Displacement-plurality (D-P) in women refugees, its influence on work engagement and implications for diversity practice: a critical and reflective review

Purpose Much of the current research on women refugees and work focuses solely on settlement, neglecting the effects of displacement within this equation, despite its significant impact. Drawing from the wider literature of international development, migration, gender, work psychology and sociology, this paper provides a framework to guide informed research within this area. Design/methodology/approach This paper is a reflective and critical review of the intersection between gender, forced displacement and work. It addresses a blind spot in the current work literature, which fails to address the impact of displacement on refugee women and the consequences of displacement for vocational engagement during resettlement. Findings This paper contributes to the current literature in four ways. First, it adds forced displacement to the peripheral-intersections literature informing Acker's theory of “inequality regimes”. Secondly, it contributes to a deeper understanding of how pluralities and intersectionality develop during forced displacement, by introducing the theory of displacement-plurality (D-P). Thirdly, it contributes to human resource management (HRM) diversity practice by explaining the relationship between D-P and related constructs, such as work engagement (WE), economic empowerment (EE), work-related factors (WRFs) and psycho-social factors (PSFs) to help improve localised diversity practices in relation to refugee populations. Fourthly, it provides a detailed framework to guide research and practice in this area, supported by a critical evaluation of the current refugee work literature. Originality/value When we understand displacement-related factors, we can move towards a more emancipatory approach to intersectionality, allowing us to develop more sophisticated approaches to diversity in organisations. In turn, this helps us to understand people's lived experiences and their responses to organisational interventions more effectively

Supporting refugees into work: what can we do better?

In 2021, 84,000,000 people were displaced across the world because of conflict and natural disasters and of those 26,000,000 have been granted refugee status in various host countries (UNHCR, 2022). The current conflict in Ukraine is creating thousands more refugees. The launch of schemes in the UK such as Homes for Ukraine will help to provide accommodation; in the longer-term economic independence and early engagement with work is key to the welfare of refugee communities (UNHCR, 2018). The Home Office, in its Indicators of Integration, also stresses the need to consider employment as a key to integration. Evidence shows that the employment rate of refugees is also lower than native born citizens (Compass, 2019) and that refugees commonly earn less than average, and particularly women refugees (IMF, 2016). With such a tight labour market, many unfilled vacancies, and the many talents refugees bring, how can current employment support and employers better help refugees who can and want to work to reach their full potential? This briefing draws on two research studies (Gloster et al, 2020) and Wimalasiri in partnership with Plymouth City Council (2021) with refugee communities carried out in England, to suggest what we can do better

Safety climate and increased risk: the role of deadlines in design work

Although much research indicates positive safety climate is associated with reduced safety risk, we argue this association is not universal and may even be reversed in some contexts. Specifically, we argue that positive safety climate can be associated with increased safety risk when there is pressure to prioritize production over safety and where workers have some detachment from the consequences of their actions, such as found in engineering design work. We used two indicators of safety risk: use of heuristics at the individual level and design complexity at the design team level. Using experience sampling data (N = 165, 42 design teams, k = 5752 observations), we found design engineers’ perceptions of team positive safety climate were associated with less use of heuristics when engineers were not working to deadlines, but more use of heuristics when engineers were working to deadlines. Independent ratings were obtained of 31 teams’ designs of offshore oil and gas platforms (N = 121). For teams that worked infrequently to deadlines, positive team safety climate was associated with less design complexity. For teams that worked frequently to deadlines, positive team safety climate was associated with more design complexity

Safety climate and increased risk: The role of deadlines in design work

Although much research indicates positive safety climate is associated with reduced safety risk, we argue this association is not universal and may even be reversed in some contexts. Specifically, we argue that positive safety climate can be associated with increased safety risk when there is pressure to prioritize production over safety and where workers have some detachment from the consequences of their actions, such as found in engineering design work. We used two indicators of safety risk: use of heuristics at the individual level and design complexity at the design team level. Using experience sampling data (N = 165, 42 design teams, k = 5752 observations), we found design engineers’ perceptions of team positive safety climate were associated with less use of heuristics when engineers were not working to deadlines, but more use of heuristics when engineers were working to deadlines. Independent ratings were obtained of 31 teams’ designs of offshore oil and gas platforms (N = 121). For teams that worked infrequently to deadlines, positive team safety climate was associated with less design complexity. For teams that worked frequently to deadlines, positive team safety climate was associated with more design complexity

Plymouth's approach to enabling refugee women into employment and the government action required to prevent ongoing, sustained poverty and isolation within this population

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The fragile flavours of hope

Varuni Wimalasiri and Abhi Phatak reflect on the personal and culinary triumphs of women who survived the Sri Lankan civil war – now the subject of a fund-raising book of stories and recipe

Social construction of the aetiology of designer error in the UK oil and gas industry:a stakeholder perspective

The work of designers is a vital aspect of the design-construction process. Error during design of major hazardous installations can translate into risk to the safe operation of the installation. Yet designer error remains a generally neglected topic in risk research in the oil and gas industry. This paper examines the perceptions of the aetiology of designer error by exploring dialogues with various stakeholders of the design-construction process in the oil and gas industry. Twenty-three stakeholders, including designers, fabricators, clients and regulators, were interviewed using semi-structured interviews. The findings indicate that while designer competency levels, barriers to communication and attitudes to safety were among some of the main factors perceived to be causes of errors, participants also believed that these factors were somewhat reinforced by the time and budgetary restraints imposed on design projects, and driven mainly by wider pressures prevailing in the industry. Findings helped to illustrate that stakeholders in the industry perceive design error to be attributable to a combination of system-wide and latent errors, which were very different to those affecting end users in the oil and gas industry and should be addressed separately

Coping processes linking the demands-control-support model, affect and risky decisions at work

As a model of job design, the demands-control-support model (DCSM) indicates that dynamic processes involving individual agency underpin the effects of job characteristics. Specifically, the DCSM indicates that control and social support facilitate effective coping with work demands. To examine such processes in detail, 32 nuclear design engineers participated in an experience sampling study (number of observations = 456). Findings indicate that enacting problem-focused coping by control and support across situations may be beneficial for affect. Problem-focused coping enacted by control was also related to fewer decisions that bear risks to design safety. Although higher levels of risky decisions were related to consistent use of emotional-approach enacted by control coping across situations, this form of coping used in specific demanding episodes was related to less cognitive error and fewer risky decisions two hours later. Emotional-approach enacted through support in specific episodes had a mixed pattern of relationships with outcomes. Theoretically, the findings indicate the importance of understanding the purpose for which job characteristics are enacted. Practically, the findings indicate the importance of shaping both problem-solving and emotional processes alongside job redesign

Linking the demands-control-support model to innovation: The moderating role of personal initiative on the generation and implementation of ideas

The demands–control–support model indicates that workers can use job control and social support for problem solving. We examined whether personal initiative moderated relationships between, on the one hand, job control used for problem solving and social support used for problem solving and, on the other hand, ideas generation and implementation. We operationalized job control used for problem solving as ‘changing aspects of work activities to solve problems’. We operationalized social support used for problem solving as ‘discussing problems to solve problems’. Using an experience sampling methodology, participants provided data for up to four times a day for up to five working days (N= 89). The extent to which people ‘changed aspects of their work activities to solve problems’ was associated with higher levels of ideas generation for people with high personal initiative. The extent to which people ‘discussed problems to solve problems’ was associated with higher levels of ideas implementation for people with high personal initiative