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

Bárbara Badanta, María González-Cano Caballero, Elena Fernández-García, Rocío de Diego-Cordero, Giancarlo Lucchetti, Rafael-Jesús Fernández-Castillo and Sergio Barrientos-Trigo
Additional contact information
Bárbara Badanta: Research Group PAIDI-CTS 1050 Complex Care, Chronicity and Health Outcomes, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
María González-Cano Caballero: Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Department of Nursing, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
Elena Fernández-García: Research Group PAIDI-CTS 1050 Complex Care, Chronicity and Health Outcomes, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
Rocío de Diego-Cordero: Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Department of Nursing, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
Giancarlo Lucchetti: Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Juiz de Fora 36036-900, Brazil
Rafael-Jesús Fernández-Castillo: Faculty of Nursing, Physiotherapy and Podiatry, Department of Nursing, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain
Sergio Barrientos-Trigo: Research Group PAIDI-CTS 1050 Complex Care, Chronicity and Health Outcomes, University of Seville, 41009 Seville, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 19, 1-15

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.

Keywords: working conditions; occupational health; Chinese; emigrants or immigrants (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7063/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/19/7063/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:19:p:7063-:d:420406

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().