Workload and health of workers with amigrant background

Abstract

Diversity is increasing, including among workers. Traditional approaches in occupational safety and health are no longer sufficient to meet the emerging challenges in the workplace. Currently, knowledge about specific needs of workers with amigrant background is insufficient to develop suitable interventions under participatory methods. The aim of this work is to gain knowledge about diversity in the workplace and discuss considerations for suitable prevention and health promotion. Research in reports, analyses of the German Socio-Economic Panel, as well as areview of the literature in relevant databases served to collate current findings about health indicators, stress and strain, structural conditions, and occupational prevention and health promotion. Differentiated results about health in the workplace and stress and strain could be identified. In particular, workers with amigrant background are more often exposed to physical stress and harsh environmental conditions. Furthermore, structural conditions are worse for these workers, e.g. due to lower employment rates, as well as enhanced atypical employment among the target group. Plausible explanations for the reported differences are discussed and useful implications are given. However, the overall lack of data and challenges in data collection must be considered.