Л С Г A U N I V E R S I T Ä T I S L O D Z I E N S I S FOLIA SOC I O L O G I C A 22, 1991
Krz ysztof Konecki
THE ROLE OF "AGENTS" IN THE PR O C E S S OF A D A P T A T I O N OF NEW W OR KERS TO THE WORK S I T U A T I O N
1. Int rodu ction
The present text deals with p r o blem s of initiation of new w o r -kers to Industrial org anizations. We have used the term " t r a j e c -tory of the new worker" do den ote the way whi ch he must cover before he is finally acc epte d by his worker gro up and b ef ore he b e c o m e s int egra ted with his ent erprise. Th u s the n o t ion of the trajectory of the new worker refers to the c ou rse of the new wor kers a c c o m o d a t i o n to the r e q u i r e m e n t s of his job and the c u l -ture of his work organiz ation , as well as to all p r a c t i c e s whi ch are imp leme nted to train him for his job and for a rel ativ ely h ar m o n s o u s c o e x i s t e n c e with oth er wor kers w i t h i n this culture.
We have i d e ntif ied the cul t u r e of the ind ustr ial pla nt with the cu l t u r e of an org aniz ation . It is de f i n e d as a "family of con cept s", mad e up of such c o n cept s as symbol, language, i d e o -logy, belives, rituals, myt hs whi ch are ass o c i a t e d with d i f f e r -ent asp ects of organization. Symbol is the most i n c lusi ve c a -tegory [cf. P e t t i g r e w , 1979, p. 574], but lan g u a g e p e r -mea tes all categories. However, i n t e r a c t i o n is the sph ere In whi ch sym b o l i c m e a ning s are r e a l i z e d on the level of language. "[. ..] the use of lan guage is so int imat ely so ins e p a r a b l y bound up with other n o n - l i n g u i s t i c act i v i t i e s w hi ch men perform, that it is p o s sibl e to speak of their n o n - l i n g u i s t i c b e h a v i o u r also as e x p r e s s i n g d i s c o u r s i v e ideas" [ W i n c h , 1967, p. 128].
A dec isiv e role in the "training of the new worker for his job and for a rel ativ ely har mone ous coe x i s t e n c e with other w o r -kers" is p e r form ed by agents. They are persons who sup ervi se and guide the new worker during the period of ada ptat ion and help him attain the formal and non -for mal status of a worker, at his plant [cf. G l a s e r , S t r a u s s , 1971, p. 5, 17, 29, 62]. The maj ority of training p r a ctic es are car ried out by the agents in the non -for mal sphere. Eve ry-day life at the "shop" or i nd i-vidual wor k-po st level is the main field of soc i a l i z a t i o n of the new worker. It is through the int erac tion with agents that he learns not only how to work but also how to "live" in the new cultural environment. Integration of new wor kers with the work- -o r gani zatio n is then e f f ectu ated in the plane of i n t erac tion with agents and other fellow-workers.
The pre sent text is based on the results of an empirical study car ried out in the e l e c t ro techn ical plant Z. (1500 employees) situated in a district capital town with 30.000 inhabitants. The qua lita tive res earc h str ateg ies were de r i v e d from the works by B. G l a s e r and A. S t r a u s s [1967], B. G 1 a s e r [ 1978], B. T u r n e r [l90l] and M. R o s e n [1986]. The res earc h t e c h -n i q ues used in the study were covert p a r tici pant obs e r v a t i o n c a r -ried out by the researcher K. K. (March 26-3une 26, 1985), and covert par t i c i p a n t obs e r v a t i o n c ar ried out by his col abor ator U. U. (three months, 1986). The study included free interviews with dis pos i t i o n s which sup plied more data on some p r o blem s e n -cou nter ed by the new worker (Aug 1-Aug 28, 1985). The i n t e r v i e -wees were new wor kers (61 interviews), elder w or kers (40 i n t e r -views) and foremen (22 inter-views).
The m e t h o d of q u a lita tive date p r e s e n t a t i o n was a do pted from a paper by 3. K u l p i ń s k a [1972] in whi ch she defined basic types of the research problems and their dynamics while descrip tions of cases (in our text from partici pant o b s e r v a -tions) are treated as the ill ustrative and e x e mpli cativ e m a -terials. Kul pińs ka carried out qualita tive analysis of the plots of novels about wor kmen 's circles. She took these plots which appeared most often in Polish novels in fifties and sixties. The plo ts were ass ocia ted with such cat egor ies as: an i n t e g r a -tion of workers in the factory, a pro moti on of workers, process
of becamin g a worker, i de ntif icati on wit h a fac tory 's surrond- ing, att itud es to work, rites and folklore of a factory etc. After theoretical p r e s e n t a t i o n of the category, she illustr ated it wit h the ima gina ble citations.
All issues ana lysi ed in our text come under the h e a d i n g of "sociology of industry" since the ana lysi s is foc used on the "social behavior of wor kers and its social reg ul a t i o n " (K u 1- p i ń s k a , 197A, p. 8).
2. Agents
When a new worker .enters the pla nt Z. for the first time he is obl ivio us of the factory reality. Fro m the very beginning, however, there appear persons who initiate him to the secrets of his job and the plant in o c c asio nal c o n v e r s a t i o n s or through a more per mane nt relationship. I will call these w o r k e r s agents since they are ins trumental (as r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of the o r g a n i -zational culture) in the attempt to initiate a neo p h y t e to the culture of the plant. Ihey are also a c o n n c c t i o n b e t w e e n the ext ra - o r g a n i z a t i o n a l culture and the c u l ture of their industrial organization.
