“An investigation into the working experiences of Central and Eastern European migrants in the United Kingdom”

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this study is to investigate the working experiences of central and eastern European migrants within the United Kingdom. To achieve the aim, CEE migrant employees will be involved throughout the study. Managers views and opinions along with how they perceive different employees in a business will also give a different perspective on the issue. Methodological Approach – For this research study, the researcher adapted a qualitative method approach. From using a qualitative approach, the researcher established that the most suitable method to use was semi-structured interviews. Due to opinions and views being sought after for the project, semi-structured interviews allow depth in answers which the researcher believed would help achieve the aim and objectives of the study to the highest possible standard. The researcher has chosen to sample CEE migrants and UK born managers over the entire population. This allows for different perspectives on an issue to help understand points from several angles. Findings – The results from the primary data gathered concluded that CEE migrant workers do have positive working experiences however, there are still barriers which affect working experiences. With reference to managers, it was concluded all employees are perceived equally and managers do praise the hiring of migrants along with their individual working experiences with them. The findings also suggested that the problems migrants face is not specific to them but instead seem relevant to all employees of an organisation. This deemed that there must be more focus on investigating migrant specific issues in future studies. Research Process – Relevant literature was reviewed relating to the research topic in hand. From the literature discussed, key themes emerged which allowed the researcher to create questions to research the identified areas which needed to be addressed. The methodological choice selected for this project was most suited to the aim and objectives. The concluding results of the research showed this was the correct choice. Limitations – One limitation identified from the study was the small sample size. With only three UK managers being interviewed, it is hard to generalise this to a larger population. Furthermore, six CEE migrants were interviewed which is also relatively small. The study was dominated by male inputs resulting in a gender imbalance which is another flaw to the study.