The role of leadership in young employees’ entry into the workforce: exploring manager-employee relationships

Abstract

One challenge which organizations and managers face today is the phenomenon of job-hopping. As employees, particularly among Millennials and Generation Z, continuously seek new opportunities to advance in their careers, organizations face increasing challenges in retaining them. Previous research has addressed the unique demands and characteristics of young employees, although their experiences when entering the workforce remain relatively unexplored. Therefore, this study aims to explore how the manager-employee relationship influences the experiences of young employees during their initial period in the workforce. This becomes especially relevant to investigate in the context of the hospitality sector, as it is a common entryway into the workforce for young adults and also characterized by high employee turnover. A qualitative methodology has been adopted, based on semi-structured interviews with young employees recently having entered the workforce. In order to analyze the findings, the Leader-Member Exchange (LMX) theory has been applied, with a focus on the three core dimensions of respect, trust and obligation. The main findings reveal that the perceived quality of the manager-employee relationship plays a central role in shaping young employees’ motivation, engagement and satisfaction. The findings also highlight the importance of early leadership behaviors for a perceived successful integration into the workforce. In addition, the findings also suggest that the emotional dimension is a crucial aspect influencing the experiences of young employees’ initial period in the workforce, leading to a proposed extension of the LMX framework.