Global Journal of Management and Business Research, A: Administration and Management, Volume 23 Issue 10
Global Journal of Management and Business Research ( A ) XXIII Issue X Version I Year 2023 48 © 2023 Global Journals workplace experiences during their integration, for example, in a team where there was a staff shortage or following the dismissal of their predecessor: They don’t tell you that when you arrive. The X [mentions middle management position] before you, well, he had resigned and then he wouldn’t take care of it. Then, well they tell you “Go ahead, you can do it. ”But they don’t give you the means, don’t give you too much background information, and don’t prepare you, don’t support you. - Patricia For some managers, mismatches between their past experiences and first forays into management work occurred in the area of implementing their management practices. They mentioned having to adapt their practices to the diversity of people they supervised (e.g., youth or adults of all ages, experienced staff, new hires, neuroatypical people) to make their job run more smoothly, as in Marlène’s case: I’ve worked with, like, many generations, young people and ladies who’ve been with the company for 40 years. I had to adapt my management style somewhat with them, in working with them. -Marlène In other cases, some confided that they had to adapt their management practices when they became superiors to former peers. Moving into an authority role over people with whom they had developed close and sometimes friendly relationships could at times inject sensitive or even awkward dynamics into their interactions with the teams they led, and this fed their feeling of isolation. Others explained that they had to assert themselves or justify their decisions to more experienced employees on their teams, as Camille had to do: Then I hired someone who was older than me. She had a X [mentions graduate degree]. I just had a X [mentions undergraduate degree]. Well, this kept coming up all the time: “Yeah, but Camille, you know, with my experience, I’d do it like this.” Well, yes. I understand. Good for you! But I’m the boss. So you know what? We’re not going do it that way. I value what you’re telling me, and I know that you’re experienced and all that, but in the end, well, I’m the one in charge. It took me almost six months before I was really able to say: “Well, I’m the boss. And that’s how it goes.”- Camille Lastly, other mismatches were noted in situations where managers had to make decisions on their own, in an organizational context without colleagues at the same managerial level with whom they could share and discuss what they were facing: The thing is, what I also find hard about management is often being alone in that position. Sure, decisions are made at board meetings, but in day-to-day management I’m all by myself. I do have colleagues, but the moment I have a decision to make or something is bothering me, you know, I’m still largely on my own. - Justine ii. Environments where Work Organization Poses Health Risks A number of participants recounted having to integrate into workplace environments where staff were overworked, particularly due to lack of or inadequate resources, causing stress and burnout. Large volumes of work to be completed on tight deadlines was also brought up: When I took up the job, I quickly realized that we were far from having the resources needed to carry out the mandates that were expected of us. So, the workload was really excessive compared to the resources we had. - Jonas Some said that in these kinds of situations, to get the job done they had to put their shoulder to the wheel and extend their working day- either by starting early in the morning or staying late into the evening- or even work weekends. Others admitted that part of their concerns during their integration was thinking about their workloads and the boundaries they needed to set for the sake of their health. To preserve their well-being, some worked out compromises, such as agreeing to temporarily work longer hours while recruiting additional staff and better structuring tasks within the team. Others approached and struck agreements with their superiors to reset often unrealistic expectations and deadlines. I met with the director general, who laid out his priorities, which were in a to-do-list. So here I am in the team, and see that I have X [names number of employees left, less than 5] left and about 8 vacancies. His expectations were completely unrealistic. Still, he was quite decent about it, but it’s all because they set very high expectations. You’re under pressure and you’re like, “Okay! But you know I have to build a team from scratch. I’m not there yet.” And on top of that you have customer requests coming in from everywhere. - Émile iii. Pressure to “Prove Oneself” in Complying with Group Norms Several participants spoke of feeling pressured to prove themselves as managers in order to conform to the group norms operating in their business. For example, some mentioned having been given a mandate to carve out a place for themselves within an existing team, which could be challenging, as Bianca attests: My superior said, “Perfect. You want to start in this business? Make your mark, but you still have a month and a half to hire 100 employees in all departments combined.” So this was very, very big and that was it. It was a team of managers who had been there for a while. I’d be lying if I told you that it was easy when I first got there, because, like it or not, I was new kid on Navigating Early Career Management: Workplace Experiences and Career Impact
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