Perceived Workplace Ostracism : Professionals Experiences in Sri Lanka Context

Abstract

There is a considerable discourse on inclusion among researchers and practitioners. Yet, exclusion takes place in different forms. Workplace Ostracism (WO) which denotes „an employee‟s perception of being ignored or excluded by another employee or group of employees‟ is a way that has threatened the practice of inclusion in organizations. In particular, the experience of workplace ostracism has been drawn the curiosity among scholars highlighting the requirement of applying qualitative methodology in investigating the phenomenon of WO. In this backdrop, the present study aimed to explore the experience of workplace ostracism from the victim‟s viewpoint. It particularly examined victim‟s perceived reasons of WO, the WO experience encountered by the victims, and the victim‟s reactions to WO experience. Following the inductive approach and the qualitative research methodology, the researcher conducted 10 in-depth and semi structured interviews among professionals working in both the private and government sector, Sri Lanka. The data were analyzed by using the content analysis and resulted in a model that explains three phases; victim‟s perceived reasons to the WO experience, victim‟s experience of WO, and victim‟s reactions to the WO experience. The findings revealed, individual and organizational victim‟s perceived reasons to the first phase, three consecutive stages of triggering ostracism acts and events, making attributions to the ostracism acts and events and concluding ostracism experience to the second phase and psychological, physical, and behavioral reactions to the final phase. The current study contributed to the existing literature by expanding the knowledge on the experience of workplace ostracism. From the practitioner‟s perspective, this study is benefited to discourage ostracism behaviors while preserving the inclusive practices inside the organizations.