You can’t eliminate ostracism experiences in the workplace unless you replace people with robots.
Still, an organization has a ‘duty of care’, i.e. an obligation to provide a workplace that is free of health and safety hazards. To chart your organizational response, start by asking these questions:
- What do we see as our obligation to our employees?
- How do we apply our organizational values in this arena?
- How do we identify ostracism?
- How effective are our leaders at modelling inclusiveness?
- What preventive practices can we build into our culture to inhibit/reduce ostracism?
- What policies do we need to have in place to prevent and deal with ostracism?
- How can we take effective action, without falling into ‘policing’ or ‘political correctness’?
With behaviours ranging from subtle to blatant, ostracism poses complex organizational challenges. As you now know, new scientific evidence proves that the risk of doing nothing may be more costly to your organization than previously realized.
(PS. For an almost-identical article that was published in the Canadian HR Reporter this week, click here)
Feel free to contact me anytime.
If you are managing someone who is an abrasive leader, or if you are a manager who was told that you are abrasive – we are always here to help with a (free) perspective or input.
