Integration of poorly qualified young workers in organizations[L'intégration dans l'entreprise des jeunes à faible capital scolaire: un processus d'ajustement mutuel]

This research analyses the integration of poorly qualified young workers in organizations. This specific population generally adopts distant attitudes and behaviors towards work. Nevertheless employers need this population to take up low qualified jobs. A qualitative research based on 30 interviews with poorly qualified young people and 21 interviews with managers analyses the integration mechanisms during organizational socialization. On one hand, young workers have four sorts of needs : financial, support, recognition and sense. On the other hand, managers have expectations that focus on conformity to formal rules of poorly educated young people's behaviors and on respect of implicit rules. A theoretical model is built through an abductive research process. Integration is presented as an adjustment process between young workers' needs and managers' expectations. Integration fails when no compatibility is found between young workers' needs and managers' expectations. New possibilities to improve poorly qualified young workers' integration have emerged through the model. In particular, this process is eased by implicit negotiations on respective roles of managers and young workers and by a tolerance concerning secondary needs and expectations.