Impact of Digital Leadership on Employee Wellbeing and Corporate Social Responsibility in Sustainable Banking

Abstract

Digital leadership is a key element that has become a driver of sustainable practices and employee well-being in the changing banking environment. As more banks become more interested in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), they are incorporating digital transformation strategies into their quest to ensure sustainable operational and employee engagement. This paper investigates the role of digital leadership in employee welfare and CSR in sustainable banking setups. The aim of the research is to investigate the effects of digital leadership practices that affect employee well-being and CSR activities to eventually help the bank's sustainability agenda. The mixed-methods approach was applied and includes a quantitative survey of 300 employees working in various sustainable banks and qualitative interviews with top management. Relationships between digital leadership, employee well-being, and CSR performance were measured with the help of statistical analysis, which included regression models and path analysis. The results show that digital leadership can make a significant difference to the well-being of employees due to the increased communication, autonomy in decision-making, and work-life balance, which reinforce the outcomes of CSR. Banks that have greater degrees of digital leadership have better employee engagement and commitment to CSR activities, including environmental conservation and community development. Digital leadership had a positive relationship with employee wellbeing (β = 0.65, p < 0.01), and CSR performance had a significant positive relationship with employee wellbeing (β = 0.72, p < 0.01). It is important to note that there was also a positive relationship (β = 0.48, p < 0.05) between digital leadership and CSR performance, which indicates that leadership plays a critical role in influencing sustainability initiatives. The research will add to the literature and practice as well, since it will give empirical evidence that digital leadership correlates with employee well-being and CSR in the banking industry. According to it, the development of digital leadership can be a strategic solution to improving the resilience of organizations, their employees, and sustainable development objectives in the banking industry.