Adaptation of Young Staff in Russian Academic Teams
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14515/monitoring.2026.2.3063Keywords:
young academics, adaptation to work, small groups, social ties, academic careerAbstract
The purpose of this article is to examine the adaptation process of young staff in Russian academic teams. The study focuses on the problems young scientists may encounter when adapting to collective activities. The empirical base consists of 15 interviews with young scientists from five academic teams (three people each). They represent HSE University, Lomonosov Moscow State University, and the Russian Academy of Sciences. The analysis is based on the approach proposed by G. Simmel within the framework of small group sociology. The empirical part describes the role of social ties when young scientists enter collectives, questions of constructing a collective reality, and strategies for integrating young scientists into this reality. It is shown that in the scientific teams, a sub-individual reality is formed, which is based on the general passion for the subject of the research being conducted, the sense of collective responsibility, collective logic and goals, organizational aspects of the work, and mechanisms for sharing tasks among participants. They are common to all members of the collective but can be interpreted differently by them. Also, according to the results of the analysis, the informants were divided into «internal» and «external» participants depending on the role of social relations when they enter the collective. These two groups perceive collective reality and their role in it differently. Young employees perceive the collective as a source of support and motivation, and their insufficient level of adaptation is complicated.
Acknowledgments. The study was implemented in the framework of the Basic Research Program at the National Research University Higher School of Economics (HSE University).
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