Where do I belong? Conflicted identities and the paradox of simultaneous stigma and social aggrandizement of military veterans in organizations.

Military veterans often transition into the civilian workforce after serving in a nation's armed forces. The process of integrating this unique class into organizations is directly affected by the social exchanges and interactions in the organization. Utilizing an in-depth interviews-based qualitative study of 40 veterans across 12 different organizations, and integrating social identity theory, we use template analysis to identify a paradox existent in social exchanges with other organizational members where veterans are simultaneously stigmatized and socially aggrandized. These paradoxical experiences interact with veterans' self-conceptualization and social identities to reinforce expectations, cause culture shock and eventual turnover. We present a model of this tension, contributing to literatures on veterans in the workforce, paradox, and social identity theory as well as offering HR perspectives on this phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]