Effect of working remotely on new professionals’ learning and adjustment during the first five weeks after professional entry

Abstract

Purpose

This study aimed to investigate the effect of working remotely on new professionals’ learning and adjustment. Organizational socialization is the process of learning and adjusting to a new professional role. Among new professionals working on-site, this learning and adjustment is indicated by a development of role clarity, task mastery and social acceptance. Less is known about the process when working remotely. This was recognized as a key organizational challenge following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Design/methodology/approach

In this study, with a longitudinal design with 242 graduates and weekly data collections for the first five weeks following professional entry in 2021, the authors compared the learning and adjustment among individuals working on-site, in hybrid or remotely using longitudinal analyses of mean response profiles.

Findings

The group-by-time interaction effects were not statistically significant (i.e. no differences were found in the adjustment of the new professionals of the three groups).

Originality/value

These results indicate that working remotely does not jeopardize the organizational socialization process. Furthermore, a marginally statistically significant result indicated that participants working only remotely experienced a greater development of task mastery over time: This suggests that remote work may even benefit learning and professional adjustment. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Citation

Karlsson, M., Zaar Mårs, O., Jenner, B. and Frögéli, E. (2024), "Effect of working remotely on new professionals’ learning and adjustment during the first five weeks after professional entry", Journal of Workplace Learning, Vol. ahead-of-print No. ahead-of-print. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-04-2024-0079