Out of place sometimes

Every person wants to be “in” or to belong. The feeling of belongingness is a positive experience connected to being accepted in a group. Thus, being out of place or “OP” as we say in conversations is a dreaded feeling for most individuals. This feeling of being left out is experienced in our daily life from social gatherings to the workplace.

Exclusion is one of the means to punish someone who violated or disrupted what is normal for a group. According to Coleman (1988), groups develop norms that become a tool for survival. Norms are standard and acceptable ways of behaving in a specific context. Someone who does not follow the norms would be seen as a threat to the survival of the group. Thus, throughout history, exclusion has been used to maintain order in society. One of the extreme examples in the present time is imprisonment for those who committed crimes.

Exclusion at the workplace

Several studies have proven that workplace exclusion is related to detrimental outcomes such as decreased well-being, performance and satisfaction at work.  Workplace exclusion may mean not having smooth interpersonal relationships with your peers such as when one is avoided or refused when asking assistance from coworkers. All of these mentioned effects are certainly not conducive to having a productive work environment.

To understand the process behind workplace exclusion, Scott, Restubog and Zagenczyk (2013) conducted a study with Filipino survey respondents from the call-center industry and academe. They specifically examined the relationship between the perpetrator of exclusion and the person being excluded.

The study showed that doing acts perceived as uncivilized at the workplace is equated to being an untrustworthy coworker. This perception of distrust as studies have shown is linked with lessened liking and interaction as well as reluctance to maintain a relationship with the doer of rude behavior. Thus, trust is taken into account when deciding whether or not a person will be excluded.

Quality of relationship

Uncivilized action at the workplace which is associated with distrust does not automatically relate to exclusion. Results from the study show that quality of their exchange relationship also plays a role. It is perceived to be too costly to exclude someone influential to the success of one’s career. Murninghan et al. (2004) asserted that one will risk trusting someone even with no solid basis and despite his uncivilized actions, if perceived to be instrumental to one’s future success.

Elements pertaining to relationships are also crucial in workplace exclusion. Distrust is not the only consideration in excluding a person. According to the study, the perpetrator of exclusion also assesses the capability of the target to offer benefits be it social or economic. Findings of other research supports this as excluding an individual who is instrumental to one’s future is seen as too risky and costly. This likely leads to foregoing exclusionary behavior to people perceived to be “valuable.”

Positive work environment

Findings from the study highlighted the need to create a culture of civility and positive communication in organizations. Human resources management practices from recruitment, training to performance management can help create such environment. Organizational norms can be communicated to newbies during the selection process and can be part of the new employee orientation. This way, employees will be aware of acceptable behaviors and know what actions may be considered improper or offensive by others. Training managers on giving immediate feedback whenever employees commit undesirable actions will also help correct these behaviors. Managers, aside from giving feedback, can also help by being good models of appropriate behavior. Promoting camaraderie at work and equipping employees with effective ways of dealing with conflict and differences can also help in establishing a positive work environment that enables productivity and improves satisfaction.

(The author is program officer for research at the Ateneo CORD. This article was based on a study conducted by Prof. Kristin L. Scott of Clemson University, Prof. Simon Lloyd D. Restubog of Australian National Univeristy and Prof. Thomas J. Zagenczyk of Clemson University which was published in the British Journal of Management (98) in 2013. For comments and questions, send e-mail to [email protected].)