Abstract Ostracism which is a universal phenomenon and an aversive experience is rampant in today's contemporary working life. However, there is little evidence about the critical outcomes of workplace ostracism (WO) and the mechanism underlying the relationship between WO and these outcomes. Therefore, our study proposes a conceptual model in which job tension mediates the impact of WO on proclivity to leave work early (PLWE) and proclivity to be late for work (PLFW). Data were obtained from restaurant customer-contact employees in two waves with a one-week time lag between each phase via the Time 1 and Time 2 surveys in the four- and five-star hotels in Taiwan. The results suggest that WO aggravates job tension, while heightened job tension gives rise to higher PLWE and PLFW. The findings also suggest that job tension partly mediates the influence of WO on PLFW, while it completely mediates the impact of WO on PLWE.