Newcomers in the Workplace

Abstract

When newcomers enter a workplace, the focus is usually only on orientation and onboarding tactics, which aim to socialize newcomers into the workplace. However, it is through workplace relationships that newcomers make sense of their work tasks and create an understanding of “our workplace.” This chapter describes the processes of interpersonal communication in the workplace during a newcomer’s entry phase. Newcomers may face uncertainty regarding professional performance, relationships, job tasks, or membership. This uncertainty is managed by information-seeking strategies. In social interaction with others, newcomers construct their belonging through membership negotiation and identification. Leaders and coworkers are significant parts of a newcomer’s entry, but mentoring relationships can play a supporting role. A newcomer’s entry is a reciprocal process in which the newcomer and other employees cocreate meanings in order to identify themselves in the context of the workplace and define their role in workplace interactions.