Socially responsible human resource management towards migrant workers with the focus on the employees’ interests

Abstract

Purpose: The following two main research questions were addressed in this article: 1) Which employees’ interests are the most important for Ukrainian migrant workers? 2) To what extent companies ensure the interests of Ukrainian migrant workers? Since migration is often associated with precarious employment, the problems of the relationship between the form of employment and the interests of migrants were examined as well. Design/methodology/approach: For the purpose of this paper, such methods as literature survey of publications indexed mainly in Scopus database and empirical research in the form of a survey were used. The survey was carried out in 2020 in Poland and the respondents were Ukrainian workers. The research was conducted using the PAPI technique and based on a with the use of a representative sample. Findings: Empirical research shows that the most important interests of migrants (of 22 analyzed interests) are salaries adequate to duties, ensuring good occupational safety and health, and clear evaluation criteria. At the same time, the second and third of the indicated interests are mostly ensured by employers, regardless of the form of employment in which the respondents work. This leads to certain practical and theoretical implications. Practical implications: The Ukrainian population is gradually growing in Poland which results from the armed conflict and the difficult economic situation in Ukraine. Therefore, the presented research is utmost valid. Originality/value: The concept of socially responsible HRM (SRHRM) emerged as an element of CSR focused on the inside of the company (its employees treated as the most important stakeholders). Surveys devoted to the implementation of the concept of CSR are carried out mainly among employees who are citizens of the country where the enterprise surveyed is headquartered. The issue of migration is discussed rather from the perspective of such academic disciplines as economics and sociology than the discipline of human resource management. This study aims to fill the gap in research on SRHRM through examining the HRM practices in the context of migrant workers with a focus on employee interests. Keywords: employees, expectations, interests, corporate social responsibility, sustainable HRM. Category of the paper: research paper.