The actions of agents are ass o c i a t e d wit h a p r o b l e m of c o n trol over status pas s a g e of a newcomer. Ag e n t s sha pe the t r a j e -ctory and try gen eral ly to make It irr e v e r s i b l e i.e. their actions steer the status passage a c c o r d i n g to the aims of groups which are rep re s e n t e d by them [ G l a s e r , S t r a u s s , 1971, p. 5, 17, 29, 62]. Aims of such groups, here factories, are p r e s c r i b e d by the cul ture of org aniz ation . A ge nts bri ng n e w -comers to c ha ngin g identities. Agents e d u cate and i n d o c t r i n ate the pas sage es in the same way as they we r e i n d o c t r i n a t -ed and e d u cate d by oth er agents from the same subculture. Training is c o n d u c t e d by usi ng formal p r o g r a m s and informal co m m u n i c a t i o n and through a p p r e n t i c e s h i p or tra i n i n g in o c c u p a -tional practices. However, agents and also p a s s a g e e s n e g o t i a t e the shape of status passage. The control over st a t u s pas sage is also neg otiationable.
and voluntary. The formal agents are assigned by their i n s t i t u -tion to introduce the newcomer to his job in the plant. At the beg inni ng of the trajectory of the new worker they are special clerks from the personnel division whose job is to engage w o r -kers. Then come the manager s of divisions, departm ents or units who supply the new worker more detailed information about hia job (they are frequently responsible for the c al cula tion of the n e w c o m e r ’s wages). Next there is the foreman (.this refers only to p r o duct ion units) who gives him a crash course of safety regulations. The foreman assigns the newcomer to a work-post or passes him on to a headman of a working group who gives him a par ticu lar job. He is the last formal g'rade in the hierarchy of agents.
The vol unta ry agents are those workers who try to help the newcomer on their own initiative, or on his request. They give him advice, instruc tions and help him at work (and with his personal problems) although they are not formally obliged to do s o .
A formal anent can also turn a voluntary one. This happens whenever his help goes beyond his formal duties. It refers both to the sphere of work and the sphere of work and to the personal p ro blem s of the new worker eg. help from a hea dman (formally a p -pointed to take care of new workers in the plant) in obtaining an app artment, whi ch is outside the h e a d m a n ’s duties.
In the first days at work the most important persons for the new worker are these formal and voluntary agents who guide him to dif fere nt places in the p l a n t . This is jus tifi ed since he has little ori ent a t i o n in the spatial arr ange ment of various d i -visions, departments, sections, stores etc. Moreover, the r e -searcher K. K. has observed that before they are ass igne d their duties new wor kers receive no inf ormation from their formal agents c on cern ing the topography of the plant. In order to find various sections or d e p artm ents they must ask people to help them. It sometimes happens that an app roac hed fel low- worke r is willing
to take them to their destination.
Agents who teach the newcomer the topography of the plant may pass him over to other agents before he finally reaches his
des-tination. In such case agents function as tra n s m i t t i n g station s in his travels through the plant.
Thé voluntary agents (this group may also inc lude formal agents), those who want to help new workers, can be div i d e d into four g r o u p s . The c r i t e r i o n of div i s i o n is the tru t h f u l n e s s of the a g e n t s ’ intentions as per ceiv ed by the new workers. The a c -tions by agents consist mainly in ass isti ng the newcomers. The truthfu lness or aut hent ic cha ract er their act ions p e r c e i v e d by the new workers refers to d i s i n t e r e s t e d n e s s and f r i e n d l i n e s s of intentions which ensures them that the agents are not pla ying some interactional game with a zero score. "The zero sum game" - it is a game in which any gain for one p er son is exa ctly b a -lanced by the loss to the other [ G о f f m a n, 1969, p. 101 J. Agents well dis p o s e d to n e w c o m e r s are i m p orta nt in a pr o c e s s of a d a ptat ion of n e w c o m e r s to the work sit uati on. E m o t i o n a l side of ada p t a t i o n (" k i n d n e s s g e n erat es kin d n e s s " ) i.e. p o s i t i v e e m o tion s of n e w c o m e r s are c o n d u c t i v e to s p e e d i n g up a c h i e v i n g of o c c u p a -tional skills. Neg ativ e emo tions and s tr ess d el ay the c ou rse of ne w c o m e r s * t r a l e c t o r у . In such s i t u a t i o n there is us u a l l y delay in o b t a i n i n g a spe cifi c k n o w l e d g e of c op ing wit h e r r o r s in work. Mor eove r, there is ret arde d an a c c e p t a n c e of n e w c o m e r s by older wor kers and in such s i t u a t i o n it is d i f f i c u l t to find s i g n i f i -cant others in wor k - p l a c e etc. K i n d n e s s and good h u m a n r e l a t i o n s in w o r k - p l a c e can lessen his or her s t r ess a s s o c i a t e d with a d a p -t a -t i o n ’s pro blems, first of all his or her a d j u s t m e n t to social s u r r o u n d i n g .
B a s i n g in this c r i t e r i o n of a u t h e n t i c a ct ion we sha ll c l a s sify the agents into p r e t ende d and a u t h e n t i c . A g e n t s can be a c c e p -ted by the new wo r k e r s who m a i n t a i n a p e r m a n e n t soc ial c on tact with them and who accept their tut elar a u t h o r i t y e v e n whe n they s us pect the agents of a s s i s t i n g them in view of r e a l i z i n g their own h id den obj ecti ves. Both p r e t e n d e d and a u t h e n t i c a ge nts may also be u n a c c e p t e d by the new workers. This h a p p e n s when a new w or ker rej ects a s s i s t a n c e from agents, r e g a r d l e s s of w h e -ther he kee ps or s ev eres his social c on tact w i t h them (see Fig. 1).
AGENTS p re tend ed authentic a cc epted 1 * 1 - • 1 2
/
una c c e p t e d/
3 4Fig. 1. Types of voluntary agents and di r e c t i o n s of sta tus change in pa r t i c u l a r types of agents
It s o m etim es happens that an a c c e p t e d - a u t h e n t i c agents - i.e. a tutor as s i s t i n g the new worker (helping him at work, warning about d an gers and risks in his job, lending the new come r small sums of money etc.) - loses his tutorial status in the eyes of the new worker when he has used his tutelage for rea liza tion of some s t r ateg ic goals. For instance, the cle aner J . f r e q u e n
-tly h el ped a new worker (the res earc her K. K.) in his duties i.e. c l e arin g and p a c k a g i n g scrap metal from an open air jun k-ya rd
* nd the b u i l d i n g of the d e p artm ent F-l in the plant Z. The ш е е J. a ss ured him of his d i s i n t e r e s t e d help and frequently fue s s e d him to work faster and more eff icie ntly. The researcher К. K. w o r k e d hard b ec ause he was abs olut ely c o n vice d that J ’ s
help was d i s i n t e r e s t e d and thought much of the c l e a n e r ’s respect for work and order. However, when the r e s earc her n ot iced that his f e l l o w - w o r k e r J. b ra gged about his help he beg an to suspect that J ’s real int enti on was to boost his image in the eyes of others at the exp e n s e of the newcomer. This rea l i z a t i o n did not make much d i f f e r e n c e to the new wor ker (K. K.). On the contrary, he was quite sa t i s f i e d since he cou ld do his work faster (i.e. clear the heap of scr a p - m e t a l - an ord er he got from a dep artm ent m a n a g e r ) .
