How am I supposed to live without you : an investigation of antecedents and consequences of workplace ostracism

Abstract

This dissertation investigates workplace ostracism in terms of (1) the antecedents of workplace ostracism; (2) the influences of ostracism on interpersonal emotions; and (3) and the diverse behavioral consequences of ostracism. We conducted three empirical studies. In Study 1 (Chapter 2), we examined how narcissism as a personality trait of the target is related to workplace ostracism. Using two independent samples, we found that in teams with a higher level of goal interdependence, narcissists are least likely to be ostracized when they have a high expertise status, whereas in teams with a lower level of goal interdependence, they are most likely to be ostracized when they have a low expertise status. In Study 2 (Chapter 3), we examined the relationship between ostracism and employees' emotional reactions at the dyadic-level, and identified factors that intensify the negative emotions of ostracized team members. Social relations analyses revealed that ostracism toward another arouses negative emotions (i.e., anger, sadness, humiliation, and anxiety) in the target when interacting with the perpetrator. Such negative emotional reactions are exacerbated when the target perceives a low level of ostracism from other team members or a low level of ostracism from the perpetrator to other team members. In Study 3 (Chapter 4), we examined the conditions under which ostracism deters social loafing and organizational deviance and promotes helping. We found that when team identification is high, ostracism acts as an informal sanction that decreases employees' social loafing and organizational deviance and increases their helping behavior. The implications of the three studies for theory and practice are discussed.