Coworkers’ Unethical Pro-Family Behavior and Employees’ Workplace Ostracism: The Roles of Moral Disgust and Moral Identity

This study focuses on investigating the mechanism and boundary conditions of the influence of coworkers’ unethical pro-family behavior on employees’ workplace ostracism. Using an experimental study (Study 1) and a two-wave field study (Study 2) in China, the results show that coworkers who engage in unethical pro-family behavior elicit moral disgust from employees, which in turn triggers workplace ostracism. Furthermore, we identify employees’ moral identity as a key boundary condition: the positive relationship between coworkers’ unethical pro-family behavior and employees’ moral disgust, as well as the indirect effect of coworkers’ unethical pro-family behavior on employees’ workplace ostracism via moral disgust, is stronger when employees’ moral identity is higher. Overall, this study provides new insights into the consequences of unethical pro-family behavior and offers practical insights for organizations to prevent such behavior.