Highly Educated Immigrant Workers’ Perspectives of Occupational Health and Safety and Work Conditions That Challenge Work Safety

Janki Shankar, Daniel Lai, Shu-Ping Chen, Tanvir C. Turin, Shawn Joseph and Ellen Mi
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Janki Shankar: Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Daniel Lai: Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Social Work, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
Shu-Ping Chen: Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2R3, Canada
Tanvir C. Turin: Department of Family Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Shawn Joseph: Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada
Ellen Mi: Faculty of Social Work, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 14, 1-18

Abstract: This study explored the perspectives of new immigrant workers regarding occupational health and safety and workplace conditions that increase workers’ vulnerability to sustaining injury or illness. Using an interpretive research approach and semi-structured qualitative interviews, 42 new immigrant workers from a range of industries operating in two cities in a province in Canada were interviewed. Seventy-nine percent of the workers were highly qualified. A constant comparative approach was used to identify key themes across the workers’ experiences. The findings revealed that new immigrant workers have an incomplete understanding of occupational health and safety. In many workplaces, poor job training, little worker support, lack of power in the workplace, and a poor workplace safety culture make it difficult for workers to acquire occupational health and safety information and to implement safe work practices. This study proposes workplace policies and practices that will improve worker occupational health and safety awareness and make workplaces safer for new immigrant workers.

Keywords: new immigrant workers; highly qualified; occupational health and safety; workplace challenges; policy; practice (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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