Influence of Individual Characteristics on Work Engagement and Job Stress in a Sample of National and Foreign Workers in Switzerland

In most Western postindustrial societies today, the population is aging, businesses are faced with global integration, and important migration flows are taking place. Increasingly work organizations are hiring crossnational and multicultural workteams. In this situation it is important to understand the influence of certain individual and cultural characteristics on the process of professional integration. The present study explores the links between personality traits, demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, income, and nationality), work engagement, and job stress. The sample consisted of 618 participants, including 394 Swiss workers (200 women, 194 men) and 224 foreigners living and working in Switzerland (117 women, 107 men). Each participant completed the NEO-FFI, the UWES, and the GWSS questionnaires. Our results show an interaction between age and nationality with respect to work engagement and general job stress. The levels of work engagement and job stress appear to increase with age among national wotkers, whereas they decrease among foreign workers. In addition, work engagement was negatively associated with Neuroticism and positively with the other four personality dimensions. Finally, job stress was positively associated with Neuroticism and Conscientiousness, and negatively associated with Extraversion. However, the strength of these relationships appeared to vary according to the worker's nationality, age, sex, education, and income.

H-1B foreign workers : better tracking needed to help determine H-1B program's effects on U.S. workforce : report to the Ranking Minority Member, Subcommittee on Environment, Technology, and Standards, Committee on Science, House of Representatives /

"GAO-03-883"

Admission of foreign agricultural workers. Hearing before a subcommittee of the Committee on the Judiciary, United States Senate, Eighty-first Congress, first session, on S. 272, to facilitate the admission of certain foreign workers desiring to perform agricultural work in the United States. July 12, 1949.

Pat McCarran, chairman.

Immigrants in the Czech Republic (With Special Reference to Ukrainian Workers and "Western" Firms Operating in Prague)

International migration has increased rapidly in the Czech Republic, with more than 150,000 legally registered foreign residents at the end of 1996. A large proportion of these are in Prague - 35% of the total in December 1996. The aim of this project was to enrich the fund of information concerning the "environment", reasons and "mechanisms" behind immigration to the Czech Republic. Mr. Drbohlav looked first at the empirical situation and on this basis set out to test certain well-known migration theories. He focused on four main areas: 1) a detailed description and explanation of the stock of foreign citizens legally settled in Czech territory, concentrating particularly on "economic" migrants; 2) a questionnaire survey targeting a total of 192 Ukrainian workers (98 in the fall 1995 and 94 in the fall 1996) working in Prague or its vicinity; 3) a second questionnaire survey of 40 "western" firms (20 in 1996 and 20 in 1997) operating out of Prague; 4) an opinion poll on how the Czech population reacts to foreign workers in the CR. Over 80% of economic immigrants at the end of 1996 were from European countries, 16% from Asia and under 2% from North America. The largest single nationalities were Ukrainians, Slovaks, Vietnamese and Poles. There has been a huge increase in the Ukrainian immigrant community over both space (by region) and time (a ten-fold increase since 1993), and at 40,000 persons this represents one third of all legal immigrants. Indications are that many more live and work there illegally. Young males with low educational/skills levels predominate, in contrast with the more heterogeneous immigration from the "West". The primary reason for this migration is the higher wages in the Czech Republic. In 1994 the relative figures of GDP adjusted for parity of purchasing power were US$ 8,095 for the Czech Republic versus US$ 3,330 for the Ukraine as a whole and US$ 1,600 for the Zakarpatye region from which 49% of the respondents in the survey came. On an individual level, the average Czech wage is about US$ 330 per month, while 50% of the Ukrainian respondents put their last monthly wage before leaving for the Czech Republic at under US$ 27. The very low level of unemployment in the latter country (fluctuating around 4%) was also mentioned as an important factor. Migration was seen as a way of diversifying the family's source of income and 49% of the respondents had made their plans together with partners or close relatives, while 45% regularly send remittances to Ukraine (94% do so through friends or relatives). Looking at Ukrainian migration from the point of view of the dual market theory, these migrants' type and conditions of work, work load and earnings were all significantly worse than in the primary sector, which employs well educated people and offers them good earnings, job security and benefits. 53% of respondents were working and/or staying in the Czech Republic illegally at the time of the research, 73% worked as unqualified, unskilled workers or auxiliary workers, 62% worked more than 12 hours a day, and 40% evaluated their working conditions as hard. 51% had no days off, earnings were low in relation to the number of hours worked. and 85% said that their earnings did not increase over time. Nearly half the workers were recruited in Ukraine and only 4% expressed a desire to stay in the Czech Republic. Network theories were also borne out to some extent as 33% of immigrants came together with friends from the same village, town or region in Ukraine. The number who have relatives working in the Czech Republic is rising, and many wish to invite relatives or children to visit them. The presence of organisations which organised cross-border migration, including some which resort to organising illegal documents, also gives some support for the institutional theory. Mr. Drbohlav found that all the migration theories considered offered some insights on the situation, but that none was sufficient to explain it all. He also points out parallels with many other regions of the world, including Central America, South and North America, Melanesia, Indonesia, East Africa, India, the Middle East and Russia. For the survey of foreign and international firms, those chosen were largely from countries represented by more than one company and were mainly active in market services such as financial and trade services, marketing and consulting. While 48% of the firms had more than 10,000 employees spread through many countries, more than two thirds had fewer than 50 employees in the Czech Republic. Czechs formed 80% plus of general staff in these firms although not more than 50% of senior management, and very few other "easterners" were employed. All companies absolutely denied employing people illegally. The average monthly wage of Czech staff was US$ 850, with that of top managers from the firm's "mother country" being US$ 6,350 and that of other western managers US$ 3,410. The foreign staff were generally highly mobile and were rarely accompanied by their families. Most saw their time in the Czech Republic as positive for their careers but very few had any intention of remaining there. Factors in the local situation which were evaluated positively included market opportunities, the economic and political environment, the quality of technical and managerial staff, and cheap labour and low production costs. In contrast, the level of appropriate business ethics and conduct, the attitude of local and regional authorities, environmental production conditions, the legal environment and financial markets and fiscal policy were rated very low. In the final section of his work Mr. Drbohlav looked at the opinions expressed by the local Czech population in a poll carried out at the beginning of 1997. This confirmed that international labour migration has become visible in this country, with 43% of respondents knowing at least one foreigner employed by a Czech firm in this country. Perception differ according to the region from which the workers come and those from "the West" are preferred to those coming from further east. 49% saw their attitude towards the former as friendly but only 20% felt thus towards the latter. Overall, attitudes towards migrant workers is neutral, although 38% said that such workers should not have the same rights as Czech citizens. Sympathy towards foreign workers tends to increase with education and the standard of living, and the relatively positive attitudes towards foreigners in the South Bohemia region contradicted the frequent belief that a lack of experience of international migration lowers positive perceptions of it.

