Examining workplace ostracism through the Job Demands-Resources model: A cross-sectional study involving a sample of Italian workers

The present study investigated the association between workplace ostracism and workers’ general distress and job performance, considering the role of burnout and work engagement as mediators of these relationships. One hundred and ninety Italian workers participated in the study. Path analysis results indicated that ostracism is a risk factor for workers’ well-being and adaptation. Specifically, workplace ostracism was indirectly related to general distress (positively) and job performance (negatively) through burnout. These findings highlighted that although ostracism reduced workers’ work engagement, its negative consequences were mediated by burnout, which characterizes the so-called health impairment processes in the Job Demands-Resources model. Future research should continue to examine how negative peer interactions pose risks to workers’ well-being and adaptation to identify individual or contextual factors that may attenuate this relationship.