Psychological Strengths, Cultural Adjustment, Perceived Employability and Job Search Behaviors of Refugees in Germany: The Moderating Effect of Intention to stay in the Host Community

Germany has been one of the major destination for refugees in recent years. More than any other immigrant, refugees have greater need for integration in the host communities. The process of seeking asylum is an uncertain time for them given that there is not guarantee that they will be accepted. Moreover, refugees have the daunting task meeting the survival needs. We cannot be certain that support from government and other institutions is enough for the refugees to live a happy life. Hence employment is increasingly becoming an important phenomenon of integrating refugees in host communities. Getting employment as a refugee could yet be another stressing process, with a number of issues at play. The cultural and linguistic difficulties, are employers willing to employee the refugees (or people from a different culture), the educational status and the so-called equivalence of academic qualifications, what type of jobs are available for refugees, are individuals willing to accept any job that is available visa vie their career interests and identities.

The paper discusses the role of psychological resources (psychological capital) and cultural adjustment in the job search behavior of refugees. Partial results of the survey (of 70 refugees who have so far participated in the survey) indicate that refugees with high psychological capital are more culturally adjusted and are more active in job search. It is also observed that the intention to live longer in the host community play moderates the effects of psychological capital and cultural adjustment on job search behaviors.