Internships with Portuguese Speakers: Leadership, Organisational Culture and the Current Brain Drain

Abstract

Doing internships is increasingly common in Portugal, often being regarded as a prerequisite for entering the labour market. This trend reinforces the need to understand the interns’ perception of the ideal characteristics for this type of experience, in order to stop (or at least slow down) the brain drain that is currently felt. This exploratory research aims at reflecting on how organisations can contribute to successful internships. Themes such as the leadership and organisational culture of the host entity are addressed, areas which have been debated less often in the current literature. Our quantitative research was based on a survey, which obtained 143 responses from individuals with internship experience. Data were analysed using descriptive, reliability, inferential, and multiple linear regression analysis. The results from this study showcased a tendency toward servant leadership (in detriment to paternalistic or autocratic leadership) as being the most appropriate leadership style for an internship. It was also possible to emphasise some important points in an internship experience, including remuneration (desired by the interns) and the tasks performed (the interns want to be given responsibilities and meaningful work during their internship). Some of the results obtained are according to the state-of-the-art, however, others diverge.