Effect of economic recession on psychosocial working conditions by workers' nationality

Background: Several publications have documented the effects of economic recessions on health. However, little is known about how economic recessions influence working conditions, especially among vulnerable workers. Objective: To explore the effects of 2008 economic crisis on the prevalence of adverse psychosocial working conditions among Spanish and foreign national workers. Methods: Data come from the 2007 and 2011 Spanish Working Conditions Surveys. Survey year, sociodemographic, and occupational information were independent variables and psychosocial factors exposures were dependent variables. Analyses were stratified by nationality (Spanish versus foreign). Prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios (aPRs) of psychological job demands, job control, job social support, physical demands and perceived job insecurity were estimated using Poisson regression. Results: The Spanish population had higher risk of psychological and physical job demand (aPR = 1.07, 95% CI = [1.04–1.10] and aPR = 1.05, 95% CI = [1.01–1.09], respectively) in 2011 compared to 2007. Among both Spanish and foreign national workers, greater aPR were found for job loss in 2011 compared to 2007 (aPR = 2.47, 95% CI = [2.34–2.60]; aPR = 2.44, 95% CI = [2.15–2.77], respectively). Conclusion: The 2008 economic crisis was associated with a significant increase in physical demands in Spanish workers and increased job insecurity for both Spanish and foreign workers.

Information on aliens admitted into the United States as nonimmigrant workers : report to the chairman, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives /

"B-217417"--Prelim. p.

Consolidation of Labor's enforcement responsibilities for the H-2A program could better protect U.S. agricultural workers.

"Report number: 08-98-004-03-321."

West Indies workers brought to the United States for emergency wartime employment : 1944-1946 /

"December 1946."

O estatuto laboral do trabalhador estrangeiro em Portugal

After reading about the current legal regime regarding the foreign workers we realize the high relevance this area has, nevertheless the research about these issues has been lying somewhat stagnant in Portugal, particularly as it refers to non-EU citizens. At a time when we witness a progressive increase of the migratory movements we propose ourselves, in this study, to understand more clearly the current legal system in the matter of foreign worker rights, and, from a pragmatic point of view, to question some choices of the legislator in order to understand if these serves to the best protection of the rights and duties of the foreign workers and the new situations arising from this phenomenon, considering any system weaknesses. However, we realize that much remains to be done in this field, both in terms of true equal rights between nationals and foreigners, and either as what regards to an effort to harmonize these issues by the States, which tend to favor national sovereignty and its economic interests rather than protecting the fundamental rights of workers.

