At the end of the wonderful French movie, Auberge Espanole, a young college graduate is shown showing up for work in a tomb-like, corporate glass and steel office. His new boss awkwardly crushes him with an embrace in his stiff, new suit, the drab office workers enthusiastically describe what the different color folders on his desk mean and then exchange opinions about the best setting for the air conditioner. Two seems to be the consensus.When the workers look up from adjusting the thermostat, the new employee is gone. The next scene shows him frantically running away.
New college graduates are coming into a world of work that is purposeful, efficient and frequently relentless. It's surprising that more of them don't leave after their first morning. The transition to adult employment is abrupt and, for many, a dismal and permanent change to their lives. Doesn't it make sense for employers to look at the impact this transition has on graduates? It would be helpful to know what those thermostat moments are, making it easier to soften the landing.In our study of recent college graduates, we asked these new workers to identify the biggest surprises and disappointments they experienced when they settled into their cubicles. What they said was interesting, if not provocative.Probably the biggest surprise about going to work was how hard life had suddenly become. To many, just getting a job had been a long and difficult process. Some reported taking work in a field they didn't want and didn't plan to stay in for the rest of my days. When graduates did get a job, there was little free time; people reported they were not used to being anywhere for eight hours at a time and actually heads down working for the whole time. One person found it hard to get his mind around the idea that he had to be at work no matter what. Someone was expecting me to be somewhere at a certain time with no flexibility and no rescheduling. That's different for me,said a new worker.Another said that the magnitude of projects and amount of work that had to be done was something he was totally unprepared for. Indeed, life had changed; new workers didn't have the energy they had at school, they didn't exercise as much, they came home pretty exhausted. No more naps during the day; no more schmoozing with friends. Work schedules found former night owls needing to get to bed early and forgoing a social life for the sake of getting up with a clear head. Work had taken time away from their lives.Of course, instead of being overwhelmed by the change, these new hires can chose a productive response. They can build exercise into their schedules, ask for help or offer their time on an interesting project and figure out how to adapt to the loss of so much free time. Action, although perhaps hard to take on during overwhelm, is hard. At the same time, it is what will make a difference in easing the transition from student to employee.And, what are we, people who have been in the organization for years doing to recognize the thermostat syndrome and help them?
