Share:


Impact of ethical leadership and thriving at work on psychological well-being of employees: mediating role of voice behaviour

    Khadija Yousaf Affiliation
    ; Ghulam Abid Affiliation
    ; Tahira Hassan Butt Affiliation
    ; Sehrish Ilyas Affiliation
    ; Saira Ahmed Affiliation

Abstract

Purpose – We investigated how thriving at work and ethical leadership affects the employee psychological well-being. Further, we also examined the mediating role of voice behaviour between thriving at work and employee psychological well-being as well as ethical leadership and employee psychological well-being.


Research methodology – A quantitative research method was utilized to collect data from employees of a telecommunication company. SPSS and Process Macro were used for data analysis.


Findings – Results demonstrated that thriving at work and ethical leadership are positively associated with employee psychological well-being. Furthermore, the employee voice behaviour acts as a mediator between thriving at work, ethical leadership and employee well-being.


Research limitations – All of the data in this study were collected from single source i.e., employees of information technology industry and also specific to a metropolitan city like Lahore. Further, study has a very limited representation of the females.


Practical implications – the findings suggest that organizations should create such an environment where managers are able to have positive verbal interactions with employees that may facilitate their well-being and makes them satisfied with their jobs.


Originality/Value – This study is one of the first studies to investigate the association between voice behaviour, thriving at work, employee psychological as well as psychological well-being.

Keyword : thriving at work, ethical leadership, well-being, voice behaviour

How to Cite
Yousaf, K., Abid, G., Butt, T. H., Ilyas, S., & Ahmed, S. (2019). Impact of ethical leadership and thriving at work on psychological well-being of employees: mediating role of voice behaviour. Business, Management and Economics Engineering, 17(2), 194-217. https://doi.org/10.3846/bme.2019.11176
Published in Issue
Dec 19, 2019
Abstract Views
2983
PDF Downloads
2129
Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

References

Abid, G. (2016). How does thriving matter at workplace. International Journal of Economical and Empirical Research, 4(10), 521-527.

Abid, G., Sajjad, I., Elahi, N. S., Farooqi, S., & Nisar, A. (2018). The influence of prosocial motivation and civility on work engagement: The mediating role of thriving at work. Cogent-Business & Management, 5(1), 1-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2018.1493712

Abid, G., Contreras, F., Ahmed, S., & Qazi, T. F. (2019). Contextual factors and organizational commitment: Examining the mediating role of thriving at work. Sustainability, 11, 4686. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11174686

Anwar, A., Abid, G., & Waqas, A. (2020). Authentic leadership and creativity: moderated meditation model of resilience and hope in health sector. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education, 10(1), 18-29. https://doi.org/10.3390/ejihpe10010003

Avey, J. B., Wernsing, T. S., & Palanski, M. E. (2012). Exploring the process of ethical leadership: The mediating role of employee voice and psychological ownership. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(1), 21-34. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1298-2

Avolio, B. J., Zhu, W., Koh, W., & Bhatia, P. (2004). Transformational leadership and organizational commitment: Mediating role of psychological empowerment and moderating role of structural distance. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 25, 951-968. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.283

Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

Bandura, A. (2001). Social cognitive theory: An agentic perspective. Annual Review in Psychology, 52, 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.52.1.1

Bass, B. M., & Steidlmeier. P. (1999). Ethics, character, and authentic transformational leadership behavior. The Leadership Quarterly, 10, 181-217. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(99)00016-8

Bishop, J. W., Scott, K. D., & Burroughs, S. M. (2000). Support, commitment, and employee outcomes in a team environment. Journal of Management, 26, 1113-1132. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920630002600603

Blau, P. M. (1964). Exchange and power in social life. Transaction Publishers.

Bono, J., & Judge, T. (2003). Self-concordance at work: Toward understanding the motivational effects of transformational leaders. The Academy of Management Journal, 46(5), 554-571. https://doi.org/10.2307/30040649

Brown, M. E., & Mitchell, M. S. (2010). Ethical and unethical leadership: Exploring new avenues for future research. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20, 583-616. https://doi.org/10.5840/beq201020439

Brown, M. E., & Treviño, L. K. (2006). Ethical leadership: A review and future directions. The Leadership Quarterly, 17, 595-616. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2006.10.004

Brown, M .E., Trevino, L. K., & Harrison, D. (2005). Ethical leadership: A social learning perspective for construct development and testing. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 97, 117-134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2005.03.002

Burris, E. R., Detert, J. R., & Chiaburu, D. S. (2008). Quitting before leaving: The mediating effects of psychological attachment and detachment on voice. Journal of Applied Psychology, 93, 912-922. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.93.4.912

Butt, T. H., Abid, G., Arya, B., & Farooqi, S. (2018). Employee energy and subjective well-being: A moderated mediation model. The Service Industries Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2018.1563072

Carmeli, A., & Spreitzer, G. M. (2009). Trust, connectivity, and thriving: Implications for innovative behaviors at work. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 43(3), 169-191. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2162-6057.2009.tb01313.x

Cha, S., & Edmondson, A. (2006). When values backfire: Leadership, attribution, and disenchantment in a values-driven organization. The Leadership Quarterly, 17(1), 57-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2005.10.006

Chamberlin, M., Newton, D. W., & LePine, J. A. (2017). A meta‐analysis of voice and its promotive and prohibitve forms: Identification of key associations, distinctions, and future research directions. Personnel Psychology, 70, 11-71. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12185

Chughtai, A., Byrne, M., & Flood, B. (2014). Linking ethical leadership to employee well-being: The role of trust in supervisor. Journal of Business Ethics, 128(3), 653-663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-014-2126-7

Cullen, K. L., Gerbasi, A., & Chrobot‐Mason, D. (2015). Thriving in central network positions: The role of political skill. Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206315571154

Danna, K., & Griffin, R. W. (1999). Health and well-being in the workplace: A review and synthesis of the literature. Journal of Management, 25(3), 357-384. https://doi.org/10.1177/014920639902500305

Depret, E. F., & Fiske, S. T. (1993). Social cognition and power: Some cognitive consequences of social structure as a source of control deprivation. In G. Weary, F. Gleicher, & R. Marsh (Eds.), Control motivation and social cognition (pp. 176-202). New York: Springer Verlag. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-8309-3_7

Detert, J. R., & Burris, E. R. (2007). Leadership behavior and employee voice: Is the door really open? Academy of Management Journal, 50, 869-884. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2007.26279183

Diener, E., & Oishi, S. (2000). Money and happiness: Income and subjective well-being across nations. In E. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Culture and subjective well-being (pp. 185-218). Cambridge, MA, US: The MIT Press.

Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71-75. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa4901_13

Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 125(2), 276-302. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.125.2.276

Donaldson-Feilder, E., Munir, F., & Lewis, R. (2013). Leadership and employee well-being. In H. S. Leonard, R. Lewis, A. M. Freedman, & J. Passmore (Eds.), The Wiley-Blackwell handbook of the psychology of leadership, change and organizational development. Chichester: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118326404.ch8

Durbin, J., & Watson, G. S. (1951). Testing for serial correlation in least squares regression. II. Biometrika, 38(1/2), 159-177. https://doi.org/10.1093/biomet/38.1-2.159

Edmondson, A. C. (1999). Psychological safety and learning behavior in work teams. Administrative Science Quarterly, 44, 350-383. https://doi.org/10.2307/2666999

Edmondson, A. C. (2003). Speaking up in the operating room: How team leaders promote learning in interdisciplinary action teams. Journal of Management Studies, 40, 1419-1452. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00386

Elahi, N. S., Abid, G., Arya, B., & Farooqi, S. (2019). Workplace behavioral antecedents of job performance: The mediating role of thriving at work. The Service Industries Journal. https://doi.org/10.1080/02642069.2019.1638369

Emerson, R. M. (1962). Power-dependence relations. American Sociological Review, 27, 31-41. https://doi.org/10.2307/2089716

Fan, D., Cui, L., Zhang, M. M., Zhu, C. J., Härtel, C. E., & Nyland, C. (2014). Influence of high performance work systems on employee subjective well-being and job burnout: empirical evidence from the Chinese healthcare sector. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 25(7), 931-950. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2014.876740

Fornell, C., & Larcker, D. F. (1981). Evaluating structural equation models with unobservable variables and measurement error. Journal of Marketing Research, 18(1), 39-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/002224378101800104

George, J. M., & Zhou, J. (2002). Understanding when bad moods foster creativity and good ones don’t: The role of context and clarity of feelings. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 687-697. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.87.4.687

Gerstner, C. R., & Day, D. V. (1997). Meta-analytic review of leader – member exchange theory: Correlates and construct ideas. The Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 827-844. ttps://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.82.6.827

Grant, A. M., Christianson, M. K., & Price, R. H. (2007). Happiness, health, or relationships? Managerial practices and employee well-being tradeoffs. Academy of Management Perspectives, 21, 51-63. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2007.26421238

Greenberger, D. B., & Strasser, S. (1986). The development and application of a model of personal control in organizations. Academy of Management Review, 11, 164-177. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1986.4282657

Grojean, M. W., Resick, C. J., Dickson, M. W., & Smith, D. B. (2004). Leaders, values, and organizational climate: Examining leadership strategies for establishing an organizational climate regarding ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 55, 223-250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-004-1275-5

Guzman, F. A., & Espejo, A. (2019). Introducing changes at work: How voice behavior relates to management innovation. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(1), 73-90. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2319

Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2010). Multivariate data analysis: A global perspective. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Hayes, A. F. (2012). PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www.afhayes.com/public/process2012.pdf

Hirschman, A.O. (1970). Exit, voice, and loyalty: Responses to decline in firms, organizations, and states (Vol. 25). Harvard University Press. https://doi.org/10.2307/2325604

Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 6, 1-55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118

Islam, T., Ahmed, I., & Ali, G. (2019). Effects of ethical leadership on bullying and voice behavior among nurses: Mediating role of organizational identification, poor working condition and workload. Leadership in Health Services, 32(1), 2-17. https://doi.org/10.1108/LHS-02-2017-0006

Kern, M., Waters, L., Adler, A., & White, M. (2014). Assessing employee wellbeing in schools using a multifaceted approach: Associations with physical health, life satisfaction, and professional thriving. Psychology, 5, 500-513. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2014.56060

Keyes, C. L. (2014). Happiness, flourishing, and life satisfaction. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society. In W. R. Cockersham, R. Dingwell, & S. R. Quah (Eds.), The Wiley Blackwell encyclopedia of health, illness, behavior, and society. London: Wiley. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118410868.wbehibs454

Keyes, C. L. M. (2002). The mental health continuum: From languishing to flourishing in life. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 43, 207-222. https://doi.org/10.2307/3090197

Kira, M., & Balkin, D. B. (2014). Interactions between work and identities: Thriving, withering, or redefining the self? Human Resource Management Review, 24(2), 131-143. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrmr.2013.10.001

Kline, R. B. (2015). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (4th ed.). New York, NY: Guilford Publications.

Kuoppala, J., Lamminpaa, A., Lira, J., & Vainio, H. (2008). Leadership, job well-being, and health effects – a systematic review and a meta-analysis. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 50, 904-915. https://doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0b013e31817e918d

LePine, J. A., & Van Dyne, L. (1998). Predicting voice behavior in work groups. Journal of Applied Psychology, 83, 853-868. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.83.6.853

LePine, J. A., & Van Dyne, L. (2001). Voice and cooperative behavior as contrasting forms of contextual performance: Evidence of differential relationships with big five personality characteristics and cognitive ability. Journal of Applied Psychology, 86, 326-336. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.86.2.326

Liang, J., Farh, C. I. C., & Farh, J. (2012). Psychological antecedents of promotive and prohibitive voice: A two-wave examination. Academy of Management Journal, 55(1), 71-92. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2010.0176

Liu, J., Siu, O. L., & Shi, K. (2009). Transformational leadership and employee well-being: The mediating role of trust in leader and self-efficacy. Applied Psychology, 59(3), 454-479. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1464-0597.2009.00407.x

Liu, W., Zhu, R., & Yang, Y. (2010). I warn you because I like you: Voice behaviour, employee identifications, and transformational leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, 21, 189-202. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2009.10.014

Lowe, K. B., Kroeck, K. G., & Sivasubramaniam, N. (1996). Effectiveness correlates of transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analytic review of the MLQ literature. The Leadership Quarterly, 7, 385-425. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1048-9843(96)90027-2

Mayer, D. M., Kuenzi, M., Greenbaum, R., Bardes, M., & Salvador, R. (2009). How low does ethical leadership flow? Test of a trickle-down model. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 108, 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.obhdp.2008.04.002

Maynes, T. D., & Podsakoff, P. M. (2014). Speaking more broadly: An examination of the nature, antecedents, and consequences of an expanded set of employee voice behaviors. Journal of Applied Psychology, 99(1), 87-88. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0034284

McClean, E. J., Burris, E. R., Detert, J. R. (2013). When does voice lead to exit? It depends on leadership. Academy of Management Journal, 56, 525-548. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2011.0041

Milliken, F. J., Schipani, C. A., Bishara, N. D., & Prado, A. M. (2015). Linking workplace practices to community engagement: The case for encouraging employee voice. Academy of Management Perspective, 29, 405-421. https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2013.0121

Morrison, E. W. (2011). Employee voice behavior: Integration and directions for future research. The Academy of Management Annals, 5(1), 373-412. https://doi.org/10.5465/19416520.2011.574506

Morrison, E. W. (2014). Employee voice and silence. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 1(1), 173-197. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-orgpsych-031413-091328

Morrison, E. W., & Milliken, F. J. (2000). Organizational silence: A barrier to change and development in a pluralistic world. Academy of Management Review, 25(4), 706-725. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.2000.3707697

Morrison, E. W., & Phelps, C. C. (1999). Taking charge at work: Extrarole efforts to initiative workplace change. Academy of Management Journal, 42, 403-419. https://doi.org/10.2307/257011

Motowidlo, S. J., Packard, J. S., & Manning, M. R. (1986). Occupational stress: Its causes and consequences for job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 7(4), 618-630. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.71.4.618

Nawaz, M., Abid, G., Arya, B., Bhatti, G. A., & Farooqi, S. (2018). Understanding employee thriving: The role of workplace context, personality and individual resources. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1482209

Nielsen, K., & Munir, F. (2009). How do transformational leaders influence followers’ affective wellbeing? Exploring the mediating effects of self-efficacy. Work & Stress, 23, 313-329. https://doi.org/10.1080/02678370903385106

Niessen, C., Sonnentag, S., & Sach, F. (2012). Thriving at work – A diary study. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 33, 468-487. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.763

Nix, G. A., Ryan, R. M., Manly, J. B., & Deci, E. L. (1999). Revitalization through self-regulation: The effects of autonomous and controlled motivation on happiness and vitality. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 35, 266-284. https://doi.org/10.1006/jesp.1999.1382

Patterson, T. A., Luthans, F., & Jeung, W. (2014). Thriving at work: Impact of psychological capital and supervisor support. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 35, 434-446. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.1907

Pfeffer, J. (2010). Building sustainable organizations: The human factor. The Academy of Management Perspectives, 24(1), 34-45. https://doi.org/10.5465/AMP.2010.50304415

Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879-903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879

Porath, C., Spreitzer, G. M., Gibson, C., & Garnett, F. G. (2012). Thriving at work: Toward its measurement, construct validation, and theoretical refinement. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 33(2), 250-275. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.756

Prilleltensky, I. (2005). Promoting well-being: Time for a paradigm shift in health and human services. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 33, 53-60. https://doi.org/10.1080/14034950510033381

Prottas D. J. (2013). Relationships among employee perception of their manager’s behavioural integrity, moral distress, and employee attitudes and well-being. Journal of Business Ethics, 113, 51-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-012-1280-z

Qaiser, S., Abid, G., Arya, B., & Farooqi, S. (2018). Nourishing the bliss: Antecedents and mechanism of happiness at work. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. https://doi.org/10.1080/14783363.2018.1493919

Salancik, G. R., & Pfeffer, J. (1978). A social information processing approach to job attitudes and task design. Administrative Science Quarterly, 23, 224-253. https://doi.org/10.2307/2392563

Settoon, R. P., Bennett, N., & Liden, R. C. (1996). Social exchange in organizations: Perceived organizational support, leader-member exchange, and employee reciprocity. Journal of Applied Psychology, 81, 219-227. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.81.3.219

Spreitzer, G., & Porath, C. (2012). Creating sustainable performance. Harvard Business Review, JanuaryFebruary, 92-99.

Spreitzer, G., Sutcliffe, K., Dutton, J., Sonenshein, S., & Grant, A. M. (2005). A socially embedded model of thriving at work. Organization Science, 16(5), 537-549. https://doi.org/10.1287/orsc.1050.0153

Spreitzer, G. M., & Porath, C. (2014). Self‐determination as nutriment for thriving: Building an integrative model of human growth at work. In M. Gagné (Ed.), The Oxford handbook of work engagement, motivation, and self‐determination theory (pp. 245-258). New York: Oxford University Press.

Spreitzer, G. M., & Sutcliffe, K. M. (2007). Thriving in organizations. In D. L. Nelson, & C. L. Cooper (Eds.), Positive organizational behavior: Accentuating the positive at work (pp. 74-85). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781446212752.n6

Tuckey, M. R., Bakker, A. B., & Dollard, M. F. (2012). Empowering leaders optimize working conditions for engagement: A multilevel study. Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 17, 15-27. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0025942

Van de Voorde, K., Paauwe, J., & Van Veldhoven, M. (2011). Employee well-being and the HRMorganizational performance relationship: a review of quantitative studies. International Journal of Management Reviews (in press). https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2370.2011.00322.x

Van Dyne, L., & LePine, J. (1998). Helping and voice extra-role behaviors: Evidence of construct and predictive validity. Academy of Management Journal, 41(1), 108-119. https://doi.org/10.2307/256902

Van Dyne, L., Ang, S., & Botero, I. C. (2003). Conceptualizing employee silence and employee voice as multidimensional constructs. Journal of Management Studies, 40, 1359-1392. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6486.00384

Van Dyne, L., Cummings, L. L., & McLean Parks, J. (1995). Extra-role behaviors: In pursuit of construct and definitional clarity. In L. L. Cummings & B. M. Staw (Eds.), Research in organizational behavior (Vol. 17, pp. 215-285). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Wallace, C., Butts, M. M., Johnson, P. D., Stevens, F. G., & Smith, M. B. (2016). A multi‐level model of employee innovation: Understanding the effects of regulatory focus, thriving, and employee involvement climate. Journal of Management, 42, 982-1004. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206313506462

Walumbwa, F. O., & Schaubroeck, J. (2009). Leader personality traits and employee voice behavior: Mediating roles of ethical leadership and work group psychological safety. Journal of Applied Psychology, 94, 1275-1286. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0015848

Walumbwa, F. O., Muchiri, M. K., Misati, E., Wu, C., & Meiliani, M. (2017). Inspired to perform: A multilevel investigation of antecedents and consequences of thriving at work. Journal of Organisational Behavior, 1-13.

Warr, P. B. (1987). Work, unemployment, and mental health. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Weiss, M., & Morrison, E. W. (2019). Speaking up and moving up: How voice can enhance employees’ social status. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 40(1), 5-19. https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2262

Wood, S. (2008). Job characteristics, employee voice and well-being in Britain. Industrial Relations Journal, 39(2), 153-168. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2338.2007.00482.x

Wood, S., & Wall, T. (2007). Work enrichment and employee voice in human resource managementperformance studies. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 18(7), 1335-1372. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585190701394150