the fairness of the outcomes received by the organization. When evaluating DJ, comparisons of employee inputs (effort) and organizational outcomes (salary, appreciation, performance rating, and so on) are utilized as the evaluation base (Whitman et al., 2012). As viewed by the employees, the perceived objectivity of the ruling process is PJ (Colquitt, 2001). PJ is achievable when choices are made via fair mechanisms, such as a complete reward system (Folger and Greenberg, 1985). Employees tend to report less procedural fairness when favoritism is seen because promotions and prizes are allocated based on personal relationships rather than individual achievement (Sonnentag, 2012). Finally, IJ is concerned with how workers perceive OJ regarding communication and interpersonal treatment (Ambrose et al., 2002). It conveys their viewpoint on how fair organizational authority is handled while making organizational choices (Palaiologos et al., 2011). The presence of PJ and DJ in the company and HR policies such as fair wages and benefits, training and career development, and objective performance evaluation impact employees’ perspectives of organizational cooperation. In this study, the authors analyzed OJ justice under a single dimension.

Locke (1969) defined job satisfaction (JS) as “a function of the perceived relationship between what a person wants from her job and what she perceives to be what she offers “. JS is the employees’ attitudes toward their jobs and the institutions they work for. In other words, JS is an employee’s emotional reaction to work based on a contrast between real and intended job results (Mosadeghrad, 2003). A person with high satisfaction shows a positive attitude toward work. Conversely, people who are dissatisfied with their job will have a negative attitude toward their job (Robbins, 2006).

Also, it is known that there is an important relationship between OJ and JS. JS increases when OJ increases; when OJ perception decreases, JS decreases (Lawson et al., 2009). Al-Zu’bi (2010) found a strong connection between OJ and JS. Employee JS was dependent on the managers’ OJ. Ozel and Bayraktar (2018) showed that OJ positively affected the JS of employees. OJ is one of the determining factors of JS.

For this reason, organizations that aim to provide JS to their employees should take effective steps to ensure OJ (Çetinsöz and Turhan, 2016). Rovenska’s research findings (2018) revealed that PJ, DJ, and IJ were significant predictors of JS. Afridi and Baloch (2018) showed that OJ was positively associated with JS.

The employee who adds a spiritual meaning to his work first enriches his inner world, increasing JS by gaining physical, cognitive, and spiritual well-being (Mitroff and Denton, 1999). Therefore, there is an important link between JS and WPS. WPS makes communication, justice, and management skills important among employees. In this context, WPS leads to correct and high-quality communication and the understanding and love of employees. Employees with WPS try to understand external customers by revealing their emotional identities, and managers also gain their trust by showing interest in employees (Gockel, 2004). Several researchers have found that WPS favors JS (Gupta et al., 2014; Hassan et al., 2016; Sapta et al., 2021). When WPS rises, JS rises with it. In one of the first studies, Milliman et al. (2003) revealed that WPS is strongly associated with employees’ job attitudes, such as JS and work engagement. According to Jurkiewicz and Giacalone (2004) values framework of WPS, the perception of justice rises when employees are treated equally and fairly evaluated; rewards and/or punishments are assigned relatively and unbiasedly; on the other hand, dishonesty, faithlessness, and wrongful or biased judgments detract from the justice value. The overlap of the results obtained by the employee from her job with her needs and value judgments provides JS. This shows the importance of the relationship between WPS, OJ, and JS.

According to Walt and Klerk (2014) study, there is an association between WPS and JS, and they propose more confirmatory empirical investigations using more complex statistical analysis to confirm the link between WPS and JS. Korkmaz and Menge (2018) investigated the role of WPS on OC and found that WPS had a positive effect on OC. Iyer and Deshmukh (2018) found that WPS moderated the relationship between role ambiguity and JS of nurses. Bhaskar and Mishra (2019) investigated WPS’ mediating and moderating effect in its relationship with perceived OS, career satisfaction, and turnover intentions. WPS improved employee career satisfaction while drastically lowering turnover intentions by modulating the link between perceived OS and turnover intention. Pelenk and Acaray (2020) revealed that WPS positively affected JS and moderated the relationship between excessive workload and JS.

