Virtual Work & Organizational Socialization: The Perspectives of Female College Students
Open Access
- Author:
- Schlegel, Katherine
- Area of Honors:
- Labor and Employment Relations
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Dorothea Roumpi, Thesis Supervisor
Mark David Gough, Thesis Honors Advisor - Keywords:
- Organizational Socialization
Virtual Work
Female College Students
COVID-19
Work Arrangements
Person-Organization (P-O) Fit
Perceived Organizational Support (POS)
Work Locus of Control (WLOC)
Workplace Adjustment
Professional Networking
Career Advancement
Organizational Retention
Intention to Work Virtually
Qualitative Analysis
Semi-Structured Interviews
Diversity & Inclusion
Online Social Interactions
Feedback
Communication
Flexibility
Positive Misalignment - Abstract:
- This qualitative study explores how virtual work impacts the organizational socialization process of employees. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with female, college students who have previous or current online work experience. Based on the perspectives and attitudes shared in these personal accounts, implications can be made about employee socialization under the context of virtual work. These interviews unveiled the shared struggles and benefits implicated with the new standard of working away from premises since the global coronavirus pandemic. A qualitative analysis, where participant responses were coded and compared, uncovered notable themes. Young, female employees of this study found aspects of virtual work to be better than originally anticipated but showed a preference for a hybrid model of work. Through supervisor accessibility, development opportunities, clear role responsibilities, job autonomy, and beneficial onboarding, participants found their companies to possess a supportive culture. However, participants felt a low person-organization (P-O) fit and uncommitted to their companies because of shallow connections with coworkers, lack of career advancement, and professional network stagnation. This denotes the importance of corrective action from organizations in the form of diversity and inclusion practices, opportunities for online social interaction with coworkers, consistent feedback and communication, and flexibility of work.