Ostracism in the workplace: ‘being voted off the island’

Abstract

As humans, we seem to be fascinated by ostracism. Ostracism has been popularized by the entertainment industry as we watch numerous reality shows where in each episode someone is “voted off the island” or “voted out of the house” by peers and strangers alike. People are generally “voted off” because: they are a weak link in team effectiveness, they are disliked because of the way they interact with others of how they engage with the game, they are a threat to win the game (and therefore cause me to not win), or they are not part of a powerful in-group and therefore are categorized as different from others in the collective group setting. The ostracized individual is subsequently deemed not worthy of being a member of a group and is frequently socially ignored by others in the group or organization. These dynamics of ostracism are virtually no different in the workplace.