In the literature, it is possible to come across many studies investigating WPS’s mediator and moderator role on different variables. One of the links addressed by several studies is the moderator effect of WPS on work overload and JS (Altaf and Awan, 2011; Saeed et al., 2017). These two research conclusions contradict each other. While Altaf and Awan (2011) discovered that WPS played a moderating function in the link between workload and JS, Saeed et al. (2017) found that WPS did not play a moderating role in the association between workload and JS. Another variable connected with WPS is leadership style. Transformational leadership (McKee et al., 2011) and spiritual leadership (SL) are widely investigated related to WPS (Sani et al., 2018; Astuti and Haryani, 2020; Sapta et al., 2021). McKee et al. (2011) explored the mediation of transformational leadership between employee mental well-being and WPS’ community dimension rather than WPS as a single dimension. According to Sani et al. (2018), WPS modulates the influence of SL on OCB. According to Astuti and Haryani (2020), WPS has a favorable and substantial influence on emotional commitments, and SL also has a mediating effect on emotional commitment. Sapta et al. (2021) state that WPS mediates SL’s impact on OC. Intention to quit the job, one of the indicators used to understand the peacefulness and pleasure of people at work, has also been a concept that interests us about its relationship with WPS. Bhaskar and Mishra (2019) investigated the role of WPS in mediating and moderating the significant relationship between perceived OS, career satisfaction, and turnover intentions. WPS has been shown to considerably lower employee turnover intentions while boosting employee career satisfaction by altering the relationship between perceived OS and turnover intention. Charzynska et al. (2021) investigated whether the WPS regulates the direct and indirect impacts of quantitative and emotional job demands on teachers’ turnover intention. Hwang and Yi (2021) evaluated the effects of WPS and organizational justice on workers’ intentions to leave their jobs. Sode and Chenji (2024) identified workplace spirituality as a partial mediator in the relationship between self-transcendence and innovative work behavior, effectively nurturing employees’ creative capacities.

This study is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected during January and May 2021 from employees working in two Turkish airline companies in Turkiye. According to the data of the Turkish Ministry of Transportation, the number of employees in the Turkish Aviation sector is 53,885 as of the end of 2021.¹ Random and snowball sampling were used in the research. In the first step of the data collection process, consent was taken from the participants. In this process, the questionnaire was formed and distributed via Google Forms. The survey was delivered to the managers working at the airline company via e-mail, and these managers made sure that the questionnaire reached the participants in the WhatsApp groups they established within the workplace. Some participants sent it to their colleagues working in airline companies. Only those willing to participate were included in the study. When the data was examined, no participant stated that they did not want to participate in the research. It is still being determined how many people in total the questionnaire used within the scope of the study reached. Since no participant stated that they did not want to answer the questionnaire, the non-response rate could not be calculated within the scope of the research.

The questionnaire was gathered from respondents at two different times with a two-month time lag to decrease common method bias and avoid the biasing effects of occasional factors (Podsakoff et al., 2012; Matthews et al., 2014). Especially in behavioral sciences, the Common Method Variance problem is most encountered. The distribution between these two variables consists of measuring each dependent and independent variable together and responding at the same speed. In this case, the estimated effects may be negatively affected by Common Method Bias. In particular, using surveys can cause serious difficulties due to the risk of common methods. Common method bias is another variable presented by the estimates to be made. In this case, what exists among the variables is systematically increased. However, there are up-to-date answers to the explanations about temporary moods (Tehseen et al., 2017). One of the solutions suggested for CMV by Podsakoff et al. (2003) is to separate the measurements of the variables of the measurements temporally, methodologically, or psychologically. In this position, it is a practice to place measurements at a different time interval when obtaining data on variables. In addition, great importance will be given to conveying the respondents’ behavior, attitudes, and perceptions with minimal errors in terms of the results to be obtained in terms of management and theoretical inferences. The questionnaire consisted of 4 parts. In the first part, the participants were asked six questions to determine their socio-demographic characteristics. The questions about OJ, WPS, and JS were asked in the second, third, and last parts. When the sample number is evaluated based on a 95% confidence interval and a 5.2% margin of error, it is at least 356. At the end of this process, 360 data were gathered from the contributors.

