Workplace Exclusion

Workplace exclusion (also referred to as ostracism or rejection) is defined as behavior whereby one employee is ignored or excluded by one or more fellow employees (or a supervisor). Some forms of workplace exclusion can be subtle such as avoiding, disregarding, or overlooking another employee, while other forms are more harsh such as publicly shunning, whispering about, or refusing to acknowledge another worker. Employees may be excluded from informal activities or events that typically involve the daily communication or social exchanges between employees and include work- or social-related conversations, eating lunch together, exchanging favors, or after-work social meetings. In addition, workers may be excluded from the wider, or formal, social context such as not being invited to work-related events, not being permitted to attend important ...