THE RELATIONSHIP OF ANTICIPATION TO NEWCOMER SOCIALIZATION PROCESSES AND OUR-COMES - A PILOT-STUDY

The construct of new employee anticipation was explored within a model of newcomer socialization. Measures of anticipation, socialization pr ocesses and outcomes obtained from new college graduates one year afte r graduation (N = 378) suggested low-anticipation newcomers report low er job satisfaction, commitment, work motivation, job involvement and psychological success. Graduates who anticipated their jobs perceived organizations as being more receptive to them, jobs as more challengin g, greater control over their work, more influence on the organization , and understood the culture better. In addition, graduates who had no t anticipated their current jobs reported lower levels of satisfaction with the transition, greater stress and more difficulty with the tran sition. Implications for socialization research and human resource sys tems are discussed.