In the oret ical terms the last case in an e xa mple of "agent redefin ition " i.e. a tra nsit ion from the status of aut hent ic- -ac cept ed agent to the status of p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d agent (cf. Fig. 1 - tr a n s i t i o n from field 1 to field 2 of the diagram).
In such sit u a t i o n s m a i n t e n a n c e of social r e l atio ns with the agent may have a tem porary n a t u r e since these r e l a t i o n s are i n -str umen tal in r e a liza tion of some o b j e c t i v e on the part of one or both p a r t n e r s of the interaction. N ev erth eless , the p r e -tended sym pathy of the agent is still a pr oved of by the new worker.
Here is a d e s c r i p t i o n of ano ther case in w hi ch an aut hent ic- -accepted agent gains the status of p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d agent.
When the res earc her K. K. s u b s t i t u t e d in the c u t t i n g bay - the h ar dest job in the me c h a n i c a l dep artm ent, for whi ch there were alw ays vac anci es - some of his fel l o w - c u t t e r s tried to talk him into taking it as a per mane nt job (in stead of his job of a scr ap-m etal packer). They ad v e r t i s e d the work at the cu t t i n g bay as light (which was untrue since the m o n o t o n y of this work made one tired from the very b e g inni ng) and easy. They told him that their p i e ce-w ork s ys tem p e r m i t t e d them to earn higher wages. They were also trying to c o n v i n c e the m an ager to put K. K. to work at the c ut ting bay.
On the other band, one of K. K . ’s cl o s e s t f e l l o w - w o r k e r from the p ac king bay, the cle aner M., was trying to m o t i v a t e the researcher to more e f f ecti ve work by saying: "if you work hard the m an ager will give you a big bonus, only he must see that the heap of junk is get ting smaller". It s ho uld be not ed that for many years b e f o r e the c o m m i n g of K. K. there had only w o r ked two peo ple (in clud ing the c le aner J.) at the p a c k i n g bay. M. was also trying to make K. K. work h a r der by telling him that "the bass is w a t c h i n g you". The r e s earc her did not see this what he did see was that M. was m a k i n g h i m do most of his own w o r k .
Internal transport w or kers wer e also try ing to talk K. K. to take a job wit h them. They were telling him that their wages were h ig her s in ce they w o r ked on a p i e c e - w o r k b as is (the r e -sea rcher was paid by the hour) and that their wor k was easy (which was untrue).
When K. K. told his fe l l o w - w o r k e r M. about this " c o n s c r i p -tion" campain, the latter got very angry and s t a r t e d cursing: " D o n ’t you listen to them, s - o - b ’s, nob ody wants to work there. It's real har d work, eight hou rs on your feet ( s p e a k i n g of the
cutting bay) [..•] Those bastards, they wanna make a fool of you just to get themselves out of there".
After some time, a con ver s a t i o n with a fellow- worke r who exp lain ed to K. K. the real m ot ives of all these groupe helped the res earc her und e r s t a n d the game pla yed by the three above cat egor ies of workers*. There was a per mane nt def icit of labor in the cut ting bay, as well as in internal transport and the pac king bay. Emp loym ent of every new wor ker d i m inis hed the work load at the unit to which he was assigned, since he was given part of the work so far done by other workers. All three a f o r e -said ca t e g o r i e s of workers were keenly i n t eres ted in the e m p l o y -ment od new persons without c ut ting down on the manning at their uni t .
Moreover, a newcomer did not usually know the range of his duties and there was always a chance of mak ing him do part of their own work. It frequently h ap pens that exp e r i e n c e d wor kers choose eas ier work, leaving the more dif ficu lt one to new come rs who can then hardly turn out the daily quota ass igne d to them (such was the sit uati on in the dept. F-3 of the plant Z.).
Whe never a n e w -wor ker learns the a g e n t ’s real mo t i v e s he u s u -ally changes his opi nion of him, the agent may then change s t a -tus from a u t h e n t i c - a c c e p t e d to pre t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d . The acc epta nce is usually i n d ispe nsabl e in case the agent is one of the n e w -c o m e r ’s -c lo sest f e l l o w - w o r k e r s . Lack of acc epta nce gen eral ly c^3 truc ts com m u n i c a t i o n bet ween w or kers whi ch is p r e r e q u i s i t e of eff ective work. This is proved by the a f o resa id case of K. K . ’s closest work-m^te, the cleaner M. (a voluntary agent), who was ult imat ely giv en the p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d status in the eyes of K. K.
An agent may well be unaware of the new w o r k e r ’s kno wled ge of his real motivation. This may som etim es lead to an open
con-New wor kers sol idar ise usu ally with and help themselves. They pass to others n e w come rs i n f orma tions about imp ortant for them problems. We observed, whi le one of the n e w c o m e r s lost his the all money and from that rea son did not have a breakfast, oth ers new wor kers hel ped giving him one.
The sol idar ity of n e w c o m e r s is a feature of status pas sage [see T u r n e r , 1974, p. 113]. N e w come rs cre ate ega l i t a r i a n and c o h e s i v e communitas.
flict bet w e e n the agent and the new w or ker whe n the latter choses to rep roach him with his i n t eres ted attitude. A d e s c r i p t i o n of further d e v e l o p m e n t of r e l atio ns be t w e e n the new w o r k e r (the r e -sea rche r K. K.) and the c le aner 0. may serve as a goo d e xa mple of such sit uation. When the r e s earc her lea rned that 3 . ’s help was f i n anci ally m o t i v a t e d since the dept, m a n a g e r had p r o m i s s e d to pay J. extra for the c l e arin g of the ju n k - y a r d (the res earc her was not told about it by any of them), he ce a s s e d to accept his work-mate. He also made sure to tell him about his reasons. A huge heap of junk was cl e a r e d thanks to s k i llfu ll m a n i p u l a t i o n by the man agem ent. At the same time, however, it d e s t r o y e d the r el atio ns b et ween 3. and K. K.
