A Model of Newcomer Job Crafting: Implications for Organizational Socialization

When facing role transitions, individuals may proactively shape the new role to make it fit better with their personal characteristics. In this study, we proposed and examined individualized newcomers’ adjustment to a new work environment, i.e. job crafting, during socialization. We predicted that individual differences in terms of core self-evaluations (CSE) and leader coaching behaviors as an organizational socialization tactic jointly affect newcomers’ job crafting behaviors, which in turn foster higher perceptions of insider status in the organization. Four-wave data were collected in a sample of 125 organizational newcomers. Results showed that CSE was positively related to organizational insider status via job crafting behaviors in terms of seeking resources and seeking challenging demands. Moreover, leader coaching strengthened the positive relationships between CSE, job crafting, and perceived insider status.