Is Your Accent Right for the Job? A Meta-Analysis on Accent Bias in Hiring Decisions

Standard-accented job candidates are perceived as more hireable than non-standard-accented candidates. Two broad perspectives have emerged as to what drives this effect: (a) that it is a pragmatic response to the perception that non-standard accents can impede job-relevant communication (processing fluency explanation) and/or (b) that non-standard accents signal "otherness" and candidates are devalued as a result (prejudice explanation). This meta-analytic integration of 139 effect sizes (N = 4,576) examined these two perspectives. Standard-accented candidates were considered more hireable than non-standard-accented candidates (d = 0.47)-a bias that was stronger for high communication jobs. Other findings, however, are difficult to explain from a processing fluency explanation: candidates' relative comprehensibility was not a significant moderator of hiring bias. Moreover, the degree of accent bias was associated with perceptions of the candidates' social status, and accent bias was particularly pronounced among female candidates and for candidates who spoke in foreign (as compared with regional) accents.

Taking Action towards an Inclusive Career Counselling for Asylum Seekers and Refugees-A Literature Review Based on the PRISMA Model

Over the past decade, scholarly attention has increasingly focused on what is known as the 'refugee gap', which refers to the great difficulty asylum seekers and refugees face in entering the labour market in the host country. This poses a grave threat of social and occupational marginalisation for this group and highlights the role of systemic factors in facilitating resilience outcomes. By adopting a systemic perspective, this research aims to provide a critical reflection on the key features that should be considered when designing and implementing effective career counselling interventions for asylum seekers and refugees. To this end, a systematic review of the international applied research published by October 2022 has been carried out, using the PRISMA model. The 20 selected publications are grouped according to three main career research strands that reflect the core aspects to be addressed within career interventions in order to assist asylum seekers and refugees in their life and career transition in the host country, namely (i) psychosocial resources, (ii) identity transformation processes, and (iii) lived experiences and meaning-making processes. The main findings of the studies are discussed by looking into common themes that emerge from the literature, namely challenges related to migration contexts, self-regulating personal resources and skills, and sense of self and identity in career transitions, as well as considerations on the design aspects of career counselling and research targeting As&R. Finally, some guidelines and directions for action are provided for the purpose of developing inclusive career counselling interventions for As&R.

Midlife Transition Experiences of South Asian Immigrant Women in Canada: A Qualitative Exploration

BACKGROUND

South Asians make up a significant portion of the immigrant population in Canada, and a large portion of them are in their midlife. To improve the midlife transition of South Asian immigrant women, it is necessary to understand their lived experiences.

PURPOSE

Guided by the transition theory, this study investigates the midlife experiences of South Asian immigrant women in Canada.

METHODS

Twenty-two South Asian midlife, immigrant women were recruited to participate in this study from the Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada. This study consisted of one asynchronous online focus group with 12 participants and ten one-on-one telephone interviews. Qualitative content analysis was guided by transition theory.

RESULTS

South Asian immigrant women experienced many different transitions in their midlife in Canada. These transitions included changes in their (a) lifestyle, (b) career, (c) family, (d) physical health, (e) mental health, (f) social, (g) environment, and (h) personal development. Women actively managed their transitions using strategies such as exercise, socialization, counseling, and religion. Women expressed the need for social, community, and governmental support to facilitate their midlife transitions.

CONCLUSION

To promote healthy midlife transition, governments need to create better employment policies to facilitate immigrant women settlement, transferring skills, and re-employment in Canada. In addition, health care and community services to promote physical and mental health should be emphasized.

Ethnicity, Coronavirus Disease-Related Stress, and E-cigarette Use and Cigarette Smoking Among Young Adults: A Longitudinal Study

INTRODUCTION

Research has rarely examined ethnic differences in exposure to coronavirus disease (COVID)-related stress in relation to smoking and e-cigarette use.

