Workplace ostracism and feedback-seeking behavior: a resource-based perspective

Abstract

Based on the model of proactive motivation and the conservation of resources (COR) theory, the current study examines how workplace ostracism as a negative relational context influences feedback-seeking behavior (FSB) and whether personal (i.e., loss-focused coping orientation) and condition resources (i.e., supervisor and spousal support) can buffer the detrimental impacts of workplace ostracism on employees. Using a sample of 506 employees from China, we employed the PROCESS macro to examine our hypotheses. The results showed that workplace ostracism had a negative indirect impact on FSB by reducing vitality. Employees’ personal and condition resources also weakened the direct detrimental impact of workplace ostracism on vitality as well as its indirect impact on FSB (i.e., moderated mediation effects). This study extends the relational antecedents of FSB by examining workplace ostracism. More importantly, we provide a resource perspective to interpret how and when workplace ostracism influences FSB, moving beyond the dominant cost-value framework in the FSB literature.