'Being Alone Is More Painful than Getting Hurt': The Moderating Role of Workplace Loneliness in the Association between Workplace Ostracism and Job Performance

Abstract

The consequences of both workplace ostracism and workplace loneliness may include negative impacts on employee performance, yet few studies have focused on the interactions between these three constructs. In this context, both current and future studies may make prospective contributions. The goals of this paper are to investigate the associations between these variables and to determine whether workplace loneliness has any moderating effect on the possible association between workplace ostracism and job performance. A quantitative study was designed, and 349 employees in different sectors were included in the research. Findings indicated that workplace ostracism was positively associated with workplace loneliness, while it was negatively associated with job performance. A negative association between workplace loneliness and job performance was also estimated. Neither workplace loneliness as a whole nor social companionship had any moderating effects on the workplace ostracism–job performance association. On the other hand, emotional deprivation was found to have a moderating effect on this relationship. The findings prove that in combination, emotional loneliness and ostracism cause greater damage to employee psychology and, therefore, more greatly reduce job performance. Implications for the Central European audience: The study demonstrates that among the aspects of workplace loneliness, the emotional component is more critical to employee psychology and, therefore, job performance. Determining the factors that cause emotional loneliness in the workplace and taking precautions against them seem to be significant to the achievement of organisational goals.