Resiliência e socialização organizacional de novos servidores: um estudo transcultural

The main aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between resilience and organizational socialization among newcomers from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (UFRN), and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), comparing the results obtained in a cross-cultural perspective. The sample (N=205) was composed of mentored (N=70) and non-mentored (N=72) professors and technical-administrative employees at UFRN, and their non-mentored counterparts at NTNU (N=63). The data collection instruments used were the Organizational Socialization Inventory (OSI), the Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) and a sociodemographic form. Data analysis was preceded by a number of tests to verify possible distinct response styles among the respondents, as they came from different cultures. Descriptive analysis and t-tests were performed to identify and compare organizational socialization and resilience outcomes. Hierarchical regression analyses were carried out, the first ones involving all participants (N=205), to observe the predictive power of resilience factors in relation to organizational socialization factors, beyond the effects of nationality, occupation and mentoring experience. The other hierarchical regression analyses were conducted separately for the professors (N=109) and technical-administrative employees (N=96); and for the mentored (N=70) and non-mentored newcomers from UFRN (N=72), and nonmentored newcomers from NTNU (N=63), to compare the predictive power of resilience in relation to organizational socialization between newcomers from the two occupations, and also among the three groups of participants. The results of this study showed that socialization and resilience profiles differed according to demographic and cultural characteristics, and to the socialization strategies adopted in the institutions studied. Furthermore, it was observed that resilience added a significant incremental prediction to all socialization factors, beyond nationality, occupation, and mentoring experience. The predictive contribution from each of the resilience factors was also noteworthy, mainly those of Planned Future and Social Resources. With respect to nationality, occupation and mentoring experience, it was noted that they explained a significant part of the variance in almost all organizational socialization factors, in addition to playing a meaningful role in predicting the scores of such factors, with some evidence of moderation or mediation by the resilience factors. Considering these and the comparative results of the predictive power of resilience in relation to the organizational socialization, between the two occupations and among the three groups of participants, as a whole, the main findings of this study were as follows: resilience tends to contribute to organizational socialization outcomes; the resilience of some subjects may be a differential factor for success in those situations in which individuals face working conditions that are less favorable to promoting their adaptation; and, a formal mentoring program may contribute to improving newcomer resilience, producing better and more homogeneous organizational socialization outcomes. The practical implications, limitations and main contributions of the study are discussed, with a number of suggestions for future research