Perceived leader integrity: emotional intelligence as a pathway to work engagement

Abstract

Drawing from the social exchange theory (SET), the study examined the direct effects of perceived leader integrity on work engagement and the indirect effect of this relationship via emotional intelligence. The study employed a time-lagged design, collecting data in 3 waves from 392 public healthcare employees. Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to assess model fit as well as the composite reliability and convergent and discriminant validity of the constructs. Hierarchical regression analysis and the Hayes PROCESS macro were subsequently used to test the study's hypotheses. The findings revealed that perceived leader integrity significantly enhances both work engagement and emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence mediates the positive relationship between perceived leader integrity and employee work engagement. These findings support SDG 3 (“Good Health and Well Being”) by showing that integrity based leadership is essential for a healthy and engaged healthcare workforce. Employees' perceptions of their leaders' integrity are critical, making it important for leaders to demonstrate consistent ethical behaviour to sustain high levels of engagement. This study offers original value empirically examining how perceived leader integrity enhances work engagement through employees' emotional intelligence, an underexplored mechanism in existing research. By focusing on the healthcare sector and using a three-wave time-lagged design, it provides fresh empirical insight into how integrity-based leadership strengthens engagement in emotionally demanding work settings.