The Hidden Challenge: Workplace Ostracism and Its Ripple Effects in Higher Education Environments

The study is aimed at identifying and understanding the factors contributing to workplace ostracism and their measurement challenges. Despite these challenges, such an endeavor is crucial, given the direct and indirect influence these factors exert on key organizational outcomes, including turnover intentions, employee performance, interpersonal conflicts, and knowledge-sharing behavior, particularly among educators. For the purposes of this study, a diverse group of experts and experienced professors were invited to participate, resulting in valuable insights from 45 respondents. The analysis using interpretive structural equation modelling (ISM) tool reveals a complex web of factors that foster workplace ostracism, subsequently impacting various dimensions of organizational functionality such as interpersonal relations, knowledge dissemination, employee efficiency, and staff turnover. The paper delves into a comprehensive discussion of these findings and their implications, providing an in-depth understanding of the multifaceted nature of workplace ostracism in educational settings.