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Social optimism during studies supports school-to-work transition

Students’ social skills and behaviour in social situations during their university studies contribute to their success in the transition to work. The social strategies adopted during university studies also have an impact on work commitment and early-career coping with working life. These results have been uncovered in a research project investigating the relationship between the social strategies students show at university and how well they cope with work-related challenges. The research has been carried out with funding from the Academy of Finland.

“The higher the initial level of social optimism and the bigger the increase during university studies, the greater the level of early-career work engagement, dedication and career-related commitment,” explains Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro, the principal investigator of the research project, from Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies. Work engagement is defined as a positive, motivating work-related state of mind characterised by vigour, enthusiasm and dedication. The results of the research project also suggest that social withdrawal and avoidance during university studies are indicative of a distant attitude towards work and an increased likelihood of exhaustion and burnout after the transition to working life.

The longitudinal study spanned 18 years and involved a sample of 292 students at the University of Helsinki, investigating the social strategies young adults adopt and how they make the transition to adulthood. The study is part of the ongoing Helsinki Longitudinal Student Study (HELS).

Little research has been carried out on the role of social strategies adopted during university studies in coping at work and work burnout. “Our findings indicate that social optimism during university studies translates into a high level of work engagement up to 10-15 years after the study-to-work transition. On the other hand, pessimism and social avoidance seem to increase the likelihood of work burnout and exhaustion during the 10-15 years after the studies,” says Salmela-Aro.

According to Salmela-Aro, the ways in which people deal with social situations may have far-reaching implications for future life success. “Good interpersonal skills, an active social approach and a sense of community and involvement can equip students with the personal resources necessary in making the transition to everyday work and the competitive world of career-making.”

The results of the study suggest that more attention should be paid to students’ community engagement and the development of their social competence, since these are factors greatly facilitating a successful study-to-work transition.

The results of the study will be published in an article in the Journal of Vocational Behavior:
Salmela-Aro, K., et al., Social strategies during university studies predict early career work burnout and engagement: 18-year longitudinal study, Journal of Vocational Behavior (2011)

More information:

Professor Katariina Salmela-Aro, firstname.lastname(at)helsinki.fi, tel. +358 50 415 5283, +358 9 191 23255

Academy of Finland Communications

Riitta Tirronen

Communications Manager

tel. +358 9 7748 8369, +358 40 828 1724

firstname.lastname(at)aka.fi




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1 thought on “Social optimism during studies supports school-to-work transition”

  1. I agree that it would be very positive if students received greater emphasis was placed on interpersonal skills and social competence. The world of work is not a world of isolation. It involves getting things done with other people. Yet so often those skill sets are ignored in the schools. College may be a great place to expand on those skills, however, I think that no high school student should be allowed to graduate with out receiving some interpersonal skill training. And such training cannot be learned from a book. It will take actual practice – doing and interacting, rather than just reading about it or hearing about it in a lecture. The lack of student interpersonal skills when they enter the workplace contributes to all kinds of negative situations (and a loss of productivity and contribution) – that could have been avoided if people had the emotional intelligence (skills) to effectively interact in the workplace. It seems like there is an overemphasis in the schools and in the workplace for students / employees to learn how to do tasks (engineer this, write this software code, etc.), rather than learn how to work collaboratively together.

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