AIMS AND METHODS

Using pre- and post-COVID data from a sample of predominantly Asian American (AA) and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) young adults, this study aimed to test the effects of ethnicity on cigarette smoking and e-cigarette use through exposure to COVID-related stress. Young adults from Hawaii who provided pre-COVID data in or before January 2020 were followed up with in March-May 2021. N = 1907 (mean age = 24.9 [SD = 2.9], 56% women) provided complete data relevant to the current analysis at both waves of data collection. Structural equation modeling was used to test the effects of ethnicity (white, Asian [eg, Japanese, Chinese], Filipino, NHPI, and other) on pre- to post-COVID changes in cigarette and e-cigarette use via effects on COVID-related stress.

RESULTS

Relative to Asian young adults, members of all other ethnic groups (NHPI, Filipino, white, and other) indicated greater exposure to COVID-related stress. Higher levels of COVID-related stress were associated with increased dual-use status and increased current e-cigarette and cigarette use frequencies. Higher COVID-related stress mediated the effects of NHPI, Filipino, and other ethnicity on increased dual-use status.

CONCLUSIONS

The current data indicate that young adults of vulnerable ethnic groups who experience higher COVID-related stress are at increased risk for dual use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes.

IMPLICATIONS

The findings imply that tobacco use prevention and treatment efforts may need to pay increased attention to racial or ethnic groups that have experienced greater adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Transnational sensemaking narratives of highly skilled Canadian immigrants' career change

Purpose

The authors answer calls for research on the experiences of international professionals' career transitions by investigating how highly skilled immigrants make sense of their career changes in the host country's labor market.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors report on a qualitative, inductive and elaborative study, drawing on sensemaking theories and career transitions literature and nine semi-structured reflective interviews with highly skilled Canadian immigrants.

Findings

The authors identified four career change narratives: mourning the past, accepting the present, recreating the past and starting fresh. These narratives are made sense of in a transnational context: participants contended with tensions between past, present and future careers and between relevant home and host country factors affecting their career decisions. Participants who were mourning the past or recreating the past identified more strongly with their home country professions and struggled to find resources in Canada. In accepting the present and starting fresh, participants leveraged host country networks to find career opportunities and establish themselves and their families in the new environment.

Originality/value

A transnational ontology emphasizes that immigrants' lives are multifaceted and span multiple national contexts. The authors highlight how the tensions between the home and host country career contexts shape immigrants' sensemaking narratives of their international career change. The authors encourage scholars and practitioners to take a transnational contextual approach (spatial and temporal) to guide immigrants' career transitions and integration into the new social environment.

Increasing Refugees’ Work and Job Search Self-Efficacy Perceptions by Developing Career Adaptability

Today’s unstable labor market increasingly requires flexibility and adaptability to cope with the threat of unemployment. Though this threat can cause distress in many people, its negative impact is even more significant on vulnerable workers such as refugees. This study aimed to explore if a career counseling intervention designed for refugees (CCfR) preceded increases in career adaptability and, therefore, perceptions of both work self-efficacy (WSe) and job search self-efficacy (JSSe). The study was conducted in Italy and involved a sample of 233 refugees, who were asked to respond to a questionnaire available in three languages (Italian, French, and English). Data analysis showed that improvement was demonstrated in all the variables considered, namely, career adaptability (composed by concern, control, confidence, and curiosity), WSe, and JSSe. In addition, the increase in career adaptability explained the increase in refugees’ WSe and JSSe; at the opposite, only the initial level of curiosity was found to explain the increase in WSe, while JSSe was completely independent from the initial level of the career adaptability.

