Relation between Ethical Leadership and Deviant Workplace Behaviors as Perceived by Nurses

Background: Ethical leadership plays important role in increasing or decreasing deviant workplace behaviors. It is important that leaders encourage ethical behavior in their organizations. Purpose: To assess the relation between ethical leadership and deviant workplace behaviors as perceived by nurses. Design: A descriptive correlational research design was used. Setting: The study was conducted in all units and departments at El-Shohada Central Hospital. Sample: A simple random sample technique of 150 nurses constitutes the study sample. Instruments: Two instruments were used, which are ethical leadership scale and deviant workplace behaviors scale. Results: More than two fifths (44.7%) of studied nurses perceived that their leaders had a high level of ethical leadership. While, the minority (17.3%) of them perceived their leaders as having a low level of ethical leadership. Also, the majority (94%) of the studied nurses didn’t perceive a deviant workplace behavior, while the minority (6%) of them perceived a deviant workplace behaviors. Conclusion: There was a negative strong correlation between ethical leadership and deviant workplace behaviors as perceived by the studied nurses. Moreover, ethical leadership is a negative predictor factor of deviant workplace behaviors. Recommendations: Training programs need to be conducted for nursing staff about principles of ethical leadership, and its effect on productivity and deviant workplace behaviors. Implement strategies that promote supportive work environment and reduce deviant workplace behaviors, including flexible work schedules, fair pay and benefits, and safe working conditions.