232 PART 3 • MANAGING RESOURCES
New employees often have unrealistically high expectations about the amount of challenge and responsibility they will find in their first job. If they are assigned fairly undemanding, entry- level tasks, they feel discouraged and disillusioned. The result is job dissatisfaction, turnover, and low productivity.
232 PART 3 • MANAGING RESOURCES
So, one function of orientation is to correct any unrealistic expectations. The nurse manager needs to outline specifically what is expected of new employees. Such realistic job previews help prevent early departures from the organization and, possibly, the nursing profession.
Socializing new employees can sometimes be difficult because of the anxiety people feel when they first come on the job. They simply do not hear all of the information they are given. They spend a lot of energy attempting to integrate and interpret the information presented, and consequently they miss some of it. So repetition may be necessary the first few days or weeks on the job. Ongoing follow-up is important.