The labour market integration of migrants and refugees: career guidance and the newly arrived

This scoping paper sets out to consider various aspects of the phenomenon of people on the move, and to examine some of the ways in which career guidance has responded to the challenge of integrating the newly arrived. The paper is informed by a recognition of the dignity of individuals above any classificatory system that places persons in a hierarchy, with some having access to rights that others are denied. This stance requires career practitioners to confront the prevalent vocabulary, discourses and attitudes circulating in the mainstream in order to become aware of-and to overcome-personal prejudice, thus opening up possibilities for more socially just forms of service. A synthesis of relevant literature concerning the integration of migrants and refugees in the labour market is provided in order to signpost emancipatory forms of career guidance, ones that move beyond an emphasis on individual resilience to take seriously the impact of exclusionary social practices and structures. The paper concludes by highlighting a number of initiatives that suggest that career guidance is rising to the challenge of catering for a diverse group of newly arrived by mobilising theoretical frameworks that are fit for purpose, by developing bespoke training programmes for practitioners, and by sharing the lessons learnt from the field.

Refugees’ Meaning of Work: A Qualitative Investigation of Work Purposes and Expectations

This study explores the meaning of work for 22 young refugees aged from 18 to 35 from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iran, Somalia, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, and Yemen through semistructured interviews. Using consensual qualitative research, we sought to understand the purposes work fulfills, their work expectations, and how purposes and expectations might have changed over time. Results showed that work fulfills many purposes found in the literature, (e.g., development, structure, health, identity, and material benefits) as well as purposes in relation with others and the larger society. Participants expect their work to correspond to their selves (e.g., interests and personality), offer decent working conditions, and allow meaningful relationships and opportunities to help others. Illustrations of two participants’ paths provided insights into a possible change of meaning of work. In addition to implications for practice, the influence of relational and contextual factors is discussed.

Moving Toward Decent Work: Application of the Psychology of Working Theory to the School-to-Work Transition

This conceptual contribution aims to adapt and apply Psychology of Working Theory to the specificities of the school-to-work transition (STWT) process. The STWT is thus conceptualized as a first attempt to access decent work under the influence of specific predictors, mediators, and moderators and leading to particular outcomes. Based on recent literature, we consider that (1) socioeconomic constraints and belonging to marginalized groups are contextual predictors of a successful transition; (2) psychosocial resources, including self-efficacy and adaptability, and vocational and work role identity, are mediators of the relation between contextual factors and a successful transition; (3) moderator factors include the education system, labor market conditions, social support, and critical consciousness; and (4) decent and meaningful work are the optimal outcomes of the STWT process.

REFUGEE MENTAL HEALTH AND HEALING: UNDERSTANDING THE IMPACT OF POLICIES OF RAPID ECONOMIC SELF-SUFFICIENCY AND THE IMPORTANCE OF MEANINGFUL WORK

Although refugees who are accepted for resettlement in a third country are guaranteed certain rights and experience safety from war and persecution, they face many mental health challenges. Using qualitative methods and constructivist grounded theory, we explored culturally-specific perspectives on trauma and recovery among Burundian, Congolese and Iraqi refugees resettled in the United States. Eighteen semi-structured interviews provided extensive data on the meaning of productivity and work, the ways in which they index normalcy and self-sufficiency, and how they create security that facilitates the healing process. Our inductive analyses revealed that participants emphasized the relationship between productivity and healing when they described recovery from trauma. Participants also discussed individual and structural facilitators and barriers to work. Finally, prominent themes emerged around gendered roles and expectations and the ways these function in refugee resettlement contexts that are shaped by policies that demand rapid economic self-sufficiency. Taken together, these findings suggest that policies that promote underemployment and foreclose opportunities for education and professional development may contribute negatively to refugee mental health, as well as keep refugees in poverty.

