Impact of ethical leadership on work environment in public hospital in Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background and Objective: At present, ethical outrages and moral disputes are major concerns in healthcare organizations. In such situations, ethical behavior has emerged an important enabler to manage healthcare organizations. There are several beneficial outcomes that have been documented in the growing body of research on ethical leadership. Ethical behavior would cause a positive effect not only on followers’ attitudes and behaviors but also on work environment in healthcare organizations. The study intended to assess the impact of ethical leadership on work environment in public hospital in Hail, Saudi Arabia.

Methodology: In this crosse sectional study, a total of 387 working health care professionals in public hospitals in Hail, Saudi Arabia filled the distributed questionnaire between March 9, 2025 to May 14, 2025. Study respondents were selected through a simple random sampling method. Version- 4 of Smart PLS was used to apply partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to validate conceptual model.

Results: In this study 55.3% of the respondents were women, 44.7% were men, and the average years of experience was 8.7 years. Study results found the statistically significant direct effect of ethical leadership on work environment (β=0.850, t=39.168, P<0.001).

Conclusion: The study revealed that ethical leadership have positive impact on work environment in public hospitals in Hail, Saudi Arabia.