title: Mentoring relationships at work: An investigation of mentoring functions, benefits, and gender
Creators: name: Fowler, Jane
Publisher: name: Griffith University
Year: 2002
Subjects: subject: Mentoring
subject: Benefits
subject: Gender

description: The program of research reported here provides a contemporary view of mentoring relationships. In particular, it presents a definition that reflects mentoring experiences in modern organisations, identifies mentoring functions and benefits as perceived by mentees and mentors, and examines the relationships between those constructs and gender. Forty-eight mentees and mentors from a range of organisations, representing all possible gender combinations of mentee-mentor, were interviewed about their mentoring experiences. Content analysis of the interview data identified 42 categories of mentoring functions and 29 categories of benefits perceived by mentees and mentors. The emergent categories of mentoring functions and benefits were used to construct measurement instruments. The instruments were then completed by 500 mentees and mentors, again representing all four gender combinations of mentee-mentor, from a range of organisations. Principal components analyses revealed seven mentoring functions identified by mentees and eight by mentors. Those functions were Personal and Emotional Guidance, Coaching/Learning Facilitation (identified as two separate functions by mentors), Advocacy, Role Modelling, Career Development Facilitation, Strategies and Systems Advice, and Friendship. The study extended empirical research by identifying a range of distinct mentoring functions rather than the broad category approach adopted in previous research. The principal components solutions generated separately for mentees and mentors were similar, indicating convergent views between the providers and recipients of these functions. Several of the mentoring functions that emerged were similar to those identified by Kram (1980) and the emergence of new functions was interpreted in light of changes in organisations over the past 20 years and the recruitment of representative samples, in this study, that reflected those changes. Principal components analyses also revealed four mentoring benefits identified by mentees and five by mentors. Benefits for mentees were Professional Enhancement, Interpersonal Relationship, Professional Induction/ Immersion, and Professional Reward. By identifying the benefits that mentees themselves perceive as being attributable to their mentoring relationships, the current study extended empirical research on mentee benefits beyond, objective, traditionally measured outcome variables. Benefits for mentors were Professional Enhancement, Organisational and Peer Recognition, Interpersonal Relationship, Meaningfulness and Fulfillment, and Productivity. The range of benefits that emerged reflects the importance mentees and mentors place on the psychological and interpersonal experiences of their mentoring relationships. The relationships between mentoring functions and benefits and gender were examined for both mentees and mentors. Results indicate that gender effects are limited to only some mentoring functions and benefits. Examination of the relationships between distinct mentoring functions and benefits indicated that specific mentoring functions are related to particular benefits for both mentees and mentors. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed and suggestions for future research are provided.