Abstract
Employment can play an important role for humanitarian migrants in their successful integration into a new country. For humanitarian migrants to Australia, there are no skill or language restrictions imposed on resettlement. Despite the benefits, humanitarian migrants often find themselves in low-status jobs and precarious working conditions. The present study examines perceptions of job quality and exposure to workforce psychosocial risk factors such as job strain, bullying, and discrimination. We conducted semi-structured in-depth interviews with 30 humanitarian migrants from South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Thematic analysis of transcripts identified three overarching themes: Uncertainty and Insecurity, Working Hard and Pushing Through, and Positive Attitudes and Actions. Overall, our findings show that despite high levels of education and long-term residency in Australia, many of the participants struggled to find a safe and secure place in the workforce. While some spoke about their work in positive terms, their comments should not be taken as confirmation of a positive work environment. Humanitarian migrants face an uphill battle against oppressive working conditions and underemployment.
Highlights
In recent years, people migrating to Australia on humanitarian grounds have come primarily from countries in Africa and the Middle East [1] due to conflict and global displacement
One explanation for the intensification of hostility has been attributed to the visibility of migrants from Middle Eastern and African backgrounds within the broader Australian community
Interviews were conducted with men and women from South Sudan, Afghanistan, and Iraq, aged 18 to 65, who arrived in Australian on a humanitarian visa
Summary
People migrating to Australia on humanitarian grounds have come primarily from countries in Africa and the Middle East [1] due to conflict and global displacement. 24,000 people from Sudan (later South Sudan) arrived in Australia as humanitarian migrants between the years 2000 and 2006 This group, incurred racialized negative media messaging [2] and were described as “bad refugees” because of the difficulties they faced in settling into Australia and Australian culture [3]. The South Sudanese came from a subsistence agricultural society which made it difficult for them to obtain skilled work in industries other than Agriculture in Australia [3]. This further restricted their integration into Australia. We were interested in their interpretation and response to challenges they experience in the workplace
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