Impact of ethical leadership on employees' occupational well-being and life satisfaction

Abstract

Although a considerable support exists regarding the impact of ethical leadership on various organizational outcomes, little is known about the mechanism through which ethical leadership influence employee well-being. By utilizing theoretical support of Self-Determination Theory (SDT), this thesis quantitatively examines the impact of ethical leadership on employees’ occupational well-being and life satisfaction. It examines the mediating role of organizational commitment and work engagement in the relationship of ethical leadership and occupational well-being of employees. Furthermore, it also explores the role of psychological empowerment as an underlying mediator in the relationship between ethical leadership and life satisfaction of employees. Using the data from 259 government officers of Pakistan and analyzing it through Structural Equation Modelling (SEM), the results show that ethical leadership positively influences the employees’ occupational well-being. As predicted in research model organizational commitment mediates this relationship, however, contrary to expectations, work engagement does not mediate this relationship. The results also support a positive influence of ethical leadership on employees’ life satisfaction with a mediating role of psychological empowerment. The research offers valuable implications and future directions for academicians and practitioners.