The d e s c r i b e d case is an ex a m p l e of t r a nsit ion from the status of the p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d agent to the s ta tus of the p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p t e d one (cf. Fig. 1 - tr a n s i t i o n fro m fie ld 1 to field 3 of the diagram).
We may then formulate a hyp o t h e s i s that an open con t e x t of 2
interactional awa reness initiated by a new w o r ker ch a n g e s t h -■ status of the agent from p r e t e n d e d a c c e p t e d (which o c c u r r e d p r e -viously in a c lo sed con text of awa rene ss) to p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p - ted. As a result, the rel atio ns b et ween the two wor k e r s bec ome tense whi ch o b s t r u c t s ef f e c t i v e coo pera tion. This is es p e c i a l l y harmful when the red efi n i t i o n occ urs b e t w e e n c l o s e s t wor k-ma tes.
2
The c on cept of "aw arne ss con text" was p r o p o s e d by B. G 1 a- s e r and A. S t r a u s s [1964]. It refers to the amount and type of interactants* k n o w l e d g e about their p a r t n e r s ’ i d e n -tity and their own ide n-tity seen thr ough the eyes of their partners. There are four types of awa r n e s s context: 1. Open awa rnes s con text - each int e r a c t a n t kno ws the a u t h e n t i c identity of his p ar tner as well as his own ide ntity seen thr ough the p a r t n e r ’s eyes. 2. Clo sed awa rnes s co n t e x t - one of the i n t e r -act ants does not know his p a r t n e r ’s ide ntity or his own identity seen thr ough the eyes of the partner. 3. S u s p i c i o n a w a r n e s s c o n -text - it is m o d i f i c a t i o n of the c l o s e d context. One of p a r -tic ipants does not trust his p a r t n e r ’s true ide ntit y or the p a r t n e r ’s true image of his own identity. 4. P r e t e n c e awa rnes s con text - it is a m o d i f i c a t i o n of the open context. Both inter* act ants know their identity but they p r e t e n d not to kn o w who they rea lly are [G 1 a s e г, S t r a u s s , 1964, p. 670] and other sources. Cf. also В. T u r n e r [1971, pp, 132-133].
I n t e r a c t i o n s w hi ch occur in a p a r t i c u l a r type of awa rnes s con text may be c l a s s i f i e d along the sam e^li nes. In the p r e -sent study i n t r o d u c t i o n of the ope n a w a r n e s s c o n t e x t refers
Au t h e n t i c - a c c e p t e d agents may also undergo a red efin ition of status to p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p t e d (this means a direct transition from field 1 to field 3 - see: Fig. 1). We o b s erve d such s i t u a -tion in the dep artm ent F-l, One fitter, h a v ing learned about a new n o r k e r ’s bad financial situation, tried to "help" him in a specific way. He offered to sell him five can arie s at an e x t r e mely low price which he then could, a c c ordi ng to the fitter, r e -sell at a big profit. The arg umen ts were convincing. The new worker che cked the pri ces of can arie s at various pet shops and the offer seemed to be a bargain. Mor eover, the sale was s u p p o -sedly caused by the lack of space in the fitters house. The t r a n s -action was about to take place when another fitter, a bird expert, told the new worker that the birds were of "bad quality" and that he should not buy them. Since then the new worker tried to avoid the bird fancier.
The latter bec ame p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p t e d and the one who gave the new comer good advice bec ame an a u t h e n t i c - a c c e p t e d agent a lt hough he had b e l onge d ‘to the cat egory of p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d agents. He had never been trusted by the new worker b ec ause he was overinq uisit ive, asked many q u e stio ns about his past and his work, mad e fun of him through the " r i dicu ling ritual" etc. Nev erth eless , the f i t t e r ’s pre viou s neg ativ e beh avio ur was c a n c e l -led out by this single positive act towards the new worker who changed his op i n i o n about the fitter and for some time reg arded him as an ally.
A u t h e n t i c a c c e p t e d agents are most important for proper f o r -m at ion of the tra ject ory of the new worker. Thanks to them the "new ones" are appropr iatel y i n t rodu ced to the life of the plant. They fre quen tly help the new worker at work, cheer him up in d is tress (eg whe n he has bee n r e p r i m a n d e d by his boss), tell hi® "organi zatio nal stories" whi ch reveal the importance of some e le ments of his work sit uati on in the life of the plant etc.
We have also obs erve d a limited occ u r r e n c e of the aut hent ic- -un acce pted status which was e x e m p l i f i e d by an old worker who
to the d i s clos ure of j . ’s h id den m ot ives by his f el low- worke r K. K. F ro m then on the int eraction b et ween them took p la ce in the open awa rnes s context.
o ff ered a new wor ker a room at a very low p ri ce w he n he hea rd that he was loo king for one. However, the new w or ker was u n w i l l i n g to b ec ome d e p ende nt on his w o r k - m a t e s in any way and r e j ecte d the offer. It seems that the status of a u t h e n t i c - u n a c c e p t e d agent is an ext reme ly rare case.
To conclude, we may repeat that our res e a r c h has d o c u m e n t e d the fol lowi ng types of agent s ta tus t r a n s i t i o n ( a c c o r d i n g to the a f o resa id criteria): from a u t h e n t i c - a c c e p t e d to p r e t e n d e d - -accepted, from p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d to p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p t e d , from p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d to a u t h e n t i c - a c c e p t e d and from au t h e n t i c - -ac cept ed to p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p t e d . Other types of t r a n s i t i o n are also logically pos sibl e but they were not " s a t u r a t e d with e m p i -rical data" in the course of our research.
2.1. The org an i z a t i o n a l p o s i t i o n s of agents
We shall now pass to the d e s c r i p t i o n of the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l " ex trac tion" of agents, i.e. their p o s i t i o n w i t h i n the o r g a n i -zation or its sections.
These agents shape the t r a ject ory of the n e w c o m e r , i.e. they inf luence whe ther the tra ject ory is r o u t i o n a b l e or pro b l e m a t i c and whether it is r e t arde d or a c c e l e r a t e d etc.
