Perceptions of Ethical Climate on Deviant Behavior: the Mediating Role of Work Spirituality

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between employees' perceptions of the workplace's ethical climate and deviant behavior. The authors also suggest examining workplace spirituality as a mediating factor in the link indicated above. Using a sample of 257 workers from four industrial enterprises in central Nigeria, a quantitative analysis was carried out. The Smart-PLS 3.3.9 program was used to test the hypotheses. The results demonstrated that deviant behavior is directly and negatively impacted by the ethical climate. However, the findings also allow the researchers to confirm the role of workplace spirituality as a mediator in the association between the ethical climate and deviant behavior. Due to this fact, researchers may now focus on defining and putting into practice control mechanisms that inform managers of how well the ethical climate is seen by employees and HRM managers should be equipped to address the issue.