Emotional intelligence as a moderator between perceived organisational injustice and organisational deviance among public sector employees

Several studies have shown that perceived organisational injustice increases employees' tendency to engage in organisational deviance. However, little research attention has been paid to the moderating role of emotional intelligence in this relationship. Using person-organisation fit as a theoretical framework, the present study investigated the moderating role of emotional intelligence on the relationship between perceived organisational injustice and organisational deviance. Two hundred public sector employees (100 males and 100 females) in Nigeria participated in the study. They responded to measures of perceived organisational injustice, emotional intelligence, and organisational deviance. Results of the moderated hierarchical multiple regression indicated that perceived distributive, procedural and interpersonal injustice were positively related to organisational deviance. Emotional intelligence was negatively related to organisational deviance. Finally, results showed that emotional intelligence significantly moderated the relationship between the three dimensions of perceived organisational injustice and organisational deviance. These findings suggest the need for public sector managers to design training programmes that would enhance their employees' levels of emotional intelligence.