The sense of community in work life a study among young adults
Nguyen, Xuan Nhi (2020)
Nguyen, Xuan Nhi
2020
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202002182541
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202002182541
Tiivistelmä
The thesis is a qualitative study of the sense of community in work life among young adults. The aim is to investigate the phenomenon from young adults’ perspective. The sense of community is a crucial part of the organization. It affects both the company and the employees. The sense of community is also important source of energy and motivation for many employees. The aim is to investigate how young adults perceive the sense of community at their workplace and what are the factors that might strengthen the sense of community. The research questions are: How do young adults perceive the sense of community in their workplace? What might strengthen their sense of community?
The qualitative research method was chosen because it seeks to understand the phenomenon and it encourages to opening the discussion about the matter. The method also helps to investigate the meaning of the sense of community and to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. There was in total seven interviews which were conducted for this thesis. The interviews were semi-structured. The interviewees were between the ages 20 and 30. The young adults worked in different work sectors. The results indicate that the young adults perceive the sense of community in their workplace as belonging and being part of the work community, which is the same as how the sense of community was described in theory. According to the interviewees the most important features of the sense of community at work are the ability to get along with the colleagues, open communication and the possibility to influence the work community. There are both positive and negative aspects of the sense of community. Positive matters included the sense of belonging in a group, open communication and the ability to work together despite of differences. Negative features included bad team spirit, poor communication, and the imbalance of the workload. Interaction and communication are fundamental factors in the work community. When working together it often creates many kinds of challenges. The biggest challenges that often arise are due to interaction and communication. According to the interviewees, the best way to resolve the differences is by communicating and talking about them. However, it is good to mention that the interaction varies from companies and how they operate. According to the theory, the most important cornerstones of the sense of community are membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs and shared emotional connections. A strong sense of community consists of everyone’s values and needs.
The qualitative research method was chosen because it seeks to understand the phenomenon and it encourages to opening the discussion about the matter. The method also helps to investigate the meaning of the sense of community and to gain a deeper understanding of the subject. There was in total seven interviews which were conducted for this thesis. The interviews were semi-structured. The interviewees were between the ages 20 and 30. The young adults worked in different work sectors. The results indicate that the young adults perceive the sense of community in their workplace as belonging and being part of the work community, which is the same as how the sense of community was described in theory. According to the interviewees the most important features of the sense of community at work are the ability to get along with the colleagues, open communication and the possibility to influence the work community. There are both positive and negative aspects of the sense of community. Positive matters included the sense of belonging in a group, open communication and the ability to work together despite of differences. Negative features included bad team spirit, poor communication, and the imbalance of the workload. Interaction and communication are fundamental factors in the work community. When working together it often creates many kinds of challenges. The biggest challenges that often arise are due to interaction and communication. According to the interviewees, the best way to resolve the differences is by communicating and talking about them. However, it is good to mention that the interaction varies from companies and how they operate. According to the theory, the most important cornerstones of the sense of community are membership, influence, integration and fulfillment of needs and shared emotional connections. A strong sense of community consists of everyone’s values and needs.