A c c o r d i n g to the data from free i n t ervi ews w it h new wo r k e r s the formal agents are above all the s u p e r i o r s (66. i.e. 86, 44 of indications). Amo ng them there are m a n a g e r s - 48,54 (32), foreman - 19,74 (13), h e a d m e n of w o r k i n g u n i t s - 12,14 (8), i n -s t r ucto r-s of o c c u p a t i o n a l tra inin g c o u r -s e -s - 4,64 (3), one g e -neral dir ecto r - 1,54 (1). It is i n t e r e s t i n g that 8 out of 61 new w or kers c la im they have nev er had a n y t h i n g to do w it h a p e r son formally r e s p o n s i b l e for their a d a p t a t i o n at the plant (12,14), in one cas e the formal agent was a worker.
The vol unta ry agents are p r e d e o m l n a n t l v eld er w o r k e r s , most fre quen tly the closest w o r k - m a t e s of new w o r k e r s ( 45 ,44 i.e. 15 i n d icat ions to ord i n a r y workers). M or e e x p e r i e n c e d new wor k e r s c o n s t i t u t e 6,14 (2) of i n d i c a t i o n s to v o l u n t a r y agents. Amo ng the s u p erio rs - 33,44 (11) of i n d i c a t i o n s ov e r a l l - the p r o p o r t i o n s are: m a n a g e r s 6,14 (2), f or eman 12,24 (4), he a d m e n of w o r k i n g uni ts 15,14 (5). It is q ui te r e m a r k a b l e that a c c o r d
-ing to 15,1% of indications agents were family mem bers of the new workers (5 persons). This can be acc ount ed for by the im-portant role played by interpersonal c o n nect ins (in clud ing f a -mily mem bers wor king at the plant Z.) in the dec isio ns c o n c e r n -ing job selection.
When elder wor kers were asked "who ought to introduce new wor kers to the plant" they pointed above all to various s u p e r -iors (81,64 i.e. 62 indications). The next group were work- -mates and elder wor kers (18,4% i.e. 14 ind icat ions out of the total of 76). The sup eriors were of the same opinion. According to them new w or kers should be introduced to work first and f or e-most by their sup erio rs (854 i.e. 17 out of the total of 20 indications). There were 10% (2) ind icat ions to elder workers and 0% ind icat ions to w o r k-ma tes of new workers. One superior said there was no real need to take special care of, or provide tutelage for new workers.
It can be seen from the above data that obl igat ional c a t e g o -ries rel ated to ind icat ions to o r g aniz ation al pos itio ns of agents rev eale d by elder wor kers and the s u p erio rs are c o n v e r gent with rel atio ns of new workers at to the fre quen cy of o c c u r -rence of formal agents among sup eriors (81,6%, B5,0% and 86,4% r es pectively). On the other hand, sup erio rs b e c o m e voluntary agents less fre quen tly (33,4% of indications) than other c a t e -gor ies of workers.
When elder wor kers were asked "who act ually int roduces new wor kers to the plant" 76,4% (42) po i n t e d to the superiors, and 18,2% (10) to f el low worke rs of the newcomers. It is r e m a r k -able that 5,4% (3) of ind icat ions refer to the cat egory of v i -sible abs ence of sup erio rs in the process of i n t rodu ction of new w or kers to the plant. On the other hand, the sup erio rs c la imed that they were solely res pons ible for actual i n t rodu ction of n e w come rs and that they did not notice elder w or kers p er form this task.
It thus seems that s u p erio rs are rather inc lined to fulfil their formal dut ies c o n nect ed with the i n t rodu ction of new w or kers to the plant, whi ch is c o n firm ed by opi nion s e x p ress ed by new as well as elder workers, they become vol untary agents less fre quently than other employees, and they fail to notice
the imp ortant role of oth er e m p loye es in the p r o c e s s of i n t r o -d uc tion of newcomers.
2.2. O p i nion s of agents on ways of s ha ping a trajectory of a new come r
Elder w or kers and sup erio rs have di f f e r e n t o p i n i o n s about con tent s and dim e n s i o n s a n e w c o m e r ’s trajectory. It is imp orta nt here to answer on such question: w hi ch a ct ions s ho uld be taken most often d u r ing t r a ject ory by su p e r i o r s and elder w or kers (content) and sho uld be a tra ject ory (or is) in a d i m e n s i o n of "suspicion" or friendl iness ?
The obove c o n clus ions (from sec. 2.1.) are c o n v e r g e n t with answers obt aine d to the question: “In what wav sho uld the new worker he introduced to his olace of work?" Eld er wor k e r s said that s u p erio rs should first and for emost be c o n c e r n e d wit h the actual s i t uati on of work 98,24 i.e. 53 i nd icat ions) . They i n -c lu ded in this -cat egory the f o l lowi ng kin ds of res p o n s i b i l i t i e s : g et ting the new come r a c q uain ted with his job (354 i.e. 20 i n d i -cations), personal care of the new worker (24,64 i.e. 14 i n d i -cations). The per sonal care is hel p giv en to the "new one" in his per sonal pro blem s in order to mak e h i m p e r f o r m his work- dut ies more efficiently. On the oth er hand, p e r s o n a l help to the new worker beyond the sph ere of w o r k - o p e r a t i o n s , c o n c e r n -ing his emo tional and psy c h o l o g i c a l pro blem s, is rar ely p r a c -t i c e d 5 .
Oth er spheres of r e s p o n s i b i l i t y are: g e t t i n g the new worker a c q u a i n t e d wit h the plant (8,84 i.e. 5 i n d i cat ions) , dir ect
In medical s i t uati ons such as hos pita ls, s a n a t o r i u m s the work of the i n m a t e s ’ psy che is a very i m p orta nt e l e m e n t of i n -s t i tuti onal efficiency. Quite f r e quen tly the p a t i e n t ’s worries, anxiety, panic or anger must be a p p ease d thr o u g h a p p r o p r i a t e act ion by the staff. Such action is c a l l e d " s e n t i m e n t a l work" LS t r a u s s et al., 1985]. It3 aim Is to r ai se trust in the patient, to a pp ease him in cas e he is nervous, to b ui ld up or re b u i l d his identity, to ensure a m o r a l l y a p p r o p r i a t e cou rse of interaction.
