Learn Hardcore Japanese: atarasii syokuba ni narereba nareru hodo, kintyousinaku naru. - The more you get used to the new workplace, the less nervous you become.

For verbs: V-れば V-るほど (e.g., 慣れれば慣れるほど = the more you get used to it…).
The first verb is the ば-conditional; the second is the plain/dictionary form. They must be the same verb to express the proportional relationship.

Could I use other conditionals like たら, なら, or と instead of ば?

たら: You’ll sometimes see V-たら V-るほど, but it tends to sound more like “once/when you V, (to the extent that) …” rather than a smooth proportional increase. Less common for this pattern.
なら: V-るなら V-るほど is used, especially in spoken language, e.g., 慣れるなら慣れるほど. It can sound a bit conditional/assumptive: “if it’s the case that you get used (more), then (even more) …”
と: Not used in this pattern for the “the more…, the more…” sense.
Most natural/neutral for this proportional pattern: V-れば V-るほど or the progressive version V-ていけば V-ていくほど for “the more and more as time goes on.”

Why is に used after 新しい職場 with 慣れる? Could it be で or へ?

慣れる takes に to mark the target state you become accustomed to. So you “get used to X” = X に慣れる.

で would mark a location of an action; it doesn’t fit because 慣れる is about adapting to a target, not doing something at a place.
へ marks direction; it’s not used with 慣れる. Correct: 新しい職場に慣れる.

What does 緊張しなくなる literally mean, and how is it formed?

Literally “to become (a state of) not getting nervous,” i.e., “to stop being nervous / become less nervous.”

Start with 緊張する (to get/be nervous).
Make it negative: 緊張しない.
Turn the い-adjective ない into its adverbial form なく and attach なる: 緊張しなくなる.

What’s the nuance difference between 緊張しなくなる, 緊張しないようになる, and 緊張がなくなる?

緊張しなくなる: Natural, common. “You stop being/getting nervous (anymore).” Emphasizes the change of tendency/state.
緊張しないようになる: “Come to be such that you don’t get nervous.” Slightly more goal/arrangement-oriented or gradual acquisition of a new tendency.
緊張がなくなる: “The nervousness disappears.” Focuses on the disappearance of the abstract noun “nervousness,” not on the act of “getting nervous.” Less common in this exact context but not wrong.

Who is the subject here? It feels like “you.”

Japanese often omits the subject if it’s clear or generic. This sentence states a general tendency about people. Depending on context, it can mean “I,” “you,” or “people.” You can add a topic/subject for clarity:

私は/僕は/人は、新しい職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、緊張しなくなる。

How do I make the sentence polite?

Make the final verb polite:

新しい職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、緊張しなくなります。 Only the last predicate needs ます-form; the ほど-clause stays plain.

Can I shorten it to 慣れるほど、緊張しなくなる?

That risks changing the meaning. V-るほど alone means “to the extent that (you) V” and often implies degree/intensity, not the “the more…, the more…” proportional comparison. For the comparative meaning, keep the full pattern V-れば V-るほど (or V-るなら V-るほど, etc.).

What about 慣れていけば慣れていくほど? Is that different?

Yes, it emphasizes a gradual, ongoing process: “the more and more you go on getting used to it, the …”

新しい職場に慣れていけば慣れていくほど、緊張しなくなっていきます。 This reads as a gradual change over time.

Why is there a comma after ほど? Can the word order change?

The comma marks the boundary after a subordinate clause; it’s standard and helps readability. Word order is flexible, but the …ほど clause typically precedes the result clause. Don’t split ほど away from its clause, and keep に with 慣れる:

Natural: 新しい職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、緊張しなくなる。
Odd: 新しい職場に、慣れれば慣れるほど緊張しなくなる。 (comma splits the target from the verb)

Can I use a similar “the more…, the more…” pattern with adjectives and nouns?

Yes.

い-adjectives: 高ければ高いほど (the higher, the more …)
な-adjectives: Formal 便利であればあるほど; colloquial 便利なら便利なほど
Nouns (or する-nouns): 勉強すればするほど / 練習すればするほど Same idea: duplicate the word in the appropriate conditional form plus plain form.

Is 緊張になる ever correct?

No. With action/state nouns like 緊張, the natural verb is 〜する (“to be/get nervous”: 緊張する). 〜になる means “to become X” for nouns/adjectives that represent states/categories (e.g., 医者になる, 上手になる). You could say 緊張した状態になる, but for everyday speech use 緊張する / 緊張しなくなる.

Why not write 馴れる instead of 慣れる?

Both are read “nareru,” but:

慣れる: standard for “get used/accustomed (to a situation/habit).”
馴れる: often used for animals becoming tame or people becoming overly familiar/“chummy.” For workplaces and routines, use 慣れる.

What’s the tense/time nuance? It uses present/non-past but feels like future.

Japanese non-past covers present, habitual, and future. Here it states a general tendency, which in context can imply a future outcome. If you’re reporting a past result, you can say:

新しい職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、緊張しなくなりました。

Can I add a topic like 私は somewhere else in the sentence?

Yes. Common placements:

私は、新しい職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、緊張しなくなる。
新しい職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、私は緊張しなくなる。 Both are fine; choose based on what you want to emphasize first.

Is 新しい necessary? Any pitfalls with particles if I shorten it?

You can drop 新しい if context already implies the workplace is new:

職場に慣れれば慣れるほど、緊張しなくなる。 Be careful not to switch に to で after 職場 unless you introduce a different target:
Natural: 職場での仕事に慣れる (“get used to the work at the workplace”): で modifies 仕事 via での, but 慣れる still takes に for its target.

Are there alternative expressions to …ほど for “as … (progresses), …”?

Yes:

V-るにつれて: 新しい職場に慣れるにつれて、緊張しなくなる。
V-るにしたがって: more formal/literary. They mean “as …, …” without the explicit comparative duplication, but the overall meaning is similar.