PowerPower analysis was performed with the GPower program to determine a sufficient number of samples to determine sufficient number of samples. Since multiple linear regression analysis will be used to test the hypotheses, valid parameters were selected for this analysis in the GPower program. The study was carried out by entering the parameters into the program so that the number of independent variables was 3, the effect size (f^2) was 0.05, the probability of type one error (α) was 0.05, and the test power (1-β) was 0.95. According to the test results, the minimum number of samples required was determined to be 262, which shows that the sample amount reached is reasonably sufficient for the analyses.

Demographic information about the participants is given in Table 1.

The research sample consisted of 187 men (51.2%) and 173 women (48.1%). Their ages ranged from 25 to 50. Their average airline industry work experience was 8.6 years (SD 6.11). 91.8% had at least a bachelor’s degree. It is seen that the gender distribution of the participants is close to each other; almost all of them have a high level of education and are young and middle-aged.

Three different scales called the “Organizational Justice Scale” (OJS), “Workplace Spirituality Scale” WPSS, and “Job Satisfaction Scale” JSS were used in the study. The OJS was developed by Niehoff and Moorman (1993) and adopted in Turkish by Taşçıoğlu (2010). It consisted of 20 items and three subscales. Sample items are “My work schedule is fair” and “The manager makes job decisions in a biased manner.” As a result of confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), the fit indexes were as follows: x²/df = 4.267, GFI = 0.902, AGFI = 0.877, CFI = 0.916, and RMSEA = 0.088. Therefore, the model fit was determined as an acceptable level (Hair et al., 1998). Cronbach’s alpha for OJS was 0.829.

The WPSS was developed by Kinjerski and Skrypnek (2006). It consisted of 18 items and four subscales called “Engaging Work,” “Sense of Community,” “Spiritual Connection,” and “Mystical Experience.” It is adapted in Turkish with 16 items and four subscales. Sample items are “I can find meaning or purpose at work,” “I receive inspiration or guidance from a Higher Power about my work,” and “I experience a connection with a greater source that has a positive effect on my work.” As a result, CFA’s fit indexes were as follows: x²/pdf = 3.112, GFI = 0.908, AGFI = 0.891, CFI = 0.914, and RMSEA = 0.082. Therefore, the model fit was determined as an acceptable level (Hair et al., 1998). Cronbach’s alpha for WPS was 0.774.

The JSS used in the study was developed by Brayfield and Rothe (1951), shortened by Judge et al. (1998), and adopted into Turkish by Başol and Çömlekçi (2020). It consisted of 5 items. Sample items are “I feel fairly satisfied with my present job” and “I find real enjoyment in my work. As a result, CFA’s fit indexes were as follows: x²/df = 2.772, GFI = 0.934, AGFI = 0.904, CFI = 0.928, and RMSEA = 0.056. Therefore, the model fit was very good (Hair et al., 1998). Cronbach’s alpha for JSS was 0.807. The overall Cronbach alpha value of the model is 0.889.

All items in three different scales were rated with a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree).

In our analysis, gender, education level, age, and job experiences were taken as demographic variables.

The data was analyzed using SPSS 25 and AMOS 25 programs. All scale items are given in Appendix 1.

Descriptive statistics about variables and correlations among variables are given in Table 2. In this process, the normality for each variable was first checked. It was seen that all variables are normally distributed.

The mean of the OJ, WPS, and JS were 3.52 ± 0.58, 3.53 ± 1.03, and 3.90 ± 0.61, respectively. According to the independent sample t-test of OJ, WPS, and JS levels, it was seen that there are no differences according to gender (t = 0.281, p = 0.77; t = −0.862, p = 0.38; t = −0.419, p = 0.67). The one-way ANOVA test of OJ, WPS and JS level shown that there are no differences in OJ, WPS and JS level according to education level of respondents (F = 0.195, p = 0.90; F = 1.427, p = 0.23; F = 1.240, p = 0.29).

Correlation analysis showed that there is a positive correlation between OJ and JS (r = 0.540, p < 0.01) and WPS and JS (r = 0.746, p < 0.01). It was also determined that there is no statistically significant correlation between OJ and WPS (r = −0.044, p > 0.05).

