Effect of Ethical Leadership on Nurses’ Organizational Silence: The Mediating Role of Organizational Justice

Aim. The aim of this study is to explore the effects of ethical leadership on nurses’ organizational silence and the mediating role of organizational justice. Background. Organizational silence is considered to be an unethical and destructive influence on healthcare organizations. Ethical leadership has an important influence on nurses’ organizational silence. Yet, the effect of mechanism among ethical leadership, nurses’ organizational silence, and the perceived organizational justice remains unknown. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of 896 nurses in 11 hospitals in Henan Province, China, using a stratified sampling method. Data were analyzed using correlation analysis, one-way analysis of variance, and PROCESS macro. Results. Chinese nurses spoke highly of the ethical leadership of their nurse managers. Organizational justice and silence among nurses were at moderate levels. Ethical leadership significantly predicted nurses’ organizational justice (β = 0.453, $P$ < 0.001) and nurses’ organizational silence (β = −0.450, $P$ < 0.001). Organizational justice played a partially mediating role in ethical leadership and nurses’ organizational silence. Conclusion. Developing ethical leadership and improving organizational justice for nurses are critical to reduce organizational silence among nurses. Implications for Nursing Management. Hospitals can break organizational silence by developing ethical leadership in nurse managers through training related to ethical leadership, such as leadership programs. In addition, nurse managers can reduce the occurrence of organizational silence by increasing nurses’ sense of organizational justice.