Understanding the Perception of the ‘Migrant Work Ethic’
Understanding the Perception of the ‘Migrant Work Ethic’
Over the last decade, the UK has experienced unprecedented increases in migration associated with the 2004 A8 expansion of the European Union. These migrant workers have been praised by managers in the UK, who have frequently stated that they perceive these workers to have a strong ‘work ethic’ when measured on aspects such as absence from work rates. This article examines this perceived migrant ‘work ethic’ by analysing worker absence data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the period 2005–2012. Regression analysis reveals that when A8 migrant workers first arrive in the UK, they record substantially lower absence than native workers, but that these migrant absence levels assimilate within two to four years. If employers use this information to make hiring decisions, this may have negative implications for native workers, but, importantly, only in the short run.
811-830
Dawson, Chris
f2436f66-7ebb-450a-a1f7-b82c0d5ccdcb
Veliziotis, Michail
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Hopkins, Benjamin
2ce94c34-dc58-4f6f-b0fa-092d27f7923b
October 2018
Dawson, Chris
f2436f66-7ebb-450a-a1f7-b82c0d5ccdcb
Veliziotis, Michail
e43806b3-fdb5-494b-a624-04a5227d2fad
Hopkins, Benjamin
2ce94c34-dc58-4f6f-b0fa-092d27f7923b
Dawson, Chris, Veliziotis, Michail and Hopkins, Benjamin
(2018)
Understanding the Perception of the ‘Migrant Work Ethic’.
Work, Employment and Society, 32 (5), .
(doi:10.1177/0950017017706306).
Abstract
Over the last decade, the UK has experienced unprecedented increases in migration associated with the 2004 A8 expansion of the European Union. These migrant workers have been praised by managers in the UK, who have frequently stated that they perceive these workers to have a strong ‘work ethic’ when measured on aspects such as absence from work rates. This article examines this perceived migrant ‘work ethic’ by analysing worker absence data from the UK Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the period 2005–2012. Regression analysis reveals that when A8 migrant workers first arrive in the UK, they record substantially lower absence than native workers, but that these migrant absence levels assimilate within two to four years. If employers use this information to make hiring decisions, this may have negative implications for native workers, but, importantly, only in the short run.
Text
WES FINAL Accepted - deanonymised manuscript
- Accepted Manuscript
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Accepted/In Press date: 27 March 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 May 2017
Published date: October 2018
Organisations:
HRM and Organisational Behaviour
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 407587
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/407587
ISSN: 0950-0170
PURE UUID: afa97fd1-2b3a-4cbc-bbb5-92281f51c70b
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Date deposited: 16 Apr 2017 16:58
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 05:13
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Author:
Chris Dawson
Author:
Benjamin Hopkins
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