Abstract:
Temps are serial socialisers. Does their experience with the adjustment process confer benefits for their adjustment success? Can they make up for the lack of organisational input by behaving proactively? The research was conducted to learn about newcomer proactive behaviour from the serial socialising temp population. One hundred and seventy six temps responded to an online-survey regarding their most recent placement, including questions about proactive behaviours, immediate proactive outcomes, adjustment criteria of learning, performance, wellbeing and engagement, self-efficacy and past transition experience over the preceding three months. Limited supportive results were obtained for the direct relationships between proactive behaviours and the adjustment indicators. It was found however that proactive behaviours were indirectly related to most adjustment indicators through the intended immediate proactive outcomes and immediate proactive outcomes also moderated some relationships between proactive behaviours and adjustment indicators. These results suggest that newcomers use proactive behaviours to adjust, but that immediate proactive outcomes are critical in the adjustment process. Further, past transition experience and self-efficacy were found to predict proactive behaviour; and past transition experience was indirectly related to immediate proactive outcomes. These findings indicate that greater experience with the adjustment process and self-efficacy help newcomers to be effectively proactive and therefore to successfully adjust. Of final note, the research is the first to relate newcomer proactive behaviour to employee engagement and wellbeing. These findings have implications for all internal and external newcomer adjustment stakeholders.
