At present, there are few studies on the antecedents of benevolent leadership, and it is regard as a static characteristic. At the same time, research on the effects of sleep generally focuses on the psychology and behavior of oneself. This study discusses the effect of manager sleep on benevolent leadership through emotional exhaustion, and extends the effect to deviant behavior of employees, using job stress as a moderating variable. Based on the self-regulation theory and experience sampling method, 497 unit-days samples were analyzed by multilevel path analysis and Monte Carlo simulation test, and the results were obtained: manager sleep quality is positively related to benevolent leadership, and emotional exhaustion plays a mediating role. Benevolent leadership is negatively related to employee’s deviant behavior. Manager sleep quality affects employee deviant behavior through emotional exhaustion and benevolent leadership. Job stress negatively moderated the negative relationship between manager sleep quality and emotional exhaustion. Finally, we discuss the theoretical contribution, practical implication of this research and future prospects.