The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Working Conditions, Employment, Career Development and Well-Being of Refugee Researchers

Abstract

The ongoing ‘refugee crisis’ of the past years has led to the migration of refugee researchers (RRs) to European countries. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, RRs often had to work from home and/or to continue their social, cultural and economic integration process under new conditions. An online survey carried out to explore the impact of the pandemic on the refugee researchers showed that RRs found it difficult to adapt their everyday working life to the ‘home’ setting. The majority have had neither a suitable work environment at home nor the appropriate technology. Although they stated that they are rather pleased with the measures taken by the public authorities, they expressed concern about their vulnerability due to their precarious contracts and the bureaucratic asylum procedures, as the pandemic has had a negative impact on these major issues. The majority of RRs working in academia seem not to have been affected at all as far as their income is concerned, while the majority of those employed in other sectors became unemployed during the pandemic (58%). Recommendations are provided to the public authorities and policy makers to assist RRs to mitigate the consequences of the pandemic on their life.

Employment in the 21st Century: Pre- and Post-COVID-19 Changes

“…On the other hand, foreign researchers that migrated to Europe found it difficult to adjust to telecommuting, due to unsuitable working environments and deficient technological equipment [118]. Their worry was focused on their susceptibility regarding precarious contracts and bureaucratic asylum methods, even though they were pleased with public authorities' measures [118]. The authors concluded that most academic researchers did not face a change in their income in contrast to their unemployment ratio.…”

The impact of digital technologies on employee engagement: Case study of company "A" in Serbia

“…Employees who were engaged devoted themselves to work tasks and activities to a greater extent, feeling an added responsibility to work more intensively and be of service to the organization in these sudden and unexpected circumstances. According to research, engaged employees worked longer and harder while working remotely (Lonska et al, 2021;Tzoraki et al, 2021), increasing the risk of burnout syndrome or work-life conflict. Employees who work remotely face an additional challenge in that they do not have direct contact with the organization or their colleagues, which leads to feelings of isolation, loneliness, less importance, and belonging (De-la-Calle-Durán & Rodrguez-Sánchez, 2021).…”

The Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic Situation on Foreign Employees in the Manufacturing Industry; Case Study Nakhon Pathom Province, Thailand

“…O. Tzoraki (2021) studied the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic analyzing the functioning circumstances, business, vocation advancement, and prosperity of exile specialists and observed that adjusting their regular working life to the 'home' setting is testing. The greater part has had neither a reasonable workplace at home nor the fitting innovation.…”