Sen t i m e n t a l work w hi ch is a part of the so c a l l e d per sonal care of new w or kers in an ind ustr ial p la nt may p e r f o r m a sim ilar function.
s u p ervi sion of the new worker (8,8% i.e. 5 indications), p r o -viding the new worker with information about p o s s ibi litie s of pro moti on (7% i.e. 4 indications), h ol ding an int rodu ctory i n -terview (5,3% i.e. 3 indications), getting him acq uain ted with the pro d u c t i o n cycle (5,3% i.e. 3 indications), run ning a m e -dical che ck-u p with regard to his sui tabi lity for the job (3,5%
i.e. 2 indications). Strictly edu cati onal res p o n s i b i l i t i e s c o n -stitute only 1,0% (1) of ind icat ions and they relate to the initiation of the new worker to local customs.
Similar results were obtained from the sup erio rs who share an una nimo us opinion that int rodu ctory res p o n s i b i l i t i e s should con cent rate directly on work (71,7% i.e. 43 indications). They point to the following kinds of respons ibili ties: per sonal care (16,7% i.e. 10 indications), int rodu ctory int erview (13,3 i.e. 8 indications), get ting the new comer acq uain ted with work (10,3% i.e. 6 indications), initial ins truc tion of the new worker c o n -cer ning his job (10% i.e. 6 indications), g et ting him acq uain ted with the plant (10% i.e. 6 indications), c o n v e r s a t i o n s s t r e s s -ing the importance of hig h quality of pro d u c t i o n (5% i.e. 3 indications), len ding the new worker a bul leti n with i n f o r m a -tion about the plant (3,3% i.e. 2 indications). Nevertheless, the s u p erio rs pay more att enti on (in obl igat ional cat egories) to edu c a t i o n a l res pons i b i l i t i e s (21,7% i.e. 13 indications) iiwn elder workers. These include the following: p la cing the new w or kers under the s u p ervi sion of c o n fide ntial emp loye es (5% i.e. 3 indications), strict con trol of the new w o r k e r s ’ beh avio r (5% i.e. 3 Indications), p r o vidi ng good per sonal e x -ample in the sphere of work and personal conduct (3,3% i.e. 2
indications), ke e p i n g the "new ones" away from poor wor kers (1,7% i.e. 1 indication), p r o vidi ng "general edu cati on" (1,7% i.e. 1 i n d i c a t i o n ) .
It is r e m arka ble that 3,3% of the sup eriors c la imed that no ass ista nce is nec essa ry for the i n t rodu ction of new workers.
The ans wers of elder workers to the que stio n "in what wav are new wor k e r s act ually int rodu ced to the plant?" were c o n -sistent with their ear lier response in obl iga t i o n a l categories. Ac c ordi ng to them aj.1]responsibilities co n n e c t e d with the i n t r o -duc tion of n e w wor kers are r el ated to their actual sit uati on
of work (98,14 i.e. 53 indications). These r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s com- prise h el ping the new wor ker at work, but only u po n an e x p l i -cit req uest fro® the foreman (5,54 i.e. 3 indications), g et ting the n e w come rs a c q uain ted with work (22,34 i.e. 12 indications), strict control of their work (9,24 i.e. 5 ind icat ions) , i n f o r -ming them about the p r o d u c t i o n cycle (1,94 i.e. 1 indication). G iv ing ass i s t a n c e to new w or kers is imp ortant for the maj o r i t y of elder w or kers (504 i.e. 27 indications), 9,24 i.e. 5 i n d i c a -tions a p p e r t a i n to c la ims that any hel p to new wo r k e r s is un- rfecesary. Those r e s pond ents who actually help the new wo r k e r s have been c l a s i f i e d by us as voluntary agents.
1,94 i.e. 1 ind icat ion refers to b e h avio r c o n n e c t e d w it h the social life of the plant, nam ely to inv i t a t i o n s of new w or kers to nam e-day pa r t i e s of elder workers.
In their a ns wers to the que s t i o n "in what way are new w o r k -ers act ually int rodu ced to the p l a n t ? “ m a n a g e r s als o use c a t e -gories c lo sely related to work (1004 i.e. 39 ind icat ions) . These c a t egor ies refer to the fol lowi ng responsibilities: per sonal c o n -v e r sati ons w it h new w or kers in w hi ch they "are told" how to work (17,94 i.e. 7 indications), h e l p i n g new w o r k e r s to solve various pro blems, not only in the sph ere of work, but only upo n e xp lici t req uest from the "new ones" (19,34 i.e. 4 ind icat ions) , g et ting them acq u a i n t e d with work (7,74 i.e. 3 ind icat ions) , strict con trol over new wo r k e r s (5,14 i.e. 2 indicat ions) , h e l p -ing them to pass through the e m p l o y m e n t pr o c e d u r e (5,14 i.e. 2 ind icat ions) , g i v i n g them a course on safety p r o c e d u r e d (2,64 i.e. 1 indication), s ho wing them r ou nd the pla nt (2,64 i.e. 1 indication). All man a g e r s c l a i m e d to hav e act uall y h e l p e d new w or kers in their work (*8,74 i.e. 19 indications).
It can be c o n c l u d e d from the above data that m a n a g e r s as well as elder w o r k e r s are int e r e s t e d first and f o r emos t in r e s p o n s i -b il ities w hi ch fac i l i t a t e fast ad a p t a t i o n of new w o r k e r s to the routine of work. M a n ager s and eld er wo r k e r s ( p o tent ial agents) look at the tra ject ory of the n e w come r as only the tra ject ory of w o r k e r . Mor eove r, this t r a ject ory n e w c o m e r - w o r k e r s ee ms to be o c c u r i n g in the d i m e n s i o n of suspicion. The s tr ess on s u p e r -vision of the new w or kers is a sign of d i s t r u s t f u l att i t u d e of the man a g e r i a l staff and elder wo r k e r s toward new come rs. " C o n
-versations" and "telling the new ones how to work" are two ex- ampless of such attitude.
