Experiences of work and social inclusion/exclusion among the male immigrants from the Middle East

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to discover experiences of inclusion/exclusion among the immigrants from the Middle East. The study focuses on inclusion/exclusion of the immigrants in work and social life in Stavanger, Norway. The study has a qualitive design. The data has been collected through personal semi-structured interviews with ten immigrant workers from the middle east who have worked at least for four months in the service industry as low-skilled workers. This study presents the results in three main parts including a) expectations and motivations before migration b) challenges in the job seeking process and experiences of inclusion/exclusion in the workplace c) experiences of inclusion/exclusion in social life. furthermore, identified barriers and facilitators for work and also social inclusion are provided. In addition, varying markers for work and social inclusion/exclusion have been extracted from the study. The results of the study are discussed with consideration of social identity theory as the main theory and some other connected theories including the network theory, dual labour market theory and cumulative causation. Moreover, the results are compared to the previous researches so as to show the similarities and differences. Finally, the study shows that despite different experiences of exclusion among the participants, generally, they still perceive themselves included in the workplace; however, this inclusion seems to be in a low level. In addition, they perceive themselves included in the workplace more than the social life.