IS YOUR SUPERVISOR IGNORING YOU?

Workplace ostracism refers to the extent to which employees perceive that they are being ignored or excluded by others in the workplace. In the same vein, supervisor ostracism is defined as the extent to which supervisors ignore employees’ views, avoid eye contact or disregard them in their work activities. Studies have reported that supervisor ostracism threatens employees’ efficacy needs, such as power and meaningful existence. It is very harmful because it makes the employees believe that they lack supervisory support as well as competence to complete work tasks and fulfil job expectations.

Pakistani cultural values emphasise high power distance and collectivism, suggesting a general unquestioning respect for authority and maintenance of social harmony. In this cultural set-up, employees tend to repress their self-feelings, avoid direct conflict, and withhold relevant ideas, information or opinions for fear of negative repercussions, such as job loss, denial of promotion, etc.  New research from Sadia Jahanzeb, Tasneem Fatima, and M. Abdur Rahman Malik reveals that supervisors are a strong source of influence on the work environment as they set goals and expectations in respect of demands, and provide social, emotional or material resources. The authors suggest that supervisor ostracism threatens employees’ self-worth and effectiveness (efficacy needs) which then leads to silence, called defensive silence, and eventually elicits a form of psychological distress, namely emotional exhaustion. The study offers guidelines on how supervisors may avoid ostracism and instead promote a socially inclusive climate through various human resource functions.

When an employee feels ignored and undervalued, he deals with this through a defensive silence response. This is a self-protective behaviour which makes the employee avoid any type of approach strategy, refrain from any direct confrontation and protects social harmony. It also helps restore the employees’ need for control, power and meaningful existence. Defensive silence allows employees to see themselves as initiators rather than subjects. It also stipulates that employees conceal information when they feel that its sharing can be dangerous, risky or threatening. For instance, they may hide their concerns and opinions based on fear of the outcome. This defensive silence leads to emotional exhaustion caused by excessive job/or personal demands and continuous stress.

This research is based on time-lagged data from 300 employees working in service sector organisations in Pakistan. The authors believe that, “… the choice of such organisations would offer us an opportunity to study the relevant variables as these firms involved frequent interactions (e.g., regular meetings) among supervisors and their co-workers which increased the chances of supervisor ostracism.”

Organisations should train supervisors to detect whether their intentional or unintentional behaviours make employees feel ostracised. Role plays may be used to help supervisors improve their communication skills. Managers may highlight the competency of their firm or department to help their employees feel that they enjoy high status and influence. They may also increase employees’ perceived work control through job redesign which involves autonomy and task significance. Training and development, job design and performance management tools should be used. Finally, supervisors may anticipate motives for defensive silence and plan targeted strategies to facilitate employees’ psychological safety.

Reference

Jahanzeb, S. Fatima, T. and Malik, M.A.R. (2018). Supervisor Ostracism and Defensive Silence: A Differential Needs Approach. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27:4, 430-440. doi: 10.1080/1359432X.2018.1465411

About the Author:

M. Abdur Rahman Malik is Assistant Professor at the Suleman Dawood School of Business, LUMS. He teaches creativity and performance management systems. He is the co-programme director for the executive programme on Building High Performance Teams at the Rausing Executive Development Centre. His research interests include creativity, motivation, and performance management systems. His work has been published in the Journal of Organizational Behaviour, Journal of Applied Psychology – International Review and European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.

Email: abdur.malik@lums.edu.pk