Assimilating into a Workgroup

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AssimilatingintoaWorkgroup:A Qualitative Study
Assimilating into a Workgroup
By Max Vinson
Advisor: Deborah Clark Vance
Department of Communication and Cinema
McDaniel College
11 November 2015

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Being new to an organization can be stressful and anxiety filled. When one joins an
organization, the feeling of being the newcomer does not diminish right away. This period of
time can be filled with confusion, but there is a way out. The process of assimilation into the
group takes time and effort by both sides, but that effort shows its worth when the organization
succeeds and accomplishes its goals.
For the process of assimilation to run smooth, an effective leader might be important. A
leader can be a guide or someone who group members can look to for support and direction.
When a group comes into a situation without proper leadership, the question of competence will
sometimes be asked. Will group members be able to assimilate, socialize, and become part of the
organizational culture? In response to this situation, the group might need to help each other out
in order to keep working.
After working in a library at a small liberal arts college for several years, I have noticed
the process through which newcomers to the organization travel. The library had been efficient
in acclimating new workers to the culture, however, that has changed. The last semester at this
college’s library has been different in that it is in between circulation staff managers. I want to
find the answer to what it is like for a newcomer in an organization to experience this situation.

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Literature Review
When companies hire a new employee, no matter the size of the enterprise, they should
understand that doing so can have a permanent effect. According to Gallagher & Sias (2009) new
employees create uncertainty by being new. The last thing a business needs is new employee
confusion that may lead to tasks not being completed. People do not like change, and don’t like
to change their behaviors. This means newcomers will do things the way they did in previous
jobs, slightly different than veteran workers. This disruption in consistency can damage the way
a business preforms. Hess (1993) points out that workers are not like robots, and all
organizations are not the same. These organizations have culture and norms, but new workers
cannot know this culture prior to starting. Gilsdorf (1998) suggests most newcomers have new
behaviors to perceive, interpret, and take on as well as prior cultural assumptions and behaviors
to unlearn. Research has shown that workers who remain apart from the dominant culture rather
than becoming part of it, will in turn be less effective (Hess, 1993). It becomes harder to be part
of the culture when the culture itself is changing as well. Croft (1990) explains that a strong work
culture has been the dynamic force behind continuing success in American business. Research
has shown that corporate cultures of hundreds of American companies may have been eliminated
or severely weakened by down-sizing staff, creating new strategies, using new technologies and
name changes so widespread today (Croft, 1990). In a weak culture employees waste a good deal
of time just trying to figure out what they should do and how they should do it (Gilsdorf, 1998).
When faced with uncertainty, new employees must rely on veteran workers while they try
to learn the ropes. Gilsdorf (1998) states that organizations, relying on human beings to create
and deliver products and services, lose serious money and see productivity eroded when errors
are made. New employees form plans based on formal and informal guidance from co-workers

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and supervisors (Gilsdorf, 1998). Learning the ropes is a process in which the new employee and
veteran employee explore. Gallagher & Sias (2009) found that when individuals experience
uncertainty, they experience anxiety and are motivated to reduce that anxiety by reducing the
uncertainty. Research can show that Veterans may also use a variety of indirect tactics to reduce
uncertainty about newcomers. They may, for instance, seek information from the new employee
using indirect questions, and off task conversations (Gallagher & Sias, 2009). This process of
uncertainty reduction also deals with how individuals socialize in the beginning of their work
experience. Bach (1990) clarifies:
Socialization is a cultural matter which involves the transmission of information and
values, specifically longstanding rules of thumb, a somewhat special language, shared
standards of relevance, matter of fact prejudices, models for social etiquette, customs and
rituals, and just plain horse sense regarding what is appropriate and smart behavior within
the organization.
Tracy, Myers & Scott (2006) describe that for organizational veterans and newcomers, humor
can be a useful tool to alter or evolve understandings of work roles. This makes the process of
learning the ropes run more smoothly. Tracy et. al (2006) also says that organizational
information is not spread only socially but also cognitively and is affected by members’ shared
sense making.
The culture of the business is clearly a very important aspect in developing newcomers,
and socializing them into the system in which the business operates. Otherwise they would stay
confused. To fully become part of the culture at the workplace, one must become skillful and
knowledgeable in completing the given tasks. Becoming part of the system or a member of the
community is essentially the same process as becoming knowledgeably skillful (Tusting, 2012).

