Workplace ostracism and prosocial service behaviours: the role of work engagement

Researchers and managers have identified the crucial role of workplace ostracism on work effectiveness. However, past studies have not reached a conclusion about the effect of workplace ostracism on work outcomes and its mediating mechanism. Therefore, this study bridges this research gap by exploring the association between workplace ostracism and prosocial service behaviours and examining the role of work engagement. Data with a four-week time lag research design were collected from 237 hotel employees. The results revealed that workplace ostracism had no influence on role-prescribed service behaviours (RPSBs), extra-role service behaviours (ERSBs), and employee cooperation. Work engagement fully mediated the influence of workplace ostracism on RPSBs, ERSBs, and employee cooperation. The role of work engagement cannot be neglected when influencing employees' prosocial service behaviours through workplace ostracism.