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Ethical Leadership and Core Job Characteristics: Designing Jobs for Employee Well-Being

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Work and Quality of Life

Part of the book series: International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life ((IHQL))

Abstract

Most organizations and its leaders are evaluated on specific, objective, and tangible short-term outcomes such as market, financial, and accounting metrics of organizational performance. Although this approach to measuring performance creates an environment that encourages continual innovation and growth, it also fosters a climate that puts pressure on managers at multiple levels to deliver and/or report favorable economic outcomes. The rewards for achieving financial objectives are rich (e.g., lucrative bonus packages, stock option appreciation) while the punishment for failing to achieve can be severe (e.g., dismissal). Such pressure has the potential negative consequence of driving a narrow view of success, creating dilemmas, often of an ethical nature, in terms of how decisions should be made. This is especially problematic in that employees have come to expect more from work than a narrow focus on bottom-line profits. The ethical nature of leadership has an important influence on the climate in which employees make decisions, as leaders shape the tangible and perceived characteristics of work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Crummer Graduate School of Business, Rollins College, 1000 Holt Avenue – 2722, Winter Park, FL, 32789, USA

    Ronald F. Piccolo Ph.D.

  2. Department of Management, Spears School of Business, Oklahoma State University, 318 Business Building, Stillwater, OK, 74075, USA

    Rebecca L. Greenbaum Ph.D. & Gabi Eissa Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Ronald F. Piccolo Ph.D.
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  2. Rebecca L. Greenbaum Ph.D.
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  3. Gabi Eissa Ph.D.
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ronald F. Piccolo Ph.D. .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Psychology, Radford University, Radford, 24142, Virgin Islands, USA

    Nora P. Reilly

  2. Pamlin College of Business, Dept. Marketing, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Pamplin Hall 2025, Blacksburg, 24061-0236, Virginia, USA

    M. Joseph Sirgy

  3. , Psychology, Radford University, Russell Hall 444, Radford, 24142, Virginia, USA

    C. Allen Gorman

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Piccolo, R.F., Greenbaum, R.L., Eissa, G. (2012). Ethical Leadership and Core Job Characteristics: Designing Jobs for Employee Well-Being. In: Reilly, N., Sirgy, M., Gorman, C. (eds) Work and Quality of Life. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-4059-4_16

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