How and when frontline employees positively cope with supervisor ostracism: An attributional perspective

Abstract

ABSTRACT Supervisor ostracism prevails in highly stressful workplace such as hospitality settings. However, the consequences of supervisor ostracism seem disparate. Some frontline employees (FLEs) experience psychological distress and choose to leave their jobs, while others tend to engage in positive behaviors to reshape their social environments. This study provides novel insights into the consequences of supervisor ostracism from a causal explanatory perspective. We propose that ostracized FLEs are likely to adopt the tactics of job crafting and supervisor-focused ingratiation to cope with supervisor ostracism, which subsequently leads to enhanced performance outcomes. Results from a two-wave and multisource survey reveal that FLEs are motivated to craft their jobs when they make internal attribution for supervisor ostracism, which, in turn, promotes their task performance. Furthermore, when FLEs attribute supervisor ostracism to relational factors, they are likely to ingratiate their supervisors, which improves citizenship performance. Contributions to literature and management practice are also addressed.