The career development processes of women refugees in South Africa: An exploratory study

Orientation: There is an observed global movement of labour (freely and forcibly). South Africa emerges as a popular receiving ground for refugees. Within the career psychology literature, scant attention is given to understanding the career development concerns, post-settlement, of women refugees in the host country.Research purpose: The study explored the career development processes of women refugees, post-settlement, in South Africa as a host country.Motivation for the study: Calls have been made within local and international literature for studies that give attention to understanding the career development processes of minority groups.Research approach/design and method: Using a narrative inquiry approach, this study explored the career development processes of women refugees using a sample of 20 women refugees in South Africa. Relying on a snowball sampling procedure to recruit the participants, in-depth interviews were utilised as a data collection technique.Main findings: Drawing on participants’ narratives, the findings illustrate how women refugees have been more concerned with fulfilling a short-term desire for survival and acquiring basic commodities at the expense of a longer focus of advancement and career progression. This is mainly compounded by the structural constraints that limit both their career development and their lived experiences. Issues exclusive to the women refugees are also revealed. Overall, the results illustrate how all the aforementioned factors intersect as barriers that hinder women refugees in developing their careers.Practical/managerial implications: The study provides information and strategies that policymakers in South Africa and other developing nations that are hosting refugees can use to facilitate the career development processes of women refugees.Contribution/value-add: This study contributes to the growing body of knowledge focussing on career development of women refuges, a populace that previously received limited focus both locally and internationally.

Refugees’ narratives of career barriers and professional identity

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine how refugees from a professional career domain restore a coherent narrative when confronting barriers to recognition of their former career status. It focuses in particular on the identity work in which they engage in order to reconcile tensions between their current status as refugees and their professional identity.

Design/methodology/approach

In total, 15 refugees to the UK who were professionally qualified in medicine or teaching in their country of origin took part in interviews or focus groups exploring career barriers, plans and future aspirations. Initial inductive thematic analysis identified recognition of professional identities as a primary concern. Further analytic iterations between theory and empirical material sharpened the focus on identifying the tensions in their professional identity work.

Findings

Participants struggled both to restore their former professional identity and to develop alternative identities. Professional identity work limited, but also sustained them in the face of barriers they encountered as refugees.

Practical implications

More support for refugee career development would facilitate adaptation to local job markets, thereby addressing gaps in education and health services in the UK.

Originality/value

The paper highlights the tensions in refugee professional identity work and particularly the challenges and rewards of professional identification in the face of employment barriers.

Refugees’ inclusion at work: a qualitative cross-level analysis

Purpose

Refugees’ inclusion at work is critical for the individual, for employers and for the receiving societies. Yet, refugees are often disadvantaged in working life or are being excluded from the labor market altogether. The purpose of this paper is to examine barriers and facilitators to refugees’ inclusion at work at the individual, organizational and country level, and pay particular attention to how the three levels relate to each other in shaping inclusion and exclusion of refugees at work.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted 18 interviews with employed refugees, employers and experts from governmental and non-governmental institutions in the Netherlands.

Findings

Based on the theoretical structure, 13 themes emerged from the interview material – 5 themes at the individual level, 4 at the organizational level and 4 at the country level. The authors also found indicators for an interplay of barriers and facilitators across levels.

Research limitations/implications

This is a small study conducted in the Netherlands, providing several starting points for future research.

Practical implications

The authors provide recommendations for refugees, employers and policy makers aimed at addressing barriers and leveraging facilitators of refugees’ inclusion at work.

Originality/value

The organizational level, which diversity research has shown to affect minority group members’ inclusion at work, is rarely taken into account in refugee research. Based on the cross-level analysis, the authors identify patterns of interplay between the three levels and provide a relational framework of refugees’ inclusion at work.

Psychology of Working Theory With Refugee Persons: Applications for Career Counseling

The world is facing the largest number of displaced persons in history, with many refugee persons seeking safety in the United States. Among many challenges, refugee persons may face difficulty when navigating the world of work in the United States. We conceptualize career-related barriers for refugee persons residing in the United States, including economic constraints, acculturation challenges, and health disparities. Given these challenges, we describe the relevance of psychology of working theory as a potential theoretical model from which to conceptualize career concerns in refugee persons. Finally, based on previous research, we provide implications for counselors working with refugee persons with vocational concerns, as well as suggested areas for future research.