Elder employees and managers. i.e. pot enti al formal and v o -luntary agents, must pass throuh the phase of initial self f a -m i l iari zatio n with the new worker before he can enter the inter- action with t h e m . This "initial self - fam ili a r i z a t i o n with the new worker" con sists in:
1. Car rying out so called "biographical sounding" i.e. p u t -ting que stions to the new worker about his past. Of course, the "biographical sounding" follows the "we lcom ing ritual" during which the par tners of interaction get a c q uain ted with each other. In the int ervi ews with new workers 59,14 (26 persons) con firm ed trie occ urre nce of "biographical soundings". 40,94 of responsents
did they had never been asked about their past.
2. P ut ting questions to other people about the new w o r k e r ’s past. These two features (1 and 2) of the category of "initial self - f a m i l ia rizat ion with the new worker" are related to the dim ensi on of curiosity of this category, i.e. see king i n f o r m a -tion about the new worker out of o n e ’s own curiosity.
The initial self f am ilia rizat ion with the new worker may also occur in the dim ensi on of s u s p i c i o n , when elder e m p loye es suspect the new wor ker of being ina dequ ately qua lifi ed for his job. They ■v.y also suspect him of other things, e.g. of p us hing up the daily output quatas, informing against them etc. This dim ensi on has the fol lowing features (3 and 4).
3. Temporary break of com m u n i c a t i v e interchange, e.g. when the topic of con ver s a t i o n is cha ged abr uptly bec ause the p r e s e n -ce of the new worker is p e r ceiv ed as a pot ential threat of r e -vealing some inf orma tion which is ess enti al for the worker group. Such sit uati on occ urre d during a break at a f o r e m a n ’s table when a new worker enq uire d about a cross han ging in his bay and about the S o l idar ity period in the plant. There followed a sudden silence which lasted for ca 10 second. It was then broken by one of the w or kers who brought up the subject of p i g eon r a i s -ing.
Sometimes the que stio ns by new wor kers are also left u n a n s w e r -ed because they are thought to be t h r eate ning the worker group in some way.
4. P s y chol ogica l pre p a r a t i o n of the team for the com ing of a new worker. Even before the new wor ker comes to work the worker group fre quen tly ,ftunes up" for the p o t enti al ch a n g e s whi ch his pre sence may introduce to the acc epte d customs, their sty le of work etc. Alt houg h they may have never met him they do it on the basis of scanty inf o r m a t i o n whi ch comes from v ar ious sources. For instance, w or kers at the d e p artm ent F-l were a p p r e h e n s i v e of a new qua lity tester. They were dis c u s s i n g the wor st things which might befall other qua lity testers, pre s s e r s and fitters as a result of his actions. They were afraid that his o v e rrig o- rous testing of the d et ails mad e by them may impede the c o n -tinuity of production.
We may thus assume that the "su spic ion" di m e n s i o n of the "initial self - fam il i a r i z a t i o n with the new worker" creates an unf a v o r a b l e atm osph ere for his a c c o m o d a t i o n to the sit uati on of work. The dis trust of the new wor ker on the part of his s o -cial group g e n e r a t e s in him a dis trus t of his fellow workers. This thesis is sup port ed by nis rel ucta nce to ask elder worker-' or s u p erio rs for help, e.g. when he makes a m i s t a k e in hi=» w o r k .
The fen omen on of dis trus t refers m ai nly to those agents (voluntary or formal) who do not help new w or kers and keep them at a distance.
The tra ject ory of a n e w come r is de l a y e d by these agents, b e -cause k ee ping social and i n t erac tiona l dis tanc e r et ards ent e r i n g in a c o m m u n i c a t i o n a l net of a wor k i n g group. New wo r k e r s in such s it u a t i o n s are late e xp osed to ri d i c u l i n g and d e p e n d a n c y rituals. It mea ns that they enter late in g o o d - f e l l o w s h i p rel a t i o n s h i p s with elder wo r k e r s and late achieve full o c c u p a t i o n a l q u a l i f i c a -tions .
3. Con c l u s i o n s
When new wo r k e r s come to an ind ustr ial p la nt they are met by agents who int rodu ce them to their w o r ker g r o u p s and help them solve their o c c u p a t i o n a l and per sona l pro blem s. There are two types of agents; for mal (ap poin ted by the m a n a g e r s to take
care of the new worker) and voluntary (workers who help the n e w -comers on their own initiative). Formal agents may become v o l u n -tary ones.
Voluntary agents may be ass igned one of the four typee of agent status, dep endi ng on how aut hentic are the int enti ons of their int erac tion wit h the new workers and w he ther they are a c -cep ted by the newcomers. Below are the four types of agent s t a -tus:
1) p r e t e n d e d - a c c e p t e d agents, 2) p r e t e n d e d - u n a c c e p t e d agents, 3) aut hent i c - a c c e p t e d agents, 4) a u t h e n t i c - u n a c c e p t e d agents.
The sta tus of agents may u nd ergo a c ha nge rel ativ e to the new w o r k e r s ’ i nt erpr etati ons of the a g e n t s ’ behavior.