Regarding the study’s practical and professional consequences, the researchers suggest addressing aviation industry employees with the healing power of WPS and concepts such as sincerity, responsibility, and community involvement. According to Kim Quy et al. (2023), air service providers should emphasize nurturing workplace spirituality in the aviation industry. Workplace spirituality is becoming increasingly important in today’s multinational business world, where ethnic discrimination is on the rise owing to migration policies, and we desire a collaborative culture and diversity management. Employees in the aviation industry constantly have access to people from other cultures, whether as colleagues or passengers. Practices on workplace spirituality help workers better endure various requests and complaints and approach them with a sense of collective existence.

Furthermore, with Turkiye’s collectivist culture with a score of 46 in mind (2024), ² aviation employee training should focus on motivating employees to collaborate and achieve collective goals. These behaviors, which foster a sense of community in the workplace, may also serve as a model for other collectivist countries regarding cultural dimensions. To improve job satisfaction, HR training can include a series of short films describing the meaning of work, demonstrating how they add value to the passengers’ journey and contribute to the world. While Hilton et al. (2024) propose a purposeful effort to develop workplace spirituality, qualities like compassion, virtue, purpose, dedication, and belonging are also recommended. According to Elamin and Hayfaa, 2015, Islamic spirituality and social responsibility are positively related to perceived organizational justice, increasing employee happiness and well-being.

In this study, spirituality was discussed beyond religious doctrine. Although data was collected from a Muslim country, the literature review was not limited to Islamic Spirituality. Spirituality was explored outside the confines of spiritual teaching. Although the study did not restrict spirituality to religion, data was obtained mainly from Muslim employees. However, the study’s findings benefit not only Muslim employees but also have universal implications in terms of spiritual and religious doctrine due to the interaction of Muslims and non-Muslims. Such research raises non-Muslims’ understanding of their Muslim coworkers’ spiritual requirements in the workplace (Asutay et al., 2021). In line with the findings of this study, a growing body of empirical evidence has emerged highlighting specific cases in which the implementation of workplace spirituality interventions resulted in tangible improvements in organizational justice and job satisfaction, providing valuable insights and practical guidance for managers looking to improve these critical organizational outcomes. Leaders prioritizing spiritual values, such as servant orientation, diversity, and openness, are likelier to foster positive employee attitudes and productivity. These suggestions for achieving greater job satisfaction and commitment can provide practical guidance to managers.

This study was carried out with some limitations. In the study’s data collection process, it was tried to reach as many people working in airline companies as possible. However, the number of participants reached constitutes the most critical limitation of this research. Although a sufficient number of participants were reached for analysis due to G Power analysis, the number of participants should be increased to more reliable results in further studies; the selection of a small sample size can strongly impact the generalizability of the study findings. Small sample sizes frequently result in overestimating effect sizes, inadequate replication, and restricted applicability of findings to larger populations. Additionally, within the scope of this research, how many people the survey used in the study reached and how many people responded need to be clarified. In other words, this study could not calculate the response rate. The lack of clarity in this information prevents us from seeing the difference between those who took the survey and answered it and those who took it and did not answer it. This is another sampling limitation of the research. In other words, this study’s inability to calculate the response rate is a significant limitation. It prevents understanding potential non-response bias, which could affect the study’s validity. To improve the response rate in future research, the scales used in the study may be short, survey timing can be rearranged, a different distribution method can be used, different incentives can be given to the participants, or friendly reminders can be sent to respondents. Third, this research was conducted on aviation industry employees, and its results may need to be generalizable to different industries. Also, this finding opens up further research possibilities for extending the research to various sectors. Another recommendation is to investigate the relationships between WPS, OJ, and JS subdimensions, as the authors regarded all aspects within their umbrella term and accepted them as a whole dimension. This study is a cross-sectional study. The data was collected in 2021, and the results obtained in this study may differ now. This and all similar studies have this kind of limitation. Longitudinal studies are also advised while the impacts of this time are still being felt. The findings of this study can also be considered from the perspective of the Great Resignation Phenomenon triggered by the pandemic. During this period, employees’ search for meaning in their work increased, and its effects on job satisfaction became more controversial (Tessema et al., 2022). Finally, the participants of this study were only Turkish employees. In future studies, more comprehensive and comparative studies on WPS can be done on employees of other nationalities. If a broader discussion is desired, data collected from other countries may provide an opportunity to discuss cultural dimensions and variances in the interpretation of spirituality across religions.