Obstacles experienced by socialization agents as they support new professionals’ learning and adjustment: a systematic review of qualitative evidence

Abstract

New professionals’ learning and adjustment have implications for individuals and organizations alike. Some of the most important learning events happen when newcomers proactively engage in learning behaviours in everyday work contexts. Socialization agents (e.g., co-workers and supervisors) play an important role by encouraging and responding to proactive behaviours, but they are not always able to provide this support. Knowledge of the obstacles standing in their way could inform the design of programmes to increase their support of newcomers’ learning and adjustment. The objective of this study was to systematically review qualitative evidence of such obstacles in different occupations internationally. The search strategy included the electronic databases, Web of Science and Scopus. Twenty studies with 446 participants in total were included. Findings were synthesized using an analytical method for identifying what needs to be changed for a behaviour to be more likely to occur. The analysis showed that socialization agents’ support of new professionals’ learning is limited due to a lack of formal recognition of this work. We present a model of key obstacles to address to increase socialization agents’ capabilities, opportunities, and motivation for supporting new professionals’ learning and adjustment. OSF Registration: osf.io/wsczh/