Facets of Career Development in a New Immigrant Destination: Exploring the Associations Among School Climate, Belief in Self, School Engagement, and Academic Achievement

With contemporary career challenges facing Latino/a youth, particularly those from immigrant communities, counselors and career development professionals may find it challenging to provide effective career services for this unique population. Students from one middle school and one high school located in a new immigrant destination were surveyed to test the hypothesis that belief in self and school engagement (i.e., behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagement) played a serial mediating role in the association between school safety and academic achievement (i.e., grade point average). Moderation of the mediation model by ethnicity was also examined. Results from the sample ( N = 877) indicated that school safety was associated with higher levels of belief in self, which in turn was associated with higher levels of school engagement. Only behavioral engagement, however, was associated with greater academic achievement. Associations did not differ by ethnicity. Career implications on the importance of behavioral engagement among teachers, counselors, career development professionals, and administrators to support the academic achievement of marginalized youth are provided.

The Role of Intrinsic Motivation in the Pursuit of Health Science-Related Careers among Youth from Underrepresented Low Socioeconomic Populations

A more diverse health science-related workforce including more underrepresented race/ethnic minorities, especially from low socioeconomic backgrounds, is needed to address health disparities in the USA. To increase such diversity, programs must facilitate youth interest in pursuing a health science-related career (HSRC). Minority youth from low socioeconomic families may focus on the secondary gains of careers, such as high income and status, given their low socioeconomic backgrounds. On the other hand, self-determination theory suggests that it is the intrinsic characteristics of careers which are most likely to sustain pursuit of an HSRC and lead to job satisfaction. Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for pursuing an HSRC (defined in this study as health professional, health scientist, and medical doctor) was examined in a cohort of youth from the 10th to 12th grade from 2011 to 2013. The sample was from low-income area high schools, had a B- or above grade point average at baseline, and was predominantly: African American (65.7 %) or Hispanic (22.9 %), female (70.1 %), and children of foreign-born parents (64.7 %). In longitudinal general estimating equations, intrinsic motivation (but not extrinsic motivation) consistently predicted intention to pursue an HSRC. This finding provides guidance as to which youth and which qualities of HSRCs might deserve particular attention in efforts to increase diversity in the health science-related workforce.

Youth with refugee backgrounds in Australia: Contextual and practical considerations for career counsellors

Youth with refugee backgrounds face challenges in their journey towards successful integration in Australia. Some challenges relate to macro-level changes occurring in the world of work and some to their transition from an agrarian or industrial society to a post-industrial Western country. Addressing the future career development of youth with refugee backgrounds may lead to improved integration outcomes. As career counselling has its roots in social justice, assisting those from refugee backgrounds to integrate into Australian society is an important task for career counsellors. However, career counsellors need to respond with caution and sensitivity as many models and theories have been criticised for not responding to multicultural and contextual issues concerning diverse populations. This article outlines some of the challenges faced by youth with refugee backgrounds in Australia, considers possible relevant approaches for career counselling and proposes suggestions for career counsellors.

Teaching Social Justice in Counseling Psychology

Recent years have witnessed increased calls from counseling psychology to include social justice competencies in the training of future practitioners. Integration of social justice awareness, advocacy skills, and opportunities for social change action are needed extensions of the field’s commitment to multicultural competency. Classroom teaching is a key component of transforming counseling psychology curricula and of developing students’ awareness of the value of social justice perspectives, yet pedagogical applications are rarely present in the literature. This article provides a case example of the integration of social justice and multicultural consciousness across the curriculum of one counseling psychology program. It highlights examples of innovative pedagogical techniques within a variety of core courses. We present specific examples of readings and nontraditional teaching approaches to promote social justice consciousness, including experiential exercises, self-reflection opportunities, use of video and online discussions, and assignments.

