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The Work Environment of Immigrant Employees in Sweden—a Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Pinar Aslan Akay

    (The Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise)

  • Nader Ahmadi

    (The Swedish Agency for Work Environment Expertise)

Abstract

The aim of this systematic review was to summarize and synthesize research results focusing on the work environment of employees with an immigrant background in Sweden. We focus on the main conditions identified in the working environment of immigrant employees and how these conditions may affect their health and well-being. The concept of “minority stress” and the attachment theory are used to understand and interpret the findings. We systematically searched for literature published between the years of 1990 and 2020 in four databases, Web of Science, PubMed, SocIndex, and Academic Search Elite. We started the selection process by reading title and abstracts, then proceeded to read a selection of full-text studies and eliminated those that did not fulfil the inclusion criteria. We did a quality assessment on the full-text studies based on the MMAT-tool, and then performed a narrative synthesis of the results. The results show that immigrants experience several stressors in their work environment, including physical, psychological, and social risks. These risks are, among other things, associated with the nature of the jobs that immigrants are overrepresented in, with minority-related stressors such as discrimination, harassment, and threats on the basis of ethnic background, and with the lack of social support from managers and colleagues. Results also highlight beneficial factors in the immigrants’ working environment and show the importance of a supportive, inclusive, and empowering management. Our main conclusion is that Swedish workplaces need to introduce more active measures to raise awareness of and combat workplace discrimination, work harder to promote inclusion at the workplace, and eliminate physical, psychological, and social health hazards specific to immigrant employees. The leadership and management have an important role to play here, as does the employees’ trade unions and its special functions.

Suggested Citation

  • Pinar Aslan Akay & Nader Ahmadi, 2022. "The Work Environment of Immigrant Employees in Sweden—a Systematic Review," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 2235-2268, December.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:joimai:v:23:y:2022:i:4:d:10.1007_s12134-021-00931-0
    DOI: 10.1007/s12134-021-00931-0
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Martin Nordin & Dan‐Olof Rooth, 2009. "The Ethnic Employment and Income Gap in Sweden: Is Skill or Labor Market Discrimination the Explanation?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 111(3), pages 487-510, September.
    2. Andrea C. Dunlavy & Mikael Rostila, 2013. "Health Inequalities among Workers with a Foreign Background in Sweden: Do Working Conditions Matter?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    3. Zhongmin Wang & Xinlin Jing, 2018. "Job Satisfaction Among Immigrant Workers: A Review of Determinants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 381-401, August.
    4. Dunlavy, A.C. & Garcy, A.M. & Rostila, M., 2016. "Educational mismatch and health status among foreign-born workers in Sweden," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 36-44.
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