Socialization, the transition from newcomer to embedded organizational citizen, is an inevitable feature of organizational life. It is often a painful and traumatic experience, but why this is so, and how its difficulties can be ameliorated, is not well understood. This article addresses this issue by developing a new person-centred model of socialization. We introduce the concept of kin-work, i.e. the replication of one’s first experiences of becoming part of a family, to explain how ‘successful’ socialization is achieved. Drawing on the methodology of memory work and psychoanalytical theories of object relations, we illustrate how entry into new jobs involves the unconscious re-enactment in adult life of the infant’s initiation into the family. On entry as a stranger to a new organization, one’s sense of self is fractured; processes of kin-work knit the pieces back together and one develops a sense of personhood and being at home. However, there is a sting in this tale: the homely contains its uncanny, unhomely opposite, so socialization is always ambivalent – one can never be at home in this place that feels like home.

从新人到嵌入的组织公民的过渡社会化是组织生活的必然特征。这通常是痛苦和创伤性的经历，但是为什么会这样以及如何减轻其困难，人们对此却知之甚少。本文通过开发一种新的以人为本的社会化模型来解决此问题。我们介绍亲属关系的概念，即复制一个人成为家庭成员的初次经历，以解释“成功”的社会化是如何实现的。利用记忆工作的方法论和客体关系的心理分析理论，我们说明了进入新工作是如何涉及婴儿进入家庭的成年生活中的无意识重演。当以陌生人身份加入新组织时，一个人的自我意识就会破裂。亲戚工作的过程将各个部分编织在一起，形成一种人格和居家的感觉。但是，在这个故事中有一个刺痛点：家常便有其不可思议的，与众不同的对立面，因此社交化总是矛盾的-在这个像家一样的地方永远都不会有人在家。