Unethical pro-family behavior and hospitality employee engagement: a daily diary study exploring the self-conscious process

Purpose Despite extensive research on unethical pro-family behavior, the specific consequences for hospitality employees who engage in such behavior remain underexplored. This study aims to examine how daily instances of unethical pro-family behavior influence hospitality employees’ work and life engagement. Design/methodology/approach This study used a two-phase daily diary approach. In the initial phase, participants reported their demographic information and completed an assessment of ethical leadership. Over the next seven consecutive workdays, they answered questionnaires three times daily. The final sample comprised 121 hospitality employees and 789 daily surveys. The authors analyzed the data with multilevel modeling using an experience-sampling design. Findings This study reveals that daily unethical pro-family behavior triggers conflicting emotions of pride and guilt among hospitality employees. While it increases work and family engagement through pride, it also decreases family engagement due to guilt. Ethical leadership acts as a key boundary condition affecting such behavior’s impact on employees’ engagement. Practical implications This study offers actionable guidance for managing unethical pro-family behavior in the hospitality industry. Managers can introduce financial-wellness programs and discourage unethical pro-family behavior. Organizations should also provide targeted training to enhance ethical leadership. Originality/value This study extends the hospitality literature by demonstrating how daily unethical pro-family behavior influences hospitality employees’ engagement through the opposing mechanisms of pride and guilt, and by highlighting the critical role of ethical leadership in mitigating its adverse effects.