SBenegaL

Category: Individual Stress

  • Organization’s role in newcomer stress reduction

    In the last byte, we looked at what a newcomer could do ro reduce the stress and make the establishment phase as smooth as possible. It today’s byte, we look at what role the organization could play in the scenario.

    Careful recruitment and selection is definitely the first step that the organizations can take to ensure that new recruits are in tune with the organization’s culture and the expectations are rightly set.

    The early job assignments that are given to new recruits could be those that t new comers can experience success in, this helps improve the self-efficacy and adjust to the new job more effectively.  Research has also found that new comers who face early job challenges successfully tend to be higher higher performers.
     
    Feedback and encouragement during this phase form a crucial ingredient of the smooth relationship. The immediate circle of the new recruit, i.e the immediate supervisor, peers, other newcomers, support staff are important sources of support during this encounter.
     
    During the change and acquisition phase, rewards play a major role. Organizations should tie the newcomer’s rewards as explicitly possible to to performance. Feedback as mentioned earlier is crucial, and it is advisable that the new comers should received daily, consistent feedback. This also communicates that the organization is concerned about their progress and wants to help them learn the ropes along the way.

  • Individual actions to reduce stress when joining a new organization

    In the last byte, we looked at the sources of stress during the socialization process during the establishment phase. In today’s byte, we begin our discussion on easing the transition for a newcomer from being an outsider to an insider to the organization.

    Making a transition from being an outsider to an insider in an organization smooth involves both the individual and the organization to take up certain set of actions. We begin with the individual actions in this byte and move to the organization in the next. 

    A newcomer could ask for the negative side of  the job if they are to get a more realistic perspective of the same – specifically the stressful aspects involved. Other employees too could be a good source of such information. It is often the case that newcomers underestimate the stressfulness of job demands and don’t adjust well. Additionally, providing those around with a honest and accurate information about ones own weakness is also useful from the newcomer’s perspective.

    During the encounter phase, newcomers must prepare for reality shock – realizing that slight depression is natural when adjusting to a new job can help reduce the distress felt there in. This could also help the newcomers to plan ways to cope with job stress ahead of time. 

    Newcomers should focus on seeking feedback and improving their job performance during this phase. 

    We next look at what organizations can do to reduce the stress felt by newcomers.