Prior research has yielded mixed findings regarding the relation of ostracism to prosocial behavior, with studies indicating ostracism leads people to become less prosocial, more prosocial, or that prosocial behavior is unaffected by workplace ostracism. By conceptualizing prosocial behavior at work as a social dilemma, we hypothesized that whether or not individuals reduce prosocial behaviors following ostracism can be understood by how individuals manage the conflict between the immediate temptation to treat others poorly and the long-term benefits of not giving into such temptations. Across three studies – a scenario (Study 1), experimental (Study 2), and field study on employed adults (Study 3) – we find support for the hypothesis that individuals who are less (versus more) oriented towards future outcomes engage in less prosocial behaviors with others who have ostracized them during prior interactions. We discuss both the practical and theoretical implications of these findings.
Over the past decade research has proliferated on the topic of ostracism, or being ignored or excluded by others (Williams, 2001). To date, studies have shown that ostracism occurs across different age groups, cultures, and demographic lines, and occurs regularly within organizations (Ferris et al., 2008, Fox and Stallworth, 2005 and Williams, 2007). Being the target of ostracism, in turn, is negatively related to numerous organizational and individual outcomes, including job satisfaction, affective commitment, and well-being (Ferris et al., 2008 and Penhaligon et al., 2009).
While past studies have produced fairly uniform results regarding the negative effects of ostracism, one notable exception lies in the relation of ostracism to prosocial behaviors – behaviors that are intended to benefit another individual, group, or organization (Brief and Motowildo, 1986 and Ferris et al., 2011). Although a social exchange theory perspective on organizational prosocial or citizenship behavior (Zellars & Tepper, 2003) suggests individuals should refrain from engaging in prosocial behaviors following ostracism, empirical findings have been mixed: both experimental (Romero-Canyas et al., 2010, Twenge et al., 2007, Van Beest and Williams, 2006, Van Beest and Williams, 2011 and Williams and Sommer, 1997) and field (Ferris et al., 2008 and Thau et al., 2007; see also Hitlan, Kelly, Schepman, Schneider, & Zarate, 2006) studies have demonstrated positive, negative, and null effects of ostracism on prosocial behaviors. Organizational research regarding this relation has particularly focused on interpersonal organizational citizenship behaviors (hereafter referred to as OCB),1 or extra-role behaviors directed towards individuals in the workplace which fall outside of one’s job description yet which nevertheless benefit the organization and its employees (Organ et al., 2006 and Podsakoff et al., 2000). Such behaviors have been shown to impact organizational profitability as well as organizational performance quantity and quality (Podsakoff & MacKenzie, 1997). Thus, whether or not ostracism relates to OCB has both theoretical and practical importance.
We suggest that the answer to this question can be deduced through a different conceptualization of OCB than is typically used. In particular, we subscribe to the notion that OCB, and prosocial behavior more generally, can be understood as a social dilemma whereby an employees’ immediate short-term self-interest is in conflict with the long-term collective interest of the organization and the employee. That is, while engaging in OCB or prosocial behavior represents a short-term cost to the individual, it has long-term benefits to both the individual and the organization (Joireman, Daniels, George-Falvy, & Kamdar, 2006). This perspective suggests that an employee’s future orientation (i.e., concern about future outcomes of behavior) acts as a critical boundary condition for whether or not individuals respond to ostracism with decreased OCB, with individuals oriented towards long-term outcomes being less likely to reduce OCB. Below, we briefly review research on ostracism and OCB, discuss how OCB can be viewed as a social dilemma, and detail the implications this has for understanding the relation between ostracism and OCB. We then report three studies with varied methodologies which examine the hypothesis that either dispositional or state concern for the future reduces the negative effect of ostracism on OCB.
At work, in schools, and in a variety of organization/group contexts people can feel excluded or ostracized by group members, but this does not necessarily mean that these individuals will no longer interact together in that group context. While prior research suggests that people can reduce prosocial behavior after being ostracized, the present research strongly supports the social dilemma analysis of prosocial behavior that concern for the future can buffer the negative impact of being ostracized on prosocial behavior – such that there is less negative impact of ostracism on prosocial behavior when people think about the long-term consequences of their behavior.
