Socialization of Millennials in an intercultural hybrid work environment in a large Danish company

Organizational socialization has attracted interest from communication scholars for several decades. Organizational socialization typically refers to how new employees are trained and introduced to the organization so they become members of the organization and develop organizational identification over time. Organizations often introduce newcomers to their mission, vision and values to ensure that an understanding of the individual’s role to accomplish organizational goals is developed (Meyers and Woo, 2017). The process by which newcomers are socialized into the organizational culture and values has also been referred to as “membership negotiation” (McPhee and Zaug, 2009). Millennials are the new generation of employees who are entering the workplace. This generation of employees tend to prioritize their individual career more than staying in the same job for a long period. Therefore, it could be a challenge for organizations to develop a long-term relationship with this new generation of employees because an identity tension may occur between the individuals’ career identification and organizational identification (Ashforth, Harrison and Corley, 2008).In this light, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the negotiation of membership between Millennials in a large Danish company. By interviewing 15 Millennials employed in the company and dispersed on various locations, the aim is to gain a nuanced understanding of the membership negotiation process. The analysis thereby provides insight into the possible dark and bright sides of organizational socialization.