<p dir="ltr">In recent years, the agricultural industry has been working to improve the retention of their newly hired Black employees. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, millennial employees across the United States have been voluntarily leaving their jobs in favor of hybrid or remote work, better benefits, or an improved work environment. Today, the median tenure of millennials is only 2.8 years on the job, and research has shown that Black employees are 30% more likely to leave their positions. The agriculture, food, and natural resources (AFNR) sector is more heavily represented in rural America, where the Black population makes up just 7.8% and the White population comprises 78.2%. Therefore, the purpose of this phenomenological study was to explore the workplace and community embeddedness experiences of young Black professionals early in their AFNR careers. Specifically, the lived experiences of young Black professionals in their positions for five years or less were investigated through interviews with participants to examine the contributors of their embeddedness. Job Embeddedness Theory informed the study and seven young Black AFNR professionals participated in virtual Zoom interviews lasting an average of 75 minutes. Initial, structural, and pattern coding techniques were used to analyze the data, and three major conclusions emerged. First, many young Black professionals have chosen a career in the AFNR sector because they desire to engage with meaningful work related to the agricultural industry. Second, my participants had to overcome many obstacles related to their age or race that impacted their abilities to become more embedded in their workplaces or communities. Finally, an extensive network of linkages to other Black professionals at work or in the community provides young Black professionals with more substantial support and visibility. Implications for theory and practice were provided, along with recommendations for future research.</p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:purdue.edu/oai:figshare.com:article/24796725 |
| Date | 13 December 2023 |
| Creators | Stephen Mark McBride (10573067) |
| Source Sets | Purdue University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, Thesis |
| Rights | CC BY 4.0 |
| Relation | https://figshare.com/articles/thesis/Exploring_the_Embeddedness_of_Young_Black_Professionals_in_Agriculture_Food_and_Natural_Resources_Careers/24796725 |
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