Active and passive screening for tuberculosis in Vaud Canton, Switzerland

Résumé Même si l'incidence de la tuberculose est basse en Suisse, cette maladie reste un problème de santé publique en raison des migrations de populations provenant de pays où l'incidence de la tuberculose est élevée. Les immigrants, à leur arrivée en terre helvétique, doivent s'annoncer auprès d'un des cinq centres d'enregistrement pour les réfugiés (Vallorbe, Bâle, Kreuzlingen, Altstätten et Chiasso) et subir un contrôle médical qui comprend un test tuberculinique et une radiographie du thorax afin de détecter des anomalies compatibles avec une tuberculose. Les requérants avec des signes de maladie sont immédiatement pris en charge dans le but d'éviter une dissémination du bacille de Koch. Cette* étude rétrospective compare la présentation bactériologique et clinique de la tuberculose ainsi que le résultat du traitement de cette maladie chez les immigrants diagnostiqués par dépistage actif (= immigrants venant d'être enregistrés comme requérants d'asile en Suisse) avec d'autres patients diagnostiqués par dépistage passif (= patients suisses, travailleurs étrangers résidents en Suisse ainsi que d'autres étrangers incluant les touristes, les étudiants, les immigrants illégaux ainsi que 11 requérants d'asile détectés tardivement et passivement après leur entrée en Suisse). Parmi les 179 patients, 78% sont des étrangers. La médiane d'âge de la population étrangère atteinte de tuberculose est de 29 ans contre 64 ans pour les Suisses. Le dépistage actif a été effectué auprès de 71 requérants d'asile chez lesquels 49.3% [CI : 37.4 - 61.2] n'avaient pas de symptômes contre 17.6% [Cl : 10.3 - 24.9] chez les 108 passifs. La durée des symptômes était de 2 mois dans le groupe des actifs versus 2.5 mois chez les passifs (ns). L'analyse bactériologique est positive à l'examen direct ou à la culture chez 63.4% des actifs contre 70.4% des passifs (ns). La confirmation bactériologique de la tuberculose chez des patients asymptomatiques s'élevait à 42.2% [Cl : 27.2-57.2] chez les actifs contre 13% [Cl : 5.31-20.7] chez les passifs. Le plus grand danger de dissémination est couru par les patients avec un examen direct positif dont la proportion des asymptomatiques était de 22.2% ([Cl : 9.6-34.8] dans le groupe des actifs contre 11.7% [CI : 4.4-19.0] dans le groupe des passifs. Le résultat du traitement, comprenant les patients guéris (avec confirmation bactériologique de guérison) ainsi que les patients ayant accompli le traitement jusqu'à la fin (mais sans confirmation bactériologique) est similaire dans les groupes des actifs et passifs. Le résultat différent selon le statut légal avec 88% pour les travailleurs étrangers, 85% pour les Suisses, 78% pour les autres étrangers et 83% pour les réfugiés. Ces chiffres sont proches des cibles de l'OMS (85%). Le dépistage actif de la tuberculose permet la détection plus précoce des cas de tuberculose que le dépistage passif. Etant donné que les immigrants proviennent de régions où la prévalence de la tuberculose est supérieure à celle de la Suisse, ce dépistage à la frontière permet non seulement de diminuer la dissémination de cette maladie par la prise en charge immédiate des malades et de réduire la durée des symptômes mais encore de détecter des patients ne présentant aucun symptôme malgré une activité bactériologique positive. Les résultats du traitement ne satisfont pas entièrement aux exigences de l'OMS, ce qui peut être expliqué par le fait que la population de patients tuberculeux suisses étant plus âgés que celles des étrangers, le nombre de décès est plus nombreux (soit par la tuberculose, soit par les complications de maladies sous-jacentes) et que le suivi de patients étrangers est plus difficile car certains disparaissent durant le traitement et d'autres sont transférés ailleurs en Suisse ou retournent dans leur pays. Summary Aim: This retrospective study compared the bacteriological and clinical presentation of tuberculosis and the outcome of treatment in immigrant notified for TB after active screening by chest X-ray at the border with other patients detected by passive screening. Design: Retrospective study of all patients notified for TB in Vaud Canton in 2001 and 2002. Result: In Vaud Canton 78% of the 179 patients notified for TB were foreign-born. Among 71 asylum seekers actively screened at the border, 49.3% [CI 37.4 - 61.2] were symptom-free vs 17.6% [CI 10.3 - 24.9] among 108 passively screened patients. In the passively screened group, the proportion of asymptomatic patients was 15.4% for Swiss patients. 8.6% for foreign workers, and 29.4% for other foreigners. The average duration of symptoms before diagnosis among patients with complaints was 2 months in actively screened foreign-born, compared to 2.5 months in passively screened patients (no significant difference by Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney test). The proportion of pulmonary TB cases with positive smear or culture was 63.4% in actively screened patients vs 70.4% in passively detected cases. Among actively screened patients with bacteriological confirmation, 42.2% [CI 27.2-57,2] were asymptomatic compared to 13% [CI 5.31-20.7] for passively screened patients. Considering only smear positive patients, the proportion of symptom-free patients was 22.2% [CI 9.6-34.8] in 45 actively screened cases vs 11-7% [4.4 - 19.0] for 77 passive screening. Cure and treatment completion rate for new cases reached 88% for foreign workers, 83% for asylum seekers, 85% for Swiss patients, 78% for other foreigners. Conclusions: Actively screened patients were more frequently asymptomatic than passively detected cases, even when considering only patients with bacteriological confirmation. The active screening by chest X-ray of an immigrant population with a high prevalence of tuberculosis allows the early detection and treatment of tuberculosis. This may contribute to the protection of the resident population for infection. The outcome of treatment for tuberculosis was satisfactory in all population groups.

