Työyhteisöön liittymisen ja kuulumisen rakentuminen vuorovaikutuksessa

Abstract

The entry processes and perceived belonging to a workplace are the key processes for functional workplace communication because they support employees’ productivity and well-being. Newcomers’ entry has been widely researched in communication studies and other disciplines. By combining the theoretical traditions of organizational and interpersonal communication, the current dissertation aims to produce multidimensional information on how workplace entry and belonging are constructed temporally and communicatively in communication processes. The aim of the present dissertation is to describe the communication processes in workplace entry and belonging to understand what kind of workplace communication constructs and produces the experience of belonging. The research focuses on employees’ experiences of workplace communication. The study design is qualitative and naturalistic. The dissertation is comprised of four articles: one literature review and three empirical studies. Two different types of data are used. The first data type includes 11 interviews from those with longer work history in their workplace. The second data collection was conducted as an emergent interview, and these data were gathered from newcomers in their first workplace after graduation. Instead of one-time interviews, the participants were contacted 5 to 10 times during their first 3 to 10 months. The data analysis applied a qualitative content analysis and constructive grounded theory. The dissertation’s findings show that the communication that enables the experience of belonging to a workplace is reciprocal, hence showing acceptance and constructing equality. These processes are vital for initial workplace relationship development, membership, and one’s belonging. The experience of belonging is individually but collectively constructed in employees’ meaning-making processes among the other members of the workplace. These findings suggest the need to problematize the understanding of newcomer entry, emphasizing the importance of the temporal observation of employees’ individual experiences. As a practical implication, understanding and observing the various meanings employees give for belonging in the workplace enables the improvement of communication practices in different organizations and workplaces.