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Most employees will be better at assimilating to the culture and will be more responsible when
they look at an organizations reward system, as well as its messages (Gilsdorf, 1998). The
process of becoming part of the culture is in some ways a metamorphosis. Hess (1993) states that
the metamorphosis occurs by the events that transform a newcomer from outsider to insider. It is
formed by the development and negotiation of interpersonal and group relationships. Research
shows that new workers need to be allowed liberty to personalize in the workplace (Hess, 1993).
Members of an organization make connections with, negotiate, and maintain their relationships
with other members through dyadic and group communication (Myers, McPhee, 2006). The
socialization in the workplace continues to be vital through the stages of assimilation. Kramer
(2011) states that the transition from new to insider is best understood as the psychological
change that occurs when uncertainty has been managed and individuals move from being stuck
in dealing with being new to the culture, to managing and maintaining their new situation.
Waldeck, Seibold, & Flanagin (2004) found that Communication researchers have emphasized
the importance and necessity of face-to-face human interaction so much that they may have de-
emphasized the role of technologies as communication networks. Organizational assimilation,
and organizational communication in general, must include some treatment of ACITs (Advanced
Communication and Information Technologies) as vehicles for attaining socialization goals
(Waldeck et al., 2004). Research has proven that longevity with the organization does not
automatically indicate higher levels of worker assimilation (Myers, McPhee, 2006). Myers and
McPhee (2006) also state that members who become involved with their work and become
socially knowledgeable are more likely to also become committed and accepting of each other.
By developing better task coordination and effectiveness, groups might not only become more

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efficient might also help involved members to become more committed to one another and more
accepting of one another (Myers, McPhee, 2006).
There is substantial data on the topic of organizational communication. A considerable
amount of this data includes information pertaining to organizational assimilation and the
process in which newcomers in an organization face upon entry. What the data lacks is sufficient
evidence or recordings of leaderless newcomers and how they fair in an organizational setting. I
would like to find out if a leaderless group of newcomers face the same, if not more difficult,
problems that groups with leadership face. I also want to learn how a leaderless group faces the
issue of assimilation in a new and confusing setting.
Procedures
To study a group’s organizational climate when the group enters a workplace leaderless, I
will utilize both ethnography and phenomenology procedures. This study took place at a small
liberal arts college, more specifically, its library circulation desk staff.
Ethnography is a research procedure that lets the researcher understand a group culture
shared experience through in depth observation. “An ethnography focuses on an entire culture-
sharing group” (Creswell, 2013). I myself am part of the library circulation team so I was a
participant observer immersed in the circulation staff. I was able to experience various types of
communication situations through my observations
The phenomenology of the study called for interviewing group members.
Phenomenology is a procedure that helps find and define specific experiences that individuals
have. Creswell explains, “a phenomenological study describes the common meaning for several
individuals of their lived experiences of a concept or a phenomenon” (Creswell, 2013, p.76).

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This is important because to fully understand someone’s experience, one must fully understand
his or her point of view and understanding. In order to comprehend, and truly appreciate the
experiences of the members of the staff, I conducted in-depth interviews with members of the
organization. Before conducting the interviews, I informed the participants that everything they
disclose would remain anonymous. The interview consisted of 24 in-depth open-ended questions
formed to provoke the most useful information relating to my study. The questions also hoped to
incite an image of the staff’s views on problems and conflict amongst the organization.
When it came to selecting a sample for interview, I used random purposeful sampling to
gather individuals who can communicate an understanding of the phenomenological
phenomenon. I also utilized grounded theory to constantly build on the study and continuously
build towards theory. I also took information from my data collection and compared them to
emerging categories in a process called constant comparative method of data analysis. The group
I wanted to study was already fairly focused, so it did not take long to find the participants. To
make sure the information was presented in a true form, I bracketed my assumptions. Bracketing
assumptions is a process that allowed me to identify the assumptions of the phenomenon that I
already had before the study, and hold them to the side as to not disrupt research. The
observations that comprised some of my data for the study helped to paint a picture of the culture
that is unique to the circulation staff. I found the customs and the unique language used by the
staff to be very interesting as well as useful in collecting and interpreting data. I wrote down
what the respondents said verbatim.
Data Analysis and Results
Through interviewing my coworkers, and observing them in their work environment, I
was able to collect data about the communication phenomenon of a group of student workers

