An Examination of Psychology of Working Theory With Immigrant Workers in the United States

Abstract

As the proportion of immigrant workers in the United States grows, understanding how contextual constraints restrict immigrant workers from securing decent work is critical. Therefore, drawing from psychology of working theory (PWT), this study examined relations from contextual barriers (economic constraints and acculturative stress) to psychological mechanisms (work volition and career adaptability) to decent work with a sample of immigrant workers in the United States. We also conducted multigroup analysis to explore whether the model varied depending on race. Diverging from previous PWT studies, we found that economic constraints directly predicted decent work and that career adaptability predicted both acculturative stress and decent work. Importantly, multigroup analysis found the relations from career adaptability and work volition to decent work were stronger for the white group than the POC group. Our findings encourage psychologists to advocate for working immigrants, including working immigrants of color, to reduce marginalization and economic constraints.

Factors associated with work volition among Chinese undergraduates

“…In line with past studies (e.g., Duffy et al, 2019 ; England et al, 2020 ; Kim and Allan, 2021 ; Kim et al, 2022 ), our results support the basic assumption that economic constraints have a negative association with work volition, showing that participants who experienced more economic barriers were less likely to report high levels of work volition. Furthermore, the negative effect (economic constraints – work volition) was quite statistically large compared with the coefficient for the interaction term (economic constraints × hukou – work volition; economic constraints – Zhongyong thinking – work volition), indicating the strength of the effect of economic constraints.…”

“…In addition, work volition is malleable (Duffy et al, 2016a ); therefore, it is necessary to analyze its related predictors and control it effectively. Several studies documented how recent health symptoms, illness perceptions, social support, subjective social status, acculturative stress, workplace climate, economic constraints, and marginalization predict work volition (Kim et al, 2018 , 2022 ; Wang et al, 2019 ; England et al, 2020 ; Bouchard and Nauta, 2021 ).…”

The legacy of immigration policies and employment exclusion: Assessing the relationship between employment exclusions and immigrant health

“…There are several possible explanations for why we did not see an association between not being able to find a job because of citizenship or legal status and health. First, in the face of employment challenges, immigrants must adapt to labor markets to achieve economic self-sufficiency ( Gurrola & Ayon, 2018 ; Kim et al, 2023 ). When immigrants are unable to find work in their professional fields or their initial work options are not available, they are likely able to find work elsewhere ( Nakphong et al, 2022 ; Hall et al, 2019 ).…”

Theories of Migration: Sociological and Conceptual Dilemmas

“…The theories of migration that are based on structuralism emphasise reorganisation of labour as a result of the migratory act, which arises from uneven development (Chant andRadcliffe 1992., SchmollandWeber, 2023). In other words, it is not the individuals who are making free rational choices, but it is the structural process that manipulates, enforces, and predetermines the individuals rational choices (Kim et al,2023). Historical structuralist theory in migration studies developed as a response to the individualism of neo-classical equilibrium theory that is why structuralist theory emphasises "the large-scale, long-term transformations of the global-political economy that, by definition, disregards the individual or the event" (Bach and Schraml, 1982).…”