Non-nest mate discrimination and clonal colony structure in the parthenogenetic ant Cerapachys biroi

Understanding the interplay between cooperation and conflict in social groups is a major goal of biology. One important factor is genetic relatedness, and animal societies are usually composed of related but genetically different individuals, setting the stage for conflicts over reproductive allocation. Recently, however, it has been found that several ant species reproduce predominantly asexually. Although this can potentially give rise to clonal societies, in the few well-studied cases, colonies are often chimeric assemblies of different genotypes, due to worker drifting or colony fusion. In the ant Cerapachys biroi, queens are absent and all individuals reproduce via thelytokous parthenogenesis, making this species an ideal study system of asexual reproduction and its consequences for social dynamics. Here, we show that colonies in our study population on Okinawa, Japan, recognize and effectively discriminate against foreign workers, especially those from unrelated asexual lineages. In accord with this finding, colonies never contained more than a single asexual lineage and average pairwise genetic relatedness within colonies was extremely high (r = 0.99). This implies that the scope for social conflict in C. biroi is limited, with unusually high potential for cooperation and altruism.

Recognition in ants: social origin matters.

The ability of group members to discriminate against foreigners is a keystone in the evolution of sociality. In social insects, colony social structure (number of queens) is generally thought to influence abilities of resident workers to discriminate between nestmates and non-nestmates. However, whether social origin of introduced individuals has an effect on their acceptance in conspecific colonies remains poorly explored. Using egg-acceptance bioassays, we tested the influence of social origin of queen-laid eggs on their acceptance by foreign workers in the ant Formica selysi. We showed that workers from both single- and multiple-queen colonies discriminated against foreign eggs from single-queen colonies, whereas they surprisingly accepted foreign eggs from multiple-queen colonies. Chemical analyses then demonstrated that social origins of eggs and workers could be discriminated on the basis of their chemical profiles, a signal generally involved in nestmate discrimination. These findings provide the first evidence in social insects that social origins of eggs interfere with nestmate discrimination and are encoded by chemical signatures.

Nestmate recognition in the unicolonial ant Formica paralugubris

In unicolonial populations of ants, individuals can mix freely within large networks of nests that contain many queens. It has been proposed that the absence of aggression in unicolonial populations stems from a loss of nest mate recognition, but few studies have tested this hypothesis. We investigated patterns of aggression and nest mate recognition in the unicolonial wood ant, Formica paralugubris. Little aggression occurred, even between workers from nests separated by up to 5 km. However, when aggression took place, it was directed toward non-nest mates rather than nest mates. Trophallaxis (exchange of liquid food) occurred very frequently, and surprisingly, workers performed significantly more trophallaxis with non-nest mates than with nest mates (bias 2.4:1). Hence, workers are able to discriminate nest mates from non-nest mates. Higher rates of trophallaxis between non-nest mates may serve to homogenize the colony odor or may be an appeasement mechanism. Trophallaxis rate and aggression level were not correlated with geographical distance and did not differ within and between two populations separated by several kilometers. Hence, these populations do not represent differentiated supercolonies with clear-cut behavioral boundaries. Overall, the data demonstrate that unicoloniality can evolve despite well-developed nest mate recognition. Reduced levels of aggression might have been favored by the low rate of interactions with foreign workers, high cost of erroneously rejecting nest mates, and low cost of accepting foreign workers.

Reconsidering the "policy gap":policy implementation and outcomes in Spain

By analysing entry policies and regularisation procedures in Spain from the 1990s to 2007, this article examines how the mismatch between very restrictive immigration policies and increasing foreign labour demands translated into a model of illegal migration, which in turn gave rise to the need to carry out periodical regularisation drives. This double 'policy gap' between legality and reality, and between entry policies and regularisation procedures, is explained as a policy in itself and as a way to solve in practice the apparently unsolvable dilemma between the demands for closure and the insatiable demands for foreign workers.