The Role of Ethical Leadership in Reducing Workplace Procrastination: Evidence from Public Universities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRG)

Abstract

According to studies conducted over the past two decades, positive leadership styles have been linked to less procrastination among employees. However, it is unclear if this is also true for those who work in public universities in the KRG. There is a need to test the relationship between other leadership styles and procrastination in other settings for better theoretical validity and applicability, as the literature has explored the role of leadership styles such as (transformational, empowering) on procrastination behaviour in various settings. Even though there is some speculation that good leadership practices can reduce unfavourable behaviours from followers, empirical studies on this topic are limited. This study uses social learning theory and social exchange theory to investigate the impact of ethical leadership on work procrastination at public universities in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Data was collected from 451 workers across 14 public universities in the higher education sector after a review of ethical leadership and workplace procrastination and the development of hypotheses. Ethical leadership was found to have a negative correlation and impact with employees' procrastination after a linear regression model was applied in SPSS to validate the study's constructs and test the research model. By examining the vital role leaders play in preventing procrastination at work, this paper makes a theoretical contribution to the growing fields of ethical leadership and procrastination theory. Implications for higher education are discussed, along with recommendations for improving current systems and practices aimed at decreasing procrastination