This thesis investigates workplace ostracism, which occurs when an individual or group refrains from taking actions that involve engaging another worker when doing so is socially appropriate. From prior research we know that in this scenario, the target may not be able to prove that they were ostracised given its silent nature; thus, the ostracising experience is confirmed as painful. Yet a complication comes about because cultural factors play a significant role in shaping the targets’ perception of ostracism and influencing the strategies they employ to cope with it. This complication is of concern because it is still unknown how employees’ nationality influences their perception of the ostracising experience in the workplace and the coping mechanisms, they adopt to buffer its negative effects.
The course of action to address this concern entails shedding light on two contrasting contexts to thoroughly investigate how cultural identity influences employees’ perceptions and coping mechanisms in response to workplace ostracism. Thus, this thesis aims at answering a central research question, which is: ‘how does the experience of workplace ostracism differ in the Arabian Gulf States workplaces, compared to the Western workplaces?’ Two studies following a cross-cultural mixed-methods approach were conducted to investigate this matter.
Study 1 followed a qualitative strand involving interviews with 15 Omani employees, who had experienced ostracism generating narratives that highlighted context-specific forms of ostracism and coping mechanisms that served as the foundation for developing hypotheses in the second study. While Study 2 adopted a quantitative approach, employing a cross-sectional self-report questionnaire completed by 736 employees from Oman and Britain across different sectors.
Meta-inference was drawn from the integration of the two datasets revealing a commonality in the manifestation of workplace ostracism across cultures. Yet, noteworthy contextual factors were identified, underscoring cross-cultural differences. Hence, the central contribution of this work lies in the integration of contextual factors into the examination of workplace ostracism in cross-cultural research. The findings provide practitioners with the knowledge to effectively address such issues. The study’s findings, theoretical and practical contributions, and strengths and limitations are discussed, and potential avenues for future research are also explored.
