Relational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior: do employee well-being and employee voice matter?

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the mediation effects of employee voice and employee well-being on the relationship between relational leadership and organizational citizenship behavior.

Design/methodology/approach: This study used a Web-based survey method to collect data from 301 respondents in the four public hospitals of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis. This study used PLS-SEM (WarpPLS) to test the study's hypotheses.

Findings: The findings show that relational leadership has a positive impact on organizational citizenship behavior, and that this link is mediated in part by both employee voice and employee well-being.

Practical implications: This study demonstrates the importance of leaders, paying close attention to employees' well-being and opinions when attempting to drive organizational citizenship behavior in the health sector.

Originality/value: Based on the review of the extant literature on the impact of leadership on employee behavior and to the best of the authors' knowledge, it is likely that this study will be the first to show how relational leadership, employee voice, employee well-being and organizational citizenship behavior are related in the health sector, thereby advancing the thrusts of the social exchange and relational leadership theories.