A life domains perspective on acculturation and psychological adjustment: a study of refugees from the former Soviet Union

The study articulates a contextual approach to research on acculturation of immigrants, suggesting that the relationship between acculturation and adjustment is dependent on the cultural demands of the life domains considered. Specifically, the study investigated the mediating effects of adjustment in occupational and social life domains on the relationship between acculturation and psychological adjustment for 391 refugees from the former Soviet Union. The study used bilinear measures of acculturation to the host (American) and heritage (Russian) cultures. Using Structural Equation Modeling, the study confirmed the hypothesized relationships, such that the positive effects of American acculturation on psychological adjustment were mediated by occupational adjustment, and the effects of Russian acculturation on psychological adjustment were mediated by satisfaction with co-ethnic social support. Psychological adjustment was measured in two ways, as psychological well-being, using a measure of life satisfaction, and as symptoms of depression and anxiety, using the Hopkins symptom checklist (HSCL). Life satisfaction served as a mediator between adjustment in occupational and social domains and HSCL, suggesting that it may be an intervening variable through which environmental stress associated with immigration contributes to the development of symptoms of mental disorder.

The neglected role of cultural intelligence in recent immigrant newcomers’ socialization

The purpose of this article is to investigate the role of cultural intelligence (CQ) in contributing to the socialization of recent immigrant newcomers (RINs). Drawing on relevant literatures, a conceptual model is developed, highlighting the role of RINs’ CQ in helping them choose the appropriate adjustment strategies that in turn allow them to better perform their job and to socially integrate into their workplace. The article also examines the impact of the social context of the organization, namely the level of diversity, specifically focusing on how RINs may choose different adjustment strategies depending on the type of organizational context and according to the variance in their CQ. Thus, the article makes three important contributions. First, the article integrates CQ literature with immigrant and socialization literatures by exploring the process through which RINs’ CQ can enhance their role performance and social integration during socialization. Second, at the individual level, RINs may find the analysis useful in comprehending the role of CQ for understanding cultural nuances and developing relationships with their new work colleagues, and this may motivate them to further develop their CQ. Third, organizations may consider providing RINs—as well as other employees—with cross-cultural training incorporating CQ modules to enhance and improve their CQ and thereby optimize RINs’ organizational socialization.

Cape Verdean Immigrants’ Career Development and School Engagement

This study examined the contribution of perceptions of discrimination, career planning, and vocational identity to the school engagement experiences of first- and second-generation immigrants among a sample of 125 Cape Verdean high school students. Perceived ethnic discrimination was found to moderate the association between both vocational factors and school engagement. Students who perceived high levels of discrimination and endorsed a strong vocational identity also endorsed high levels of school engagement. When endorsing high levels of career planning, individuals reporting different levels of perceived discrimination did not differ in school engagement. However, large differences in school engagement were noted at low levels of career planning, with individuals reporting low levels of perceived discrimination endorsing higher engagement in school than those who perceived higher levels of discrimination. The findings highlight the importance of considering perceptions of ethnic discrimination as one explores the academic and vocational functioning of immigrant students of color.

Language Brokering Among Mexican-Immigrant Families in the Midwest

Language brokering (LB) is the act of translating and interpreting within immigrant families by children and adolescents for their parents, other family members, and other adults. Although LB is a common phenomenon among immigrant families in the United States, research regarding its impact on immigrant families mainly focuses on the experiences of language brokers only and not on their parents or immediate families. Thus, the purpose of this in-depth multiple qualitative case study was to understand how the demands of LB affected relationships within Mexican immigrant families living in the Midwestern United States. Six two-parent Mexican immigrant families with an identified child language broker participated in this study. Parents and child brokers were interviewed separately and participated in an LB simulation. The data were analyzed case by case through thematic analysis followed by cross-case analysis. Four themes emerged as pertinent across all cases and included family relationships, feelings about brokering, language brokering situations, and challenges of language brokering.

Vocational Psychology and Assessment With Immigrants in the United States: Future Directions for Training, Research, and Practice

Immigrants are vital members of U.S. society and are essential contributors to the U.S. labor force. Today, immigrants comprise a significant portion of the U.S. population, however, career assessment research has largely ignored their work experiences, and career counselors are not trