Linking Spiritual Leadership to Employee Mental Health: The Mediating Role of Transformational Leadership

The present study investigates the direct and indirect effects of spiritual and transformational leadership on psychological distress, namely depression, stress and anxiety, among public sector employees in Turkey. Employing Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the research examines the pathways through which these leadership styles influence mental health outcomes in organizational contexts. The findings demonstrate that spiritual leadership significantly alleviates stress and depression, primarily through its capacity to foster a sense of purpose, intrinsic motivation, and spiritual resilience among employees. Conversely, transformational leadership has been demonstrated to contribute to the alleviation of psychological distress by means of promoting personal growth and emotional support. The model indicates that both leadership styles exert direct negative effects on depression and stress levels, and also exert indirect effects on anxiety through mediating psychological variables. The findings emphasise the pivotal function of leadership strategies in promoting employee well-being and mitigating mental health challenges within organisational contexts. The present study provides empirical support for the integration of spiritually and transformationally oriented leadership strategies in mental health promotion within public institutions.