In Search of Clarity: Examining the Workplace Exclusion Literature

While there seems to be general agreement that workplace exclusion is a worthwhile and important concept to study, there is substantial inconsistency across research in definitions and explanations of this construct. To ‘put the worker front and center’, researchers and managers need to understand exactly what workplace exclusion is, what it is not, and its contributing factors, to facilitate prediction of any potentially positive or, especially, negative results associated with exclusion in the workplace. We utilize Suddaby’s (2010) criteria for construct clarity to provide a detailed analysis of existing definitions of workplace exclusion, highlighting points of concern and confusion. Based on our findings, we delve more deeply into the concept of workplace exclusion, creating an updated definition with corresponding theoretical bases which we believe meets the requirements for construct clarity.