“Work Like a Chinese”: Aspirations, Patterns of Work, and Working Conditions of the Chinese Immigrant Community in Southern Spain

Abstract

Expanding businesses was the main reason for the immigration of Chinese people in Spain, which consists the fifth largest nationality of immigrants in this country. Nevertheless, few studies have been carried out to understand the working conditions of this population. Using an ethnographic design, this study examined the work patterns and working conditions among Chinese immigrants living in southern Spain and how these factors affected their health. Observing participants, field notes, and semi-structured interviews with question script were conducted with 133 Chinese immigrants. Five main themes were defined: “Economic improvement as a migratory reason”, “Conception to Work”, “Labor Sector”, “Work conditions”, and “Occupational health”. Our results showed that Chinese immigrants worked in the provision of services, with long working hours and little rest. Although they had low rates of unemployment, the working conditions had an important impact on their dietary patterns and their family life. Ergonomic and psychosocial risks also explained high rates of musculoskeletal problems and stress. In conclusion, Chinese immigrants living in southern Spain work actively in the service sector of the economy, but with many work hours. These characteristics seem to impact their health at a physical, psychological, and social level.

Health Problems and the Use of Medications and Traditional Therapies among Chinese Immigrants Living in Spain

“…Another frequent condition is duodenal or gastric ulcers, which were reported by 5.3% of the sample, exceeding 2% of the native population and 1.8% of foreigners [30]. These gastrointestinal problems are also supported by previous evidence [32], motivated by work stress, fast and irregular meals [26,33], inappropriate life habits (alcohol and tobacco consumption), and continued exposure to dietary elements such as lactose [34].…”

“…One of the most remarkable aspects of the Chinese culture is the connection between working hard and having a good quality of life which, in turn, is also related to a better health [ 26 ]. According to participants, a wealthy condition is essential for a good health.…”

Acculturation, Health Behaviors, and Social Relations among Chinese Immigrants Living in Spain

“…Asian-identified participants were most likely to follow traditional healthful Chinese food patterns, and Western-identified individuals were more apt to engage in leisure physical activity. Individuals categorized as bicultural were prone to use limited amounts of fats or oils when preparing foods [ 4 ]. These results reveal the positive effect on health derived from preserving at least part of the minority ethnic identity.…”

“…The second one is the non-forced immigration (i.e., those living and working in the host country), which tends to promote better life conditions, resulting in challenges towards the degree of integration into the host communities and other social aspects such as work activity or territorial concentration. The latter is considered the case of the Chinese immigrant community in Spain [ 3 , 4 ].…”

Prevalence and factors associated with substance use among Chinese immigrants in Spain: A mixed‐design study

“…Thirdly, the support network within the Chinese community may protect the immigrants from mental health problems and therefore from the consumption of these substances (Ryabov, 2015). Finally, since Chinese immigrants have an important workload—working more than 10 hr per day—and they work in visible places in contact with clients, they usually have little time and space to use illicit drugs while at work (Badanta et al., 2020). Therefore, they usually consume culturally accepted drugs such as tobacco and alcohol.…”