Formal agents are mainly the superios; voluntary agents are above all eld er workers. The sup erio rs cla im the right to r e s -po n sibi lity for int rodu ction of new w or kers to the plant. They fail to not ice the important role p l a yed by other e m p loye es in this process. Elder w or kers as well as the s u p erio rs give p r i -mary imp orta nce to those introductory r e s p o n s i b i l i t i e s whi ch are
immediately rel ated to the sit uati on of work. Personal care whi ch goes b e y o n d ass ista nce in pe r f o r m i n g work o p e rati ons into the s p h ere of the new w o r k e r ’s mental, emo tional sta tes is of sec ondary imp orta nce for elder w or kers and the s u p erio rs alike. Whe never they talk of such tut elar -an d - e d u c a t i o n a l activity the sup erio rs use res tric tive cat egor ies, e.g. "su bjec ting the new w or kers to the sup e r v i s i o n of con fid e n t i a l emp loye es", "strict control of the new w o r k e r s ’ behavior", ke e p i n g them away from poor workers" etc.*
New wor k e r s most frequently con f o r m to the de f i n i t i o n in [ B e c k e r , 1963, p. 9]. The dis trus t of the new w or kers may raise their dis trus t of the social e n v i r o n m e n t of the plant. P e r -m a n e n t rec ipro cal dis trus t -may lead to the so c a l led “ insanity of (work) place" [ G o f f m a n, 1971, pp. 389 - 4 5 0 J in which the new w or ker spends his time. In such cases his imm edia te e n -vironment in the plant may become a pla ce of many p r o b l e m s r e -sul ting from this sus pici ousne ss, o v e r s e n s i t i v i t y and e x a g g e r a t -ed rea ctio ns to beh avior whi ch is not as o f f ensi ve or arogant as he imagines. These last features may laso make him
"inter-The res t r i c t i v e a t m osph ere s u r r o u n d i n g n e w c o m e r s is s u g m e n t e d by the "pr ocess o-f initial s e l f - f a m i l a r i z a t i o n w it h the new w o r k e r " 5 . B es ides c u r iosi ty (which f r e quen tly ir r i t a t e s the new worker), ex p r e s s e d in " bi ogra phica l sou ndin g" and q u e s t i o n s by various peo ple co n c e r n i n g his past, the p r o c e s s ' g i v e s e x p r e s s i o n to distrust. The dis trust is seen in the c o n s c i o u s c on trol of the con v e r s a t i o n a l con tent in p r e s e n c e of the "new one", and the psy c h o l o g i c a l "tune up" of the gro up b e f o r e his first c o m -ing. The "tu nning up" is done through d i s c u s s i o n of the worst p o s sibl e pro b l e m s whi ch may arise from c o o p e r a t i o n with the new worker. The a t m osph ere of d i s trus t is f ur ther a u g m e n t e d whe n the new w or ker comes across p r e t e n d e d a ge nts who base their str ateg ic int erac tion w it h him on lack of int e r a c t i o n a l p a r t n e r -ship. The d i m e n s i o n of s u s pici on c au ses a t r a j e c t o r y ’s delay.
B IB LI O G R A P H Y
B e c k e r H., 1963, Outsiders. St u d i e s in the S o c iolo gy of Deviance, The Free Press (quot. after 1973 edition).
act iona lly" dangerous. At the same time he may be u n d e r g o i n g a r e d e f i n i t i o n of sel f - i d e n t i t y or the identity of o th er workers. The new worker may feel that others b e l ittl e his p e r sona l value. Interaction, if it occurs, may thus b ec ome i n s ince re and p r e -tended. The new worker may attempt to avo id his f e l l o w - w o r k e r s and they may try to avo id him. C o n v e r s a t i o n s may b e c o m e less frequent. The group may start g o s s i p i n g abo ut the new worker thereby e x c l u d i n g him fro m soc iali zing. If this hap pens, the i n -div idual b ec omes dep rive d of i n t erac tiona l fee dbac k on his b e -havior. He no longer p o s s e s s e s a basic rea lity on w hi ch he builds his eva l u a t i o n s and c o n c l u s i o n s r e f erri ng to his own beh avio r [ G о f f m a n, 1971, L i n d e s m i t h et al., 1975, pp. 4 3 5 - 4 3 6 J. We have the such s i t u a t i o n in d e p a r t m e n t F-3, where even elder w or kers imp uted p sy chic ill ness to new w or ker ( w o -men), alt hough they were mai nly sus pico us, they w er e a v o idin g her and g o s s i p i n g about her and they also p l o t i n g a g a i n s t her.
5 The cat egor y "the initial s e l f - f a m i l i a r i z a t i o n wit h the new wor ker" ind icat es that a d a p t a t i o n is t w o - s i d e d process!
since even a single peasant, c o m i n g to a factory, c a u s e s that a f or eman and w or kers must adapt to his p r e s e n c e and to his level of qua lifi catio ns. Alt h o u g h this a d a p t a t i o n is u n c o m p a r a b l e to the ada ptiv e efforts to be taken by him" [ S z c z e p a ń s k i , 1972, pp. 474-475 ].
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Krzysztof Konecki
ROLA "POŚREDNIKÓW " W PROCESIE ADAPTACJI NOW Y CH R O B OT NI KO W 00 SYTUACJI PRACY
Niniejszy artykuł dotyczy pro blem ów zwi ązan ych z adaptacją nowych pracown ików w zakładzie przemysłowym. Opisany jest w nim proces psy chospołeczny, w k tó rym nowy pra cown ik naw iązu je k o n takty ze starszymi pracownikami. W pro cesi e tym bar dzo ważną r o -lę odg rywa ją tzw. pośrednicy. Są to osoby, które nad zoru ją i p o -magają nowemu pracownikowi w okresie jego adaptacji do sytuacji pracy. Poprzez interakcje z poś redn ikami nowy pra cown ik uczy się nie tylko jak pracować, ale również jak "żyć" w now ym k u l t u r o -wym otoczeniu. Można wyróżnić dwa p o d staw owe rodzaje poś redników, tj. pośredn ików formalnych (wy znac zonyc h przez zakład pracy do opieki nad now ym pracownikiem) oraz s a m o r z u t n y c h (są to ci p r a -cownicy, którzy z własnej inicjatywy pom agaj ą now ym pracownikom). P oś redn icy samorzutni mogą posiadać jeden z c z t e r e c h statusów w zależności od autentyczności intencji ich d z i ałań wobec nowych p r a cown ików oraz w zależności od tego czy są oni akc eptowani przez nowych pra cowników. Oto cztery rodzaje tych pośredników, p oś redn icy rzekomi - akceptowani, rzekomi - nie akc eptowani, au- aut entyczni a k c e p t o w a n i , autentyczni nie akcepto wani. Statusy p o -średników mogą ulec zmianie w czasie w zal eżno ści od i n t e r p r e -tacji działart p o ś redn ików dok o n y w a n y c h przez n o w y c h pracowników. W artykule opisano proces red efin icji tych s ta tusó w opi eraj ąc się na danych empirycznych, uzy skan ych z ukrytej o b s erwa cji u c z e s t n i -czącej .
Opisano także, z jakich pozycji o r g a n i z a c y j n y c h pochodz ą r ó ż -ne rodzaje poś re d n i k ó w oraz opisano proces w s t ęp-ne go osw ajan ia się poś re d n i k ó w z nowym pracownikiem.
Ana lizu jąc powyższ e problemy k o n c e n t r o w a n o się głównie na pro cesa ch interakcji. Przyjęto za p od staw ę analiz teorety czną p e r spektyw ę s y m b oli czneg o interak cjoni zmu oraz tzw. m e t o d o l o g i ę b u -dowania teorii ugruntowanej.
