Social and Labor Integration of Refugees and Immigrants in Germany and Spain: A Qualitative and Cross-Cultural Study

In 2015, about a million refugees came to Europe. To broaden existing knowledge on integration a comparative study is necessary to understand refugees and immigrants (R&I) social and labor integration in host societies. Objectives are on one hand to examine and services and challenges for R&Is social and labor integration in Germany and Spain, two countries with a different integration policy. On the other hand, the study aims at developing and applying a model of organizational acculturation (OA model), that combines acculturation and socialization research. We examined services that assist R&Is during social and labor integration in Spain conducting 8 interviews with private and public service providers. To analyze R&Is needs when looking for work, we conducted 8 interviews in both countries about their social integration based on the MIDA model and about labor integration based on the Kurzfragebogen zur Arbeitsanalyse. We also carried out 53 interviews using the OA model with migrants working in German companies and with colleagues and supervisors.

The qualitative analysis showed diverse challenges for service providers and R&Is: bureaucratic obstacles, missing cultural competence and cultural distance. Services in Spain, have to be better coordinated. Organizational resources that facilitate the integration of migrant workers are an open culture, organizational strategies like concrete integration programs and social support. At individual level proactivity, language skills and positive attitudes were highlighted. Results suggest at society level the need for special requirement-oriented vocational trainings, at organizational level employers` sensibilization for tailored integration and social support.