New research: Refugees overperform on the job market
The ‘paradigm shift’ has consequences for refugees in the Danish job market. New research shows that they make up an indispensable workforce. The paradigm shifts coupling of employment and residency pressure refugees into overperforming on the job market.
By Christiane Jessen
Photo: Anna Lyngdal Wulff and Emma Froma Feil
When Almina goes to work, it’s with a feeling of having to perform disproportionately to her Danish colleagues. That’s why she comes to work even when having a migraine. Her boss tells her to go home, but Amina is too proud to take notice. Many refugees tell of a fear of being sent back to their countries of origin or lose their residency in Denmark presses them to overperform at work.
These are the results of the research project “The good refugee’ – an ethnographic investigation of employees with refugee backgrounds in Danish work places”, written by Anna Lyngdal Wulff and Emma Froma Feil, from the University of Copenhagen 2019.
The job market after the paradigm shift
8,700 employees are set to lose their jobs as a consequence of the paradigm shift, shows the Immigration and Integration Ministry’s own statistics. The thesis points, however, to the fact that refugees are an indispensable part of the Danish job market. Refugees often accept jobs which other workers don’t want. As such, because of the paradigm shift, businesses may find themselves without the necessary workforce.
The paradigm shift is intentioned to shift focus from integration to temporary stay and repatriation of refugees to their countries of origin. At the same time, the relationship between a refugee’s residency and work has become more closely intertwined. Without a job, one has a smaller chance of staying in the country.
Said and unsaid expectations at work
Refugees put in a greater effort at work, in order to meet the expectations of their workplace. They compensate, amongst other things, for their linguistic challenges by working harder and longer hours and in order not to stand out, refugees learn to adapt to social codes in the work place.
A human consequence of the paradigm shift is that refugees avoid showing any signs of weakness to their employers or colleagues, out of fear of attracting negative attention, and losing their job in the next round of job cuts.
The employment efforts of Trampoline House.
Refugees should meet the expectations of their employers, but this can’t be learned at school or in an IGU course. It’s something that has to be learned in practice. Thus, concludes the thesis.
In Trampoline House we work to develop such a practice. Refugees are trained in accordance with the expectations of the job market through visits to businesses and preparatory internships.
A relation to the job market is a crucial part of the integration process and self-sufficiency is a priority for many. As such it is also a central part of the work of Trampoline House with refugees.
Through visits to businesses, users of Trampoline House get an insight into the expectations and opportunities of the job market. To experience workplaces at first hand provides an understanding not provided at school.
Support refugees’ way into the job market
In Trampoline House, we’ve developed a method that makes it easier for refugees to find a foothold in the job market. Several municipalities have already started employing our method, but in order to get a broader reach, we also need the financial support from individuals. If you, your partner or your mother would also be able to support our work with a recurring donation, it would make a great difference to our work.
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