‘Workplace integration comes from both sides’

Dhourly employment of Syrian refugees in the Dutch labour market requires more time and attention, research shows. Not only from employers, but also from mediation partners.

Syrian refugees fit in well in Dutch organisations. That is already a positive outcome of the survey Syrian refugees at work. Questions and answers from practice. ‘Syrians usually have a reasonable level of education and the differences in work cultures are not so great among this group,’ says Sjiera de Vries, lecturer in Social Innovation at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. De Vries and her colleagues from Inholland University of Applied Sciences and De Haagse Hogeschool interviewed status holders, their employers and colleagues at ten workplaces, from a small construction company to a large government organisation, from a hair salon to a college.
‘But successful integration really needs more attention,’ De Vries continues. ‘People often assume that the first working period is quite difficult but that after that things will go naturally. While we see that many issues only become clear or require attention from employer and refugee after a while.’
For example, questions about administrative matters that Dutch employees take for granted, or misunderstandings about company culture and manners. Sometimes there is resistance among colleagues to the arrival of a Syrian, or the Syrian feels left to his own devices. Sometimes it unintentionally excludes itself. Like the employee who invariably isolated himself during lunch breaks to phone family back home. When it became clear that that was the best time to connect at all, colleagues came to understand his behaviour.

Creating a sense of home

Designed as an e-book, the research report gives employers tips on how to better support refugees. Choose a refugee consciously, arrange a contact person at work who can answer questions or help with letters and administration, and create support within the organisation by discussing sensitive issues. Have an understanding of cultural differences and make someone feel at home. This can be as simple as: ‘X used to sit in a corner and now he sits in the middle. Then they can't avoid him either. No more tucked away,’ says the construction company manager. The e-book also contains useful tips for refugees. That you don't have to show gratitude all the time, for example, or be able to deal with feedback.

Motivation

So far, hardly any research has been done on experiences with refugees in the workplace. Sometimes the decision to take on a refugee is purely business-related, because people are desperate for technicians, for instance. Corporate social responsibility or idealistic motives are other factors. One wants to do something for refugees and/or there is a pot of money available. Or a company is close to an asylum seekers' centre or the employer himself has a migration background, such as the owner of the hair salon.
Which motivation works best, De Vries cannot judge. ‘An employee has to deliver concrete results, so you have to invest time in coaching. If staff shortage is the only reason, you run the risk that no clear expectations are expressed and things go wrong. So guidance is needed even then.’
It can also just work out well. For instance, after a ‘just send someone’, a large installation company did a golden deal with an engineer who is now in a managerial position. ‘If I had followed all these instructions first, I might never have started,’ joked his employer during the presentation of the study.

Uncertainty and status trap

None of the status holders entered somewhere through a regular application procedure but through an informal route or their own network. This could still change as many are in the process of integrating.
Uncertainty about the future remains a major obstacle to sustainable labour market integration. Many Syrians do not know whether to stay here or (have to) return to Syria. ‘Problem is that the Dutch government only uses safety in a country as a criterion for return,’ a Syrian college lecturer told the presentation. ‘But what if you and your family are already building a future here?’
Another dilemma is status traps, when people are (not infrequently forced) to work below their level and career prospects are lacking. Good agreements beforehand and customised placement (think in terms of qualities and opportunities, not limitations) can remedy this.

Bespoke

‘We need to look much more at someone's capabilities and what is realistic and achievable,’ De Vries believes. ‘The focus is now on guidance to work, not on structure in counselling. Municipalities and organisations such as Refugee Council should pay extra attention to this. This takes time and expertise, which unfortunately is not always available at the municipal level.’
According to the latest monitor of the Integration and Society Knowledge Platform there is indeed still some way to go here; 20 per cent of the status holders do not yet receive counselling from the municipality.
Employers can also do more, according to De Vries. For instance, they can organise language class locations at business parks so that status holders can combine work and integration more easily.

Greater focus on women

In follow-up reports, the researchers plan to focus on female status holders, long-term effects and dealing with trauma in the workplace. In any case, the current study offers more insight into why so few Syrians (13 per cent) are still working. ‘Fleeing was not a choice, building a future here is a choice,’ says one of them in the e-book. Perhaps this research will offer status holders, employers and mediators clues to make more of that future.

The e-book Syrian refugees at work. Questions and answers from practitioners and a brochure with tips for employers are here download. The study “Syrian refugees at work” was made possible in part by funding from the Gak Institute.

The photos accompanying this article were taken for our series ‘Status holders at work’ and have been used as illustrations in the e-book. The individuals in the photos did not participate in the research. Photography: © Rob Godfried.