Congratulations to Dr. John Vongas and his co-authors, Dr. John Fiset of Saint Mary’s University (Halifax, Canada) and Raghid Al Hajj of the Gulf University for Science and Technology (Kuwait City, Kuwait), who recently had their paper, Helping an Attractive Group that Ostracized Me: An Experimental Vignette Study, accepted for publication in Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences.
Abstract
What happens to us when we are socially excluded or ostracized by a physically attractive group in the workplace? In this article, we examine the impact of an ostracizing group’s physical attractiveness on the relationship between workplace ostracism and a victim’s organizational citizenship behaviors directed toward the group (or OCBG). Research has long overlooked contextual features of ostracism at work. Using an experimental vignette methodology (N = 312), we found that physical attractiveness was critical in determining the mechanism by which ostracism influenced OCBG. The victims’ social anxiety served as a mediator through which ostracism influenced OCBG when the ostracizing group was deemed to be low on attractiveness. However, the negative direct effect between ostracism and OCBG was observed only when group attractiveness was high. Our findings have implications for understanding the interplay between victims’ individual differences and the context in which workplace ostracism is manifested.