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experiencing a lack of formal leadership. As a member of the work group myself, I was able to
observe the process first hand. The group experienced noted stages as group leadership
transitioned. By taking a new and more in-depth look at the group, its dynamics and functions, I
discovered many qualities and attitudes about communication and leadership.
In my research, I utilized ethnography, phenomenology, and grounded theory. Out of
this research, observations as well as four interviews and two follow up interviews took place
and provided sixty-one significant statements. After sorting, shifting, and re-sorting the data, five
themes emerged that categorized the experience of being leaderless in a work setting. These
themes emerged from the various in depth interviews and observations that were completed. I
grouped the statements gathered according to similarities in feelings, ideas and experiences. Data
concerned with worker’s feelings of what to do and the anxiety of starting a new job are grouped
in the theme identified as confusion. Information regarding the experience of being reliant upon
experienced student workers and feelings of helplessness fall in the theme of dependency. Data
that related to the learning stage which the workers went through after the process of being
rescued by experienced student workers was categorized in the mentoring/learning the ropes
theme. Data that showed the new workers becoming more independent and accountable, but not
fully part of the culture went in the responsibility theme. Lastly, data that represented new
student workers becoming confident, competent, and part of the working culture comprised the
assimilation theme.
Confusion
As I observed and interviewed first year workers, which I had been doing since the start
of the semester, I noticed themes that emerged. It became evident that confusion was the first
phase for a leaderless group transitioning into a work place culture. As a returning student

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worker myself, I had an experience of what working in this specific environment with a leader
was like. I utilized this previous experience to contrast what the new student workers were
feeling in this leaderless situation. From the interviews, I discovered just how confused and
frustrated these new employees were. Kacey said, “Most of the time I don’t know what to do, I
kind of just wait for things to happen.” She was very frustrated and at times expressed her want
for someone to be watching her back at all times because she knew she couldn’t help anybody at
the desk yet. She at one point stated that the lack of supervision was starting to effect the level of
trust she had with herself and with co-workers:
One time I didn’t trust a co-worker was when I had someone ask me a question I didn’t
know the answer to, I think it was about a room in the library. I did not trust my co-
worker to know the answer because she was new like me, and would probably be as lost
as I was.
It seemed that these new student workers were having trouble with what they were supposed to
do. Marc stated, “When someone asks me a question that I don’t know the answer to I get pretty
stressed. I don’t even know the names of some of the rooms in the library cause I’m still new
here. I’m a freshman and I don’t know the room schedule.” And Edith said, “When people come
in and ask questions I don’t know, it’s pretty stressful.” This shows that not only was not having
a leader causing confusion about tasks, but even caused stress.
Dependency
The workplace environment allowed for multiple student workers to work at the desk at
the same time. Usually, because new student workers were still trying to understand their roles
and get out of the confusion stage, new students were paired with returning student workers

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whenever possible. This system was created to make the transition into being a veteran of the
circulation staff easier, but instead the process actually caused damage. I noticed a trend in some
of the statements I received from respondents. The trend was that new workers were too reliant
on returning workers and expected to be rescued. Kacey said, “I sometimes get a little stressed
when I don’t know how to help a patron, but most times someone who knows what they’re doing
is there to help”. Edith stated that, “Basically if there’s a problem, my role is to take that problem
to Brynn [a librarian and full-time staff member] or somebody else because I don’t know much.”
The system that was supposed to help the library seemed to actually be detrimental.
Whenever a problem arose, the new student workers took that problem to someone that has been
there instead of trying to figure it out for themselves. As someone who worked there, I
understand that sometimes it is best to ask someone else, but some of the problems that were
asked to me interrupted the tasks I was trying to accomplish. Many of these problems had
already been explained to them, and they just forgot because they knew they could just pass the
problem on. There was a positive to this phenomenon though as Kacey stated, “Sometimes get a
little stressful when I don’t know how to help a patron, but most times someone who knows what
they’re doing is there to help. I have a great deal of trust in returning student workers, and less so
in the new student workers like myself”.
Mentoring/Learning the Ropes
After the observed time period of the new workers being dependent and in need of
rescue, a new stage in the process developed. New student workers began to take in what the
returning workers were telling them to keep their heads above water. During my ethnography, I
started to notice just how much some of the new workers were observing how returning students
accomplished tasks. The learning process was slow. Many of the new student workers had to

