Beyond Religion: Applying Islamic Spiritual Well-Being to Improve Ethical Behavior in Modern Organizations

Abstract

This study investigates the role of Islamic Spiritual Well-Being (ISWB) as a mediating mechanism between spiritual leadership and workplace deviance in conventional (non-religious) organizations. While prior studies on ISWB have been largely confined to Islamic institutions, this research extends its application to secular workplaces, highlighting Islam’s ethical universality as rahmatan lil alamin. Using the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, spiritual leadership is conceptualized as an external stimulus that fosters ISWB (organism), which in turn reduces deviant behavior (response). Data from 220 employees in Central Java were analyzed using PLS-SEM and PLS-MGA. Results confirm that spiritual leadership significantly enhances ISWB and directly reduces deviant behavior. ISWB also significantly mediates this relationship, functioning as a spiritual-ethical anchor that internalizes leadership values into moral behavior. Multigroup analysis shows the model’s consistency across organizational sizes, reinforcing its generalizability. This study contributes to the literature by introducing ISWB as a novel construct applicable beyond religious institutions and demonstrating its operational viability in corporate settings. The findings offer a new ethical framework for leadership development and employee behavior management in diverse organizational environments.