The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of ethical leadership on recreational motivation and job satisfaction, and to reveal the role of recreational motivation in this relationship. The study was designed within the framework of a quantitative research approach using a relational survey model. The sample consisted of 187 employees working in both the public and private sectors in the province of Isparta. Data were collected using the Ethical Leadership Scale, the Recreational Motivation Scale, and the Job Satisfaction Scale. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.The results of the analysis indicate that ethical leadership has a positive and significant effect on recreational motivation. In addition, ethical leadership was found to have a direct and significant effect on job satisfaction. Recreational motivation was also identified as a strong and positive predictor of job satisfaction. Regarding the explanatory power of the model, ethical leadership was found to explain a substantial proportion of the variance in recreational motivation, while ethical leadership and recreational motivation together accounted for a considerable proportion of the variance in job satisfaction.Overall, the findings suggest that ethical leadership plays a decisive role not only in organizational processes but also in employees’ leisure-related motivation and overall job satisfaction.