Abstract:

Unethical behavior in the workplace poses significant harm to organizations, thus necessitating the exploration of intervention strategies in the context of management practices. While previous research has focused predominantly on intervention methods for unethical workplace behavior from a rational ethical decision-making standpoint, exploration of such methods from an intuitive ethical decision-making perspective has been limited. This project asserts that mindfulness has the potential to impact both the rational ethical decision-making system and the intuitive ethical decision-making system, consequently mitigating workplace unethical behavior.

In relation to the rational ethical decision-making system, this study proposes to identify moral imagination and moral disengagement as two crucial mechanisms linking mindfulness to unethical behavior. Moral imagination has long been recognized as a significant factor in reducing unethical behavior. Mindfulness has the potential to enhance awareness, perspective-taking, and creativity, which are key dimensions of moral imagination. As a result, mindfulness can facilitate the cultivation of moral imagination, thereby contributing to a reduction in unethical behavior. Furthermore, moral disengagement represents a risk factor that can contribute to unethical behavior. Mindfulness, by fostering heightened self-monitoring among individuals, has the capacity to diminish moral disengagement. Therefore, moral disengagement acts as a mediator in the negative relationship between mindfulness and unethical behavior.

Regarding the intuitive ethical decision-making system, this study proposes to identify emotional exhaustion and moral emotion as two significant mechanisms that link mindfulness to unethical behavior. Individuals experiencing emotional exhaustion are more susceptible to impulsive engagement in unethical behavior due to depleted self-control resources. Mindfulness has been shown to be advantageous in replenishing these self-control resources, thereby reducing emotional exhaustion. Consequently, emotional exhaustion acts as a mediator in the negative relationship between mindfulness and unethical behavior. Furthermore, moral emotions play a crucial role in encouraging individuals to avoid unethical behavior instinctively. Mindfulness, with its emphasis on cultivating a compassionate attitude, has the potential to foster virtuous qualities and enhance moral emotions. Consequently, moral emotion serves as a mediator in the negative relationship between mindfulness and unethical behavior.

By integrating the rational and the intuitive ethical decision-making systems, a dual-system model of the relationship between mindfulness and unethical behavior is developed. Nevertheless, this project also proposes certain boundary conditions that influence this dual-system model. In terms of contextual factors, ethical climate is posited as a significant boundary condition. Ethical climate can help individuals with high levels of mindfulness recognize moral dilemmas, thereby enhancing the impacts of mindfulness on moral disengagement and moral emotion. Regarding individual factors, this project identifies moral identity and moral attentiveness as two important boundary conditions. Moral identity can strengthen the relationship between mindfulness and moral imagination, as individuals with a strong moral identity are more likely to engage in imaginative moral reasoning. On the other hand, moral attentiveness may negatively moderate the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion. This possibility suggests that among individuals with high levels of moral attentiveness, the relationship between mindfulness and emotional exhaustion may be weaker.

This project endeavors to examine the influence of mindfulness on unethical behavior from the perspective of the dual-system theory of ethical decision-making, thereby contributing to the interdisciplinary exploration of mindfulness and behavioral ethics. By proposing a comprehensive theory of the relationship between mindfulness and unethical behavior, this study offers valuable insights for future research in related domains. Additionally, this project identifies several potential boundary conditions that may impact the relationships between mindfulness and its outcomes. While the effectiveness of mindfulness may vary across individuals, research exploring the boundary conditions that moderate the effects of mindfulness remains scarce. Thus, by investigating these possible boundary conditions, this project seeks to enhance our understanding of mindfulness in a comprehensive manner.

In terms of practical implications, this project identifies mindfulness as a significant factor that influences both the rational and the intuitive ethical decision-making systems, thereby offering valuable insights for intervening in unethical behavior in the context of management practices. Previous intervention methods targeting unethical behavior in organizations have focused predominantly on the rational ethical decision-making system. However, it is crucial to recognize that many instances of unethical behavior occur impulsively rather than as a result of deliberate planning. Mindfulness, with its capacity to enhance both the rational and the intuitive ethical decision-making systems, emerges as an ideal approach to both impulsive and deliberate workplace unethical behaviors. By cultivating mindfulness among employees, organizations can create an environment that promotes ethical decision-making and mitigates the occurrence of unethical behaviors. This fact suggests that incorporating mindfulness-based interventions into management practices can effectively decrease unethical behaviors in the workplace.

Key words: unethical behavior, mindfulness, dual-system theory, intervention, ethical decision-making