When Unclear Roles Breed Distrust: How Role Ambiguity Fuels Perceptions of Unfair Evaluation

What is it about?

This study examines how role ambiguity, or uncertainty about one’s job responsibilities, shapes employees’ beliefs that their performance is evaluated unfairly. Drawing on conservation of resources theory and attribution theory, the authors argue that when employees face unclear expectations, they experience resource strain and are more likely to interpret performance appraisals as unjust. The research also investigates how organizational experience and Islamic work values can protect employees from such negative interpretations. Using data from employees in Pakistani firms, the findings show that role ambiguity increases perceptions of unfair performance evaluations, reflecting the stress that uncertainty creates in the workplace. However, this harmful effect is less pronounced among employees who have greater tenure within their organization or who adhere strongly to Islamic work values, which emphasize honesty, diligence, and acceptance of outcomes. These personal resources enable employees to remain focused and interpret evaluation processes more positively, even when job roles are unclear. For organizations, the study underscores the importance of defining roles clearly to avoid perceptions of unfairness in performance assessments. At the same time, nurturing employees’ organizational knowledge and ethical values can reduce the risks associated with ambiguous job expectations, helping to maintain trust in evaluation systems and support fair workplace dynamics.

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Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Why is it important?

his research is unique in integrating both personal and organizational factors to explain how employees respond to unclear job expectations. It advances understanding of fairness perceptions by linking role ambiguity to evaluation distrust, while identifying experience and moral work values as vital coping resources. The study is timely in highlighting fairness concerns in Pakistani workplaces, where formal performance evaluation systems are increasingly common but not always clearly communicated. By showing how faith-based and experiential resources help employees interpret evaluations more constructively, it offers practical insights for improving both employee well-being and human resource effectiveness.