fateme taheri; Mahdi Fazeli
Abstract
Workplace ostracism means keeping employees deliberately isolated. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting workplace ostracism based on the three-pronged model. This study was fundamental in terms of purpose and based on the data collection method, qualitative and descriptive methods. The ...
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Workplace ostracism means keeping employees deliberately isolated. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting workplace ostracism based on the three-pronged model. This study was fundamental in terms of purpose and based on the data collection method, qualitative and descriptive methods. The statistical population of justice staff in Qom province and the research sample were purposefully selected. Research tools were interviews, and theme analysis was used to analyze the data. Data analysis led to the formation of 29 sub-themes: 3 main themes in the form of behavioral factors, two main themes in the form of structural factors, and two main themes in the form of contextual factors. To solve the problem of ostracism, improving employees' competencies, relationships between individuals, colleagues, and managers, processes and operations of the organization, human resource management functions, managers' view of human capital, and strengthening social capital should be considered.IntroductionWorkplace ostracism refers to the deliberate isolation of employees. This study aimed to identify the factors that affect workplace ostracism based on a three-pronged model. The research questions are:What are the structural factors of employee ostracism?What are the behavioral factors of employee ostracism?What are the underlying factors of employee ostracism?Literature Review Ostracism (Greek: Ostracismos) was a democratic practice in Athens where the government could expel any citizen from the city for ten years. Although some behaviors aimed to provoke public anger against citizens, ostracism was often used preemptively and non-aggressively. This procedure was considered a tactic to neutralize the activities of an individual thought to be threatening to the government. However, in general, the term "rejection" is used for situations involving pushing back or social exclusion and is defined by terms such as misplacement, non-delivery, and being treated coldly (Robinson et al., 2013). Ostracism in organizational psychology is defined as "When a person or group is excluded from actions that other members of the organization engage in, and is a socially desirable action." (Gürlek, 2021). Ostracism has been described as "social death" because when a person is ignored and excluded by another person or group, it is as if they are dead or do not exist for others (Bauman, 1992).Reviewing the research background within and outside the country reveals that there has not been a study on workplace ostracism using a three-pronged model with a qualitative method.MethodologyThis study was fundamental in its purpose and based on qualitative and descriptive data collection methods. The statistical population consisted of justice staff in Qom province, and the research sample was purposefully selected. The research tools were interviews, and theme analysis was employed to analyze the data.The ostracism questionnaire was distributed among employees in various operational departments using a five-point Likert scale. A total of 18 employees were selected as the sample, with an average score higher than 2/5. These individuals had a higher perceived ostracism than those who obtained a lower average score. By conducting semi-structured interviews with 13 participants, theoretical saturation was achieved. In order to enhance the credibility of research findings, instead of using the concepts of validity and reliability suitable for quantitative studies, a concept called "trustworthiness" was employed, which includes four elements: Dependability, Transformability, Credibility, and confirmability. For research dependability, interviews were conducted with individuals who had experienced the phenomenon of social ostracism, and this requirement was met by achieving a high average score on the Rejection Questionnaire. Before each interview, individuals were explained the research purpose, and their verbal consent to participate in the interviews was obtained. By providing a summary of the concepts, objectives, and research questions both orally and in writing, confidence in the interviewees' initial readiness for conducting the interviews was obtained, and then the interview questions were presented.The interview topic had been previously introduced to the participants, and its theoretical background was briefly provided to them, allowing them to gain theoretical familiarity with the subject matter. The next step involved involving the participants in the analysis and interpretation of the data to ensure that they agreed or disagreed with the researchers' findings.For the transformability of the research, complete findings were presented and compared with the study's theoretical framework, and the researchers attempted to provide a detailed picture of the context in which the research was conducted.For credibility and the trustworthiness of the research, all interviews were transcribed, and the coding process and data analysis stages were documented. Data documentation not only facilitated repeated review of the data by the researchers but also enabled three professors and one doctoral student in public management to review the findings of this study and provide their opinions regarding the quality of the data analysis.Finally, to increase confirmability, the transcripts were cross-checked by the interviewees. This process involved reviewing the coding and obtaining their opinions, which were subsequently incorporated into the coding and final report. ResultsThe data analysis resulted in the formation of 29 sub-themes:Three main themes in the form of behavioral factors (Absence of functional skills in the ostracized person, misbehavior by managers, the role of colleagues)two main themes in the form of structural factors (Organizational processes and operations, Weakness in the implementation of human resources management)two main themes in the form of contextual factors (Weakness in using social capital, Predominance of machines, and inhumane culture) Discussion In order to address the problem of ostracism, it is important to consider improving the competencies of employees, the relationships between individuals, colleagues, and managers, the processes and operations of the organization, the functions of human resource management, managers' attitudes towards human capital, and the strengthening of social capital. The results of this research show that workplace ostracism does not depend only on the employees themselves but also on the behavior of their colleagues and managers. Structural factors with the main themes of the organization's processes and operations and weaknesses in the implementation of human resources management indicate the existence of incorrect procedures in the organization.Also, the weakness in using social capital, the lack of trust in society, and the culture of non-participation of people in activities require the attention of the relevant policymakers in connection with strengthening this capital in society. The machine-like and unfriendly attitude of employees as one of the issues of the internal organizational environment is the basis for undermining the value of employees and not considering the importance of this crucial organizational capital.
