Does workplace ostracism negatively affect family life during a pandemic?

PurposeThe study aims to investigate the impact of workplace ostracism (WO) and fear of the COVID-19 pandemic on the family life of restaurant employees. This research is based on the conservation of resources (COR) theory and work-family interface model to understand the theoretical underpinnings of mistreatment in the food sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe study utilized a survey with a structured questionnaire to collect time-lagged data from 238 restaurant employees in the central region of Punjab province in Pakistan. The collected data were analyzed using the SPSS tool with modern-day techniques like bootstrapping, process macro and SmartPLS.FindingsThe study reveals that perceived stress levels of the employees increase due to ostracism, leading to work-family conflict. Furthermore, the study found that employees who fear COVID-19 are less stressed by ostracism.Originality/valueThe study's significant contribution lies in demonstrating that the impact of ostracism in the workplace is quite different from what was expected. The results have shown that ostracism can reduce the perceived stress levels of employees, leading to a decrease in work-family conflict, especially in the presence of fear of COVID-19.

How ostracism jeopardizes customers' interests at restaurants: a study in context of COVID-19

Purpose: With theoretical underpinnings in the conservation of resources theory, this research aims at understanding the link between workplace ostracism (WPO) and its effects on customers' interests in the context of COVID-19, with the mediation of stress and moderation of self-efficacy (SE). Design/methodology/approach: The study followed a time-lagged design. A sample of 217 frontline employees working in the food sector of southern Punjab, Pakistan responded to the study questions using survey method with structured questionnaires. A Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) tool was utilized for data analysis with bootstrapping and PROCESS macro. Findings: The findings show that an important mechanism by which ostracism translates into customer service sabotage (CSS) is the increase in perceived stress levels of the employees. Additionally, SE was found to be an important personal resource that acts as a moderator in the said relationship. Practical implications: Employees with high SE sense less workplace stress even during a pandemic. Leadership should consider the stress-alleviating effect of SE for lessening the damaging influence of WPO on customers. Originality/value: The study fills an important empirical gap in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, by showing that due to resource loss perceived by employees while being targeted by ostracism, they may decide to transfer their frustration towards organizational customers by sabotaging their service experience. © 2022, Ambreen Sarwar, Muhammad Ibrahim Abdullah, Muhammad Kashif Imran and Nazia Rafiq.

Does social media usage boost career prospects of women: an exploratory study in the academia

Purpose This paper draws on the affordance perspective, to explore the social media (SM) usage experiences that might render valuable for academic women professionals, for knowledge exchange, networking and success. Owing to the increased SM usage during COVID-19 pandemic, this paper tries to find out that in what ways do SM affordances facilitate the underprivileged group of women professionals to grow in their careers in a masculine, conservative society through knowledge exchange. Design/methodology/approach By utilizing qualitative study design, the authors collected data from 31 women employed in Pakistani universities, through unstructured questionnaires. The responses were analyzed through Nvivo. Findings The generated themes suggested that women in Pakistan are aware of SM's potential for knowledge exchange among fellow professionals. They use it to aid them in communication, collaboration and networking. Additionally, they utilize it to share knowledge and build networks that are vital for career progression and success. Research limitations/implications The paper concludes with the implications for practitioners that would aid them in boosting career prospects for women academicians through SM usage in a developing country Pakistan;where women's career outlooks are not as promising as for men;or as bright as for women working in the developed economies. Originality/value This a unique attempt to explore knowledge exchange dimensions with the help of SM in the context of working women by the deploying the phenomenological approach.