Skilled Migrant Adjustment to Career Transitions

ended

The Skilled Migrant Adjustment to Career Transitions (SMACT) Project aims to research adjustment processes in skilled migrant workers in Switzerland. A sample of skilled multi-national migrant workers will be studied to examine their adjustment to a single host country (i.e., Switzerland) in terms of their work-related outcomes. The use of a single host country will allow better control to be achieved for the cultural and institutional influences that could be considered specific to Switzerland. The current interdisciplinary study aims to integrate adjustment dimensions that were previously used in diverse fields, such as psychology, human resource management and intercultural relations research. In this mixed-method research design, variables were investigated using qualitative (i.e., semi-structured focus group interviews with female skilled migrants) and quantitative data collections (i.e., online survey with skilled migrants administered over three time-points). The inclusion of qualitative focus group interviews with skilled female migrants aims to rectify the existing under-representation of female migrants’ adjustment experiences in expatriate literature. The SMACT project has four main goals: 1) examine female expatriate adjustment processes, 2) examine differences in adjustment and work-related outcomes between AEs and SIEs, 3) examine personality predictors on adjustment processes for work outcomes, and 4) examine personality predictors on adjustment processes for non-work outcomes. This research study is in line with European 2020 Strategy flagship initiatives of fostering employment and reducing poverty and social exclusion, because these study results could inform human resource management and career counselling practices to help facilitate skilled migrant adjustment processes, to address an existing gender dynamic and ultimately help organisations to better utilise the skills of migrants.