The work-wellbeing Paradox: Exploring the emotional and bodily dimensions of intersectional capitalism among Latinx immigrants in the U.S

Latinx immigrants in the United States are disproportionately affected by precarious work and unemployment, which negatively impact their physical and mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these challenges, leading to increased exploitation, work uncertainty/exclusion, and dimensions of precarity tied to bodily integrity. In this paper, we aim to situate Latinx immigrants' experiences within the broader systems that shape these challenges and embodied realities through analysis of qualitative interviews with 52 Latinx immigrant adults across four timepoints of the Immigrant Wellbeing Project, a 5-year community-based participatory research study. Our findings reveal a paradox in the lives of Latinx immigrants wherein work simultaneously provides the means for self-determination and emotional and bodily subjugation. Structural exclusion conditioned work experiences by limiting stable employment and hindering socioeconomic mobility. Despite these structural constraints, neoliberal perceptions of upward mobility shaped the meaning of work, such that hopes for a better future for themselves and their families took precedence over immigrants’ physical and emotional wellbeing. Building on the theory of intersectional capitalism and sociocultural analyses of bodily dimensions of structural inequality, we contend this work-wellbeing paradox reflects the diverse sociopolitical locations of marginalized Latinx immigrants within a hierarchized U.S. economy. Further, we argue these harmful impacts on emotions and bodies should be understood as embodied products of intersectional capitalism.