Impact of ethical leadership on job satisfaction: the mediating effect of work–family conflict

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the mediating effect of the work–family conflict in the relation between ethical leadership and job satisfaction.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire was answered by 234 nursing professionals working in Portuguese public health institutions.FindingsRegression analyses indicate that there is a positive relationship between ethical leadership and satisfaction and a negative relationship between ethical leadership and the nurse's work–family conflict. Furthermore, it was revealed that the work–family conflict mediated (partially) the relationship between ethical leadership and job satisfaction.Research limitations/implicationsEthical leadership was measured by assessing the nurses' perceptions of their leaders' character. The cross-sectional data limited the possibility of establishing the causality of the study variables, where the generalization of results was not possible due to the fact that data were obtained in public health institutions alone.Practical implicationsConsidering that ethics precede good relations between the manager and collaborator, it is recommended that organizations develop ethical training for their leaders, more specifically in the case of head nurses.Originality/valueThe added value of this empirical study lies in the mediated role of the work–family conflict in the analysis of the relationship between ethical leadership and job satisfaction.

The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Subjective Wellbeing, Given the Moderator Job Satisfaction (A Case Study of Private Hospitals in Mashhad)

“…The second conclusion indicates that ethical leadership affects nurses' job satisfaction, which is in line with the study of Ngabonzima et al, [35], Ganji et al, [36] and Tu et al, [16]. Moreover, the results also are in line with Freire and Bettencourt [13] study, shown the positive effect of ethical leadership on nurses' job satisfaction. In this regard, a number of additional interviews were conducted with some nurses who also emphasized that ethical leadership style has an impact on their job satisfaction.…”

“…According to social learning theory this theory, followers tend to pay attention and emulate the attitudes, values, and behaviors of their ethical leaders because their attractiveness and credibility as role models and source of guidance draw attention to their modeled behavior [6]. Some potential positive consequences of ethical leadership are job satisfaction [e.g., 11,12,13,14], and employee wellbeing [e.g., 15,16].…”

The effect of ethical leadership on subjective wellbeing, given the moderator job satisfaction (a case study of private hospitals in Mashhad)

“…According to the theory of social learning, followers have a tendency to pay attention and follow their ethical leaders' outlooks, values, and manners because leaders' attraction and trustworthiness as role models and source of guidance draw attention to their modeled behavior [6]. Some probable positive effects of ethical leadership are job satisfaction (e.g., [11][12][13][14]), and employee wellbeing (e.g., [14,15]).…”

The Effect of Ethical Leadership on Subjective Wellbeing, Given the Moderator Job Satisfaction (A Case Study of Private Hospitals in Mashhad)

“…Some probable positive effects of ethical leadership are job satisfaction [e.g., 11,12,13,14], and employee wellbeing [e.g., 15,16].…”

“…28]. Tu et al, (2017) con rmed the effect of supervisors' ethical leadership on employee job satisfaction [14]. According to Robbins and Coulter (2007), job satisfaction is an employee's general attitude to his/her job [29].…”