‘Scripting” the organization: New hire learning during organizational encounter

Abstract

This exploratory study extends organizational encounter research by documenting what new hires learn as they strive to cope with uncertainty during early tenure. A Newcomers Learning Typology was developed from two hundred new hires’ descriptions of what they had ascertained from coping with an uncertain event at work. Also sought here were new hires’ recollections of applied “learnings.” Study participants reported using what they had learned to cope with another uncertain situation, to advise a colleague and to recommend “policy” change in their organization. In sum, findings strengthen the link between uncertainty, proactive coping and learning, an outcome variable all too often ignored in organizational socialization research.