Enhancing the perceived organizational support, perceived ethical-philanthropic CSR and subjective well-being: the role of ethical leadership

Purpose This study aims to examine the impact of ethical leadership style on the subjective well-being of health-care workers by examining the sequential mediating effects of perceived organizational support and perceived ethical-philanthropic corporate social responsibility (CSR). Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from frontline health-care workers (i.e. doctors and nurses). Further, to cope with the response burden during the acute wave of the coronavirus pandemic, this study used split-questionnaire design for data collection. Findings This study’s findings fully support the hypothesized framework of the study, illustrating that ethical leadership positively influenced the subjective well-being of health-care workers. Moreover, this study found that the ethical leadership and well-being relationship is sequentially mediated by perceived organizational support and perceived ethical-philanthropic CSR. Practical implications This study possesses practical implications for health-care institutions to encompass the agenda of developing ethically appropriate conduct in their administration and become genuinely concerned about health-care workers and society as well. Social implications By highlighting the role of ethical leadership in participating in ethical and philanthropic CSR activities, this study possesses social implications for the well-being of health-care workers and society at large. Originality/value A positive and strong chain of perceptions about organizational support accorded to employees specifically and society at large emerges as an important sequential mediating mechanism that helps ethical leaders in hospital administration in building subjective well-being in their followers amid the COVID-19 pandemic.