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Job Satisfaction Among Immigrant Workers: A Review of Determinants

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  • Zhongmin Wang

    (James Cook University)

  • Xinlin Jing

    (Royal Darwin Hospital)

Abstract

In recent years, an increasing number of studies have investigated the well-being of international immigrants in host countries. An important indicator of immigrants’ well-being is job satisfaction. Job satisfaction reflects a pleasant emotional state, in which individuals positively appraise their job or work experience. In this article, we discuss the determinants of immigrants’ job satisfaction, based on research conducted over the past three and a half decades. The determinants observed in the literature can be categorized into work- and non-work-related groups. Work-specific determinants include workplace environments, job characteristics, and work-specific personal factors (e.g., competency-related factors, psychological states, and work-specific demographics). Non-work-specific determinants include general demographics, culture-related factors (e.g., language, cultural traits, and acculturation), and community-related factors. This review demonstrates that past research has made important strides toward our understanding of the influential factors leading to immigrants’ job satisfaction. We call for future research to continue to explore these factors, as well as new factors, given the limited empirical evidence that exists for this population group.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhongmin Wang & Xinlin Jing, 2018. "Job Satisfaction Among Immigrant Workers: A Review of Determinants," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 139(1), pages 381-401, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:139:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s11205-017-1708-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-017-1708-z
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    3. Myia S. Williams & Cong Liu, 2023. "Who Am I and Where Do I Belong? The Impact of Heritage Cultural Identity Salience on Immigrant Workers Acculturation Strategies," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 793-815, June.
    4. Pinar Aslan Akay & Nader Ahmadi, 2022. "The Work Environment of Immigrant Employees in Sweden—a Systematic Review," Journal of International Migration and Integration, Springer, vol. 23(4), pages 2235-2268, December.
    5. Khalil, Samir & Lietz, Almuth & Mayer, Sabrina Jasmin, 2021. "Overqualification as Moderator for the Link Between Job Changes and Job Satisfaction Among Immigrated and Native-born People in Germany," SocArXiv q7nu2, Center for Open Science.
    6. David Cobos-Sanchiz & María-José Del-Pino-Espejo & Ligia Sánchez-Tovar & M. Pilar Matud, 2020. "The Importance of Work-Related Events and Changes in Psychological Distress and Life Satisfaction amongst Young Workers in Spain: A Gender Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-14, June.
    7. Seng-Su Tsang & Thi Vinh Tran Nguyen, 2023. "Sociocultural adaptation and job satisfaction as mediators between cultural competence and intention to stay among Vietnamese workers in Taiwan," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, December.

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