Class Activity 3 Adjusting To A New Job or Work Team: Formal vs. Informal. Specific Orientation and

Class Activity 3 Organizations have a variety of socialization
options that they use to shape employees and

Adjusting to a New Job or Work help them adjust to the organization. Let’s
Team briefly review some options and consider their
impact on you:
Almost all of us have made transitions in our
lives. Maybe your parents moved and you had Formal vs. Informal. Specific orientation and
to make new friends and adjust to a new school. training programs are examples of formal
Or you joined a new church, social club, or socialization. The informal variety puts new
sports team. As a result, you’d think that most employees directly into the job.
Individual vs. Collective. When you’re
of us would be pretty confident and successful
grouped with others and processed through an
in making the transition into a new job. This is identical set of experiences, it’s collective.
often not the case, especially for younger Most small organizations socialize new
employees. members individually.
Fixed vs. Variable. A fixed schedule
For our discussion, we’ll focus on the outsider-
to-insider transition and both external (between establishes standardized time targets for
transition—such as a six-month probationary
organizations) and internal (between horizontal
period or a rotational training program.
departments or vertical promotions)
adjustments. Variable schedules have no advance notice of
transitions for instance, you’ll be promoted
The importance of this issue is underlined by
research that tells us that the typical individual when you’re “ready.”
changes jobs 10.2 times over 20 years—so you Serial vs. Random. In serial socialization,
need to be prepared to do a lot of adjusting to you’ll have a role model who will train and
encourage you. Apprenticeship and mentoring
new work situations.
One of your goals in any new job situation programs are examples. In random
should be to make the adjustment successful. socialization, you’re left on your own to figure
What does that entail? You’ve made a things out.
successful transition if, after six months in your
new position, you can say that you feel As you move into your new job, be aware that
the socialization programs, or lack of such
comfortable, confident, and accepted by your
peers. And the evidence tells us that this is most programs, you’ll be exposed to will have a
likely to occur where you know what is significant influence on your adjustment. For
required to function in your job, you have instance, if you see yourself as a conformist and
want a job that fits you, choose a job that relies
confidence that you have the knowledge and
skills to perform it, and you know what the job on institutional socialization—one that is
demands are in terms of relationships with formal, collective, fixed, serial, and shapes you
others. Moreover, successful adjustment should through divestiture rites. In contrast, if you see
result in satisfaction with your job and a yourself as a “wave-maker” who likes to
minimal degree of anxiety and stress. develop your own approaches to problems,
Successful adjustment should begin by choose a job that focuses on individualized
assessing the new situation. Assuming you have socialization—one that is informal, individual,
concluded that the job is a good fit for you, you variable, random, and affirms your uniqueness
need to determine the following: What’s the through investiture.
history of the organization or work unit? Which The evidence indicates most people end up
more satisfied with, and committed to, their job
individuals are held in high esteem and what
factors—age, experience, specific skills, when they go through institutional
personality, contacts in high places—have led socialization. This is largely because its
to their influence? And what does the culture structured learning helps reduce the uncertainty
inherent in a new situation and smooth’s
value? Learning to read the organization’s
culture—as addressed at the opening of this transition into the new job.
chapter—can provide you with answers to An additional insight on new-job adjustment is
many of these questions. the value of organizational insiders as a
valuable resource for information. Colleagues,
supervisors, and mentors are more useful as
sources for accurate information about your job
and the organization than formal orientation
programs or organizational literature. People
give you a better and more accurate reading of
“the ropes to skip and the ropes to know.”
Finally, don’t forget the power of first
impressions. A positive first impression on your
boss and new colleagues can both speed up and
smooth your transition. Think about the image
you want to convey and make sure your dress,
posture, attitude, and speech fit that image.
So what are the specific implications of all this?
How can you use this information to increase
the probability that you’ll have a successful
adjustment in a new job? The answer is to focus
on those things you can control. First, to
summarize, choose a job where the
socialization process matches up well with your
personality. And based on the evidence,
choosing a job with institutionalized
socialization will reduce uncertainty, lessen
stress, and facilitate adjustment. Second, use
insiders to provide background information and
to reduce surprises. Lastly, start off on the right
foot by making a good first impression. If
colleagues like and respect you, they are more
likely to share with you key insights into the
organizations values and culture.
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Class Activity 3 Organizations have a variety of socialization

options that they use to shape employees and

Q. write summary of Adjusting to a New Job

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