Ethical Leadership and Work-Family Balance: Mediating Roles of Job Performance and Job Burnout

Abstract

The purpose of this study examines the effect of ethical leadership on the work-family balance of subordinates. Further, we investigate the mediating effects of job performance and job burnout in the relationship between ethical leadership on the work-family balance. Drawing upon conservation of resource theory, we expected that ethical leadership had a positive spillover effect not only job performance and job burnout in the work life domain but also in the work-family balance that includes the family life domain. The results showed that ethical leadership was positively related to work-family balance. Also, each job performance and job burnout partially mediated the relationship between ethical leadership and work-family balance, respectively. More specifically, ethical leadership was positively related to job performance and job performance was positively related to work-family balance. On the other hand, ethical leadership was negatively related to job burnout and job burnout was negatively related to work-family balance. Bootstrapping tests confirmed the indirect effects of the two mediators between ethical leadership and work-family balance. The research findings provide meaningful theoretical and managerial implications.