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“I am from nowhere”: identity and self-perceived health status of skilled immigrants employed in low-skilled service sector jobs

“I am from nowhere”: identity and self-perceived health status of skilled immigrants employed in... PurposeThe foreign-born skilled immigrant population is growing rapidly in Canada but finding a job that utilizes immigrants’ skills, knowledge and experience is challenging for them. The purpose of this paper is to understand the self-perceived health and social status of skilled immigrants who were working in low-skilled jobs in the service sector in Ottawa, Canada.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with 19 high-skilled immigrants working as taxi drivers and convenience store workers in the city of Ottawa, Canada were analysed using a grounded theory approach.FindingsFive major themes emerged from the data: high expectations but low achievements; credential devaluation, deskilling and wasted skills; discrimination and loss of identity; lifestyle change and poor health behaviour; and poor mental and physical health status.Social implicationsThe study demonstrates the knowledge between what skilled immigrants expect when they arrive in Canada and the reality of finding meaningful employment in a country where international credentials are less likely to be recognized. The study therefore contributes to immigration policy reform which would reduce barriers to meaningful employment among immigrants reducing the impacts on health resulting from employment in low-skilled jobs.Originality/valueThis study provides unique insights into the experience and perceptions of skilled immigrants working in low-skilled jobs. It also sheds light on the “healthy worker effect” hypothesis which is a highly discussed and debated issue in the occupational health literature. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care Emerald Publishing

“I am from nowhere”: identity and self-perceived health status of skilled immigrants employed in low-skilled service sector jobs

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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © Emerald Group Publishing Limited
ISSN
1747-9894
DOI
10.1108/IJMHSC-09-2015-0035
Publisher site
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Abstract

PurposeThe foreign-born skilled immigrant population is growing rapidly in Canada but finding a job that utilizes immigrants’ skills, knowledge and experience is challenging for them. The purpose of this paper is to understand the self-perceived health and social status of skilled immigrants who were working in low-skilled jobs in the service sector in Ottawa, Canada.Design/methodology/approachIn this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews with 19 high-skilled immigrants working as taxi drivers and convenience store workers in the city of Ottawa, Canada were analysed using a grounded theory approach.FindingsFive major themes emerged from the data: high expectations but low achievements; credential devaluation, deskilling and wasted skills; discrimination and loss of identity; lifestyle change and poor health behaviour; and poor mental and physical health status.Social implicationsThe study demonstrates the knowledge between what skilled immigrants expect when they arrive in Canada and the reality of finding meaningful employment in a country where international credentials are less likely to be recognized. The study therefore contributes to immigration policy reform which would reduce barriers to meaningful employment among immigrants reducing the impacts on health resulting from employment in low-skilled jobs.Originality/valueThis study provides unique insights into the experience and perceptions of skilled immigrants working in low-skilled jobs. It also sheds light on the “healthy worker effect” hypothesis which is a highly discussed and debated issue in the occupational health literature.

Journal

International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jun 12, 2017

References

  • ‘I spent nine years looking for a doctor’: exploring access to health care among immigrants in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
  • ‘Education? It is irrelevant to my job now. It makes me very depressed …’: exploring the health impacts of under/unemployment among highly skilled recent immigrants in Canada
  • ‘My health has improved because I always have everything I need here…’ a qualitative exploration of health improvement and decline among immigrants
  • The health of immigrants and refugee in Canada
  • Naturalistic inquiry and the saturation concept: a research note