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memorize complicated procedures. Sarah explained, “I know what to do because Brynn tells us
what to do. There’s lists that tell you what to do and I can always ask returning students when
I’m having trouble. They have done the problem I need help with a million times before. ” After
watching the veteran workers accomplish tasks “a million” times, Sarah was beginning to feel
like she had a grasp on how to do basic things. Kacey stated, “I was taught in the beginning the
basics of working at the library, I paid a lot of attention to returning staff and followed their
example on what to do in different situations”. During this period the new workers seemed to be
remembering the lessons they had been taught. Marc said, “Either Brynn or someone who’s been
here longer shows me the ropes, how to operate.” He described a time when the ropes that were
taught to him came in handy and he was happy that he was starting to remember.
Responsibility
As more time passed at the library, the new students showed they were becoming a bit
more independent and wanted to be held accountable. They began to show they had an
understanding of the basics and could even negotiate among themselves and returning peers
when asking for someone to cover their hours. Edith explained how that process works in her
mind, “If I want hours off I request it on a slip of paper and put it on the board. Along with this,
there are mass emails we have to send out to ask people to cover shifts. If anyone needs an hour
covered, most times someone can cover it.” Instead of relying on the library director as opposed
to the circulation staff supervisor whose position had been vacant, she was now able to request
off on her own. This let other people accomplish what they needed to, and also showed the
progress of the new worker’s independence. During the interview with Kacey, a brilliant thing
happened. She told me about the time she first felt responsible and accountable for her actions.
She said, “I was checking in books and I expected another new person to help me, but they

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didn’t. I felt a little embarrassed about asking them so I just did it myself. ” Instead of worrying
about asking for help, she left the dependency and mentoring stage and became responsible. One
more thing Kacey said that I thought embodied and solidified this theme was, “I think I’m
responsible for trying to help as much as I can with students, and I try and keep everything going
with the flow.” At this point, the new student workers were starting to be more accountable. I
was working with a new worker at one point and she assured me I could go help a student find a
book while she holds down the fort. All the new students had to do was keep things flowing.
They didn’t have to be seasoned veterans of the library, or know every answer to every question,
but they were starting to feel comfortable.
Assimilation
Since the first day the new students started working, the goal was to assimilate, and
become part of the library culture. What this meant was not being referred to as the new person,
or not having to tell a patron that they were new. The goal was to become well versed in what the
library does, and how it gets things accomplished. In my interviews and observations, it was
clear from the start that the new workers were frustrated because they were never properly
trained and never had someone to look back at for guidance, like I did when I first started. They
wished to know the answers to the questions they were getting. Towards the end of the semester,
I witnessed their goals being achieved. Some, but not all, were starting to become a part of the
system. Sarah explained her confidence, “The patrons of the library depend on me to help them
with library stuff, but other new student can rely on me to help them too now. For example, I
have opened the library a lot already so someone who hasn’t opened yet can ask me for help”.
She also said later in the interview that, “whenever I am shelving I really feel at piece. I love
patterns so shelving and finding books is really nice”. Normal tasks that the library requires were

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beginning to be less stressful and easily accomplished. In a statement by Sarah, I witnessed a
new level of assimilation. Ashe described a time when she felt like she could give the library and
staff some tips. “I like to bounce ideas off people and give people feedback on ideas that are
proposed to me. I actually proposed an idea to Brynn the other day and she liked it”.
Discussion and Conclusion
Five themes emerged during my data analysis: confusion, dependency, mentoring and
learning the ropes, responsibility, and assimilation into the culture. Using these themes, I created
a grounded theory that details the experience that this workgroup had when assimilating into the
libraries culture without proper leadership. These five themes can be envisaged in consecutive
order, showing how the process of assimilation takes place. This assimilation is much like
crossing a rope bridge, as the diagram below illustrates.
.

