Overcoming the Counterproductive Workplace Behavior with the Power of Sustainable Leadership: The Role of Ethical Climate

In recent years, the impact of leadership approaches on employee behaviors and organizational processes has become a prominent topic in organizational behavior studies. This growing interest stems from rapid changes and increasing competition in the business world, which have highlighted the critical role of leaders in organizational performance. Additionally, in an era where ethical values are prioritized and employee well-being is directly linked to organizational success, understanding how leadership styles influence these factors has gained significant attention. This study investigates the role of ethical climate in the relationship between sustainable leadership and counterproductive work behaviors (CWB). Sustainable leadership is analyzed as the independent variable, CWB as the dependent variable, and ethical climate as the mediating variable. The population consists of white-collar employees in Istanbul, with data collected from 327 participantsthrough convenience sampling. Analyses were performed, including validity and reliability tests, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), correlation analysis, regression analysis, and mediation analysis. The results indicate that sustainable leadership positively impacts ethical climate and negatively affects CWB. Furthermore, ethical climate has a significant negative effect on CWB. Mediation analysis using Hayes Process Macro reveals that ethical climate partially mediates the relationship between sustainable leadership and CWB. These findings underscore the importance of fostering an ethical climate and implementing sustainable leadership practices to minimize counterproductive behaviors and enhance organizational well-being.