How and when workplace ostracism influences task performance: Through the lens of conservation of resource theory

• Author: Bin Wang,Baihe Song,Aijing Xia,Wei Zhang,Jing Qian
• Published date: 01 July 2019
• Date: 01 July 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/1748-8583.12226

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

How and when workplace ostracism influences

task performance: Through the lens of

conservation of resource theory

Aijing Xia

1

|Bin Wang

2

|Baihe Song

1

|Wei Zhang

1

|Jing Qian

1

1

Business School, Beijing Normal University,

Beijing, China

2

Future of Work Institute, Curtin University,

Perth, Western Australia, Australia

Correspondence

Jing Qian, Business School, Beijing Normal

University, No. 19, XinJieKouWai St., HaiDian

District, Beijing 100875, China.

Email: jingqian@bnu.edu.cn

Funding information

National Natural Science Foundation of China,

Grant/Award Number: 71662017

Abstract

Drawing upon the conservation of resource (COR) theory,

this study examines how workplace ostracism negatively

affects task performance by reducing workers' physical

strength and emotional energy; it also captures the moder-

ating role of spousal support in the relationship between

ostracism, physical strength, and emotional energy. Using

matched data from 117 supervisors and 523 of their imme-

diate employees, results indicated that workplace ostracism

negatively related to physical strength and emotional

energy, which, in turn, decreased task performance. Addi-

tionally, spousal support mitigated the harmful impact of

workplace ostracism on individual emotional energy,

whereas its buffering effect on physical strength was not

significant. Theoretical and practical implications are

discussed.

KEYWORDS

conservationof resource (COR), emotional energy, physical strength,

spousal support, taskperformance, workplace ostracism

1|INTRODUCTION

Workplace ostracism refers to the extent to which an employee feels ignored or excluded by other employees in

the workplace (Ferris, Brown, Berry, & Lian, 2008). As Robinson, O'Reilly, and Wang (2013) proposed, a highly

stressful environment is more likely to induce workplace ostracism. With the growth of external competition,

ostracism is becoming more frequent and common in modern‐day workplaces (Robinson et al., 2013). Moreover,

previous studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects of perceived workplace ostracism on employees' psy-

chological states (e.g., anxiety and depression; Ferris et al., 2008; Matthew, Buontempo, & Block, 2013), job atti-

tudes (e.g., intention to quit and job satisfaction; Ferris et al., 2008), and behavioural outcomes (e.g., a reduction in

Received: 18 May 2018 Revised: 23 November 2018 Accepted: 24 November 2018

DOI: 10.1111/1748-8583.12226

Hum Resour Manag J. 2019;29:353–370. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons Ltdwileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/hrmj 353

prosocial behaviour; Balliet & Ferris, 2013). With this understanding of the consequences of workplace ostracism,

scholars have shifted their attention to its underlying mechanism. According to a recent review (Ferris, Chen, &

Lim, 2017), the need to belong, spirals of emotion/justice/incivility, and the interdependence theory/framework

are the dominant theoretical perspectives in previous studies, although research focusing on resources as the

underlying mechanism is still inadequate (Quinn, Spreitzer, & Lam, 2012; Ryan & Deci, 2008).

Thus, the current study employs the conservation of resource (COR) theory to explore the consequences of

workplace ostracism (Hobfoll, Freedy, Lane, & Geller, 1990; Hobfoll, Halbesleben, Neveu, & Westman, 2018).

One of the major advantages of applying COR theory is the ability to observe multiple potential factors affecting

the relationship between perceived workplace ostracism and subsequent outcomes. COR theory focuses on

both psychological and physical resources (e.g., Allen, Peltokorpi, & Rubenstein, 2016; Duffy, Ganster, & Pagon,

2002). For instance, in the process of investigating the COR theory, Vander Elst, Näswall, Bernhard‐Oettel, De

Witte, and Sverke (2016) discovered that job insecurity affects both mental and physical health. In fact, the lit-

erature on social exclusion has found solid evidence that social exclusion can lead to both “social pain”(emo-

tional reaction) and “physical pain”(physical reaction;e.g., Eisenberger,Lieberman,&Williams,2003).

However, as Heaphy and Dutton (2008) noted, a limited number of scholars have addressed the physical

aspects of social interactions at work. Thus, in contrast to the traditional theoretical approach emphasising psy-

chological factors, we are able to capture both emotional and physical aspects (especially emotional energy and

physical strength; Quinn et al., 2012).

Moreover, COR theory further enriches the literature's understanding of the mechanism behind work‐related

outcomes of workplace ostracism; these two types of resources play different roles in predicting an individual's

work‐related outcomes: emotional energy determines the level and duration of effort that one invests in his/her

work, whereas physical strength determines one's total capacity to do one's job (Quinn et al., 2012). In other words,

the resource perspective provides distinct, unique theoretical explanations that do not overlap with previous theories

such as social identity theory. Accordingly, the primary aim of the current study is to bridge the relationship between

workplace ostracism and subsequent work‐related outcomes (i.e., task performance) via the mechanism of emotional

energy and physical strength. Previous studies have examined the relationship between workplace ostracism and task

performance. As an example, Ferris, Lian, Brown, and Morrison (2015) found that workplace ostracism hurts

employees' global level of self‐esteem, thereby reducing job performance; however, scholars have neglected to

explain the phenomenon using the resource perspective. Our study will thus contribute to the literature on work-

place ostracism through the novel lens of individual resources.

The resource perspective could potentially also help to capture positive social interactions (e.g., social support)

that generate resources to buffer the detrimental impacts of perceived workplace ostracism (Hobfoll et al., 1990).

In the work domain, positive interpersonal interactions give employees resources (e.g., relational energy; Owens,

Baker, Sumpter, & Cameron, 2016). Scholars focusing on social exclusion in social psychology have also revealed

the buffering role of social support for ostracised people in a laboratory setting (Zhou & Gao, 2008). Nevertheless,

ostracised employees usually suffer from negative interactions in the workplace and thus have limited opportuni-

ties to obtain social support from their co‐workers or supervisors; subsequently, research into workplace ostracism

remains silent on the moderating role of social support. We contend that support from other domains therefore

merits more attention. Previous studies have shown that family life exerts a huge influence on employees; for

example, spousal resentment towards their partner's employer reduces the partner's organisational commitment

(Ferguson, Carlson, Boswell et al., 2016). On the other hand, spouses can provide emotional and instrumental sup-

port for employees (King, Mattimore, King, & Adams, 1995), and this can mitigate the negative relationship

between work overload and inter‐role conflict (Aryee, Luk, Leung, & Lo, 1999). Given the vital role a spouse plays,

we argue that spousal support could be regarded as an external resource that buffers the negative effects of

workplace ostracism.

Building on the COR theory, we aim to examine the relationship between perceived workplace ostracism and

task performance through the mechanism of resources (i.e., emotional energy and physical strength) by providing

354 XIA ET AL.