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The end goal of the newcomers is to assimilate into the culture. Starting the process of
assimilation is much like when you first see a rope bridge that must be crossed to reach a
destination. When one looks out at the bridge and tries to see the goal, it might seem scary,
daunting, and may even cause anxiety. As I observed the new workers in this situation, from
time to time I would see the “deer in the headlights” look. That is the same look I imagine many
people have when they see a dangerous rope bridge they have to cross. In my interview with
Edith, she explained how not knowing what to do, especially when patrons ask her questions she
can’t answer, she gets stressed out. Gilsdorf (1998) points out that newcomers to an organization
come in with all new behaviors to take on as well as old ones to forget. Walking in the grass is
different than crossing a rope bridge, just like each organization has different ways of doing
things (Hess, 1993).
At the college’s library, even though there was lack of leadership, new student workers
were given the opportunity to learn how the library works, and how to operate properly within
the system. The ropes of the bridge are symbols for learning the ropes, or the mentoring stage in
the process of assimilation. With the help of returning student workers, the new group could
learn by example and inch closer to the goal. The bridge’s ropes help people cross because it
gives them something to hold onto so they don’t fall off right away. The returning workers are in
a way the ropes that the new workers hold onto until they can walk the bridge on their own. As
stated in the literature review, found that when individuals experience uncertainty, they
experience anxiety and are motivated to reduce that anxiety by reducing the uncertainty
(Gallagher & Sias 2009). To reduce uncertainty, they used the ropes they were given.
If a new worker were to ignore the ropes of the bridge, or hang too hard on the ropes,
they would end up in the water. In the diagram, water under the bridge represents the theme

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dependency. Being too dependent on returning student workers was an issue I saw during the
transition to assimilation. Multiple newcomers stated that when something was asked of them by
a patron, they would just turn the question over to a returning worker. In the end, this only
damages and slows the process of assimilation. Being dependent on returning workers hurt the
newcomer’s ability to learn from the veteran workers, and also created issues with trust. Sarah
described a time when there was a task she and a new student worker had to finish, but she ended
up doing the work herself. The new student worker working with her didn’t know how to do
things, even though she had the opportunity to learn the ropes. Because she was too dependent
on others, Sarah was forced to complete the task. When this happens, an organization can be
hurt. Organizations lose serious money and see productivity eroded when errors are made
(Gilsdorf 1998).
If the water can be avoided, student workers “picked up a backpack” along the path of the
bridge. The backpack in this diagram represents responsibility. This theme was an important step
before becoming completely assimilated to the culture of the library. Newcomers to the library
found that taking responsibility for their actions helped returning workers trust them. Members
of an organization make connections with, negotiate, and maintain their relationships with other
members through dyadic and group communication (Myers & McPhee, 2006).
After all the stages and all the parts of the bridge are completed, one can become part of
the culture. At this stage, the new workers have crossed the bridge, conquered their fears and
confusions, and they have become comfortable in a system they assimilated into. Once
assimilated, the leaderless group was able to contribute more in accomplishing the library goals.
Sarah said that she liked to bounce ideas off people and give feedback on ideas about proposed
library plans. She even said she proposed something to the head librarian, which she would not

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have been able to do when she first started. Tusting (2012) points out that becoming part of the
system or a member of the community is essentially the same process as becoming
knowledgeably skillful. The new student workers had become knowledgeable and skillful
enough to consider themselves part of the culture. This experience of dependency made the trust
between returning and new co-workers stronger.
This study presented a limitation that may have affected the results. I did not interview or
observe more than a couple returning student workers. It would have been beneficial to
understand the experience of a returning student worker. The returning workers, after all, were
the ropes on whom the new employees had to rely before assimilating. They might have been
able to add valuable information including how they thought the student workers progressed over
time. I would also have liked to gain more insight from other departments of the library and how
their work might have been affected by this groups transition.

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References
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Creswell, J.W. (2013.) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five
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Croft, A. C. (1990). The case of the missing corporate culture. Public Relations Quarterly,
35(1), 17-20.
Gallagher, E. B., & Sias, P. M. (2009). The new employee as a source of uncertainty: Veteran
employee information seeking about new hires. Western Journal of Communication,
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Gilsdorf, J. W. (1998). Organizational rules on communicating: How employees are -- and
are not -- learning the ropes. Journal of Business Communication, 35(2), 173-201.
Hess, J. A. (1993). Assimilating newcomers into an organization: A cultural perspective.
Journal of Applied Communication Research, 21(2), 189-210.
Kramer, M. W. (2011). A study of voluntary organizational membership: The assimilation
process in a community choir. Western Journal of Communication, 75(1), 52-74.
doi:10.1080/10570314.2010.536962
Myers, K. K., & McPhee, R. D. (2006). Influences on member assimilation in workgroups in
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Research, 32(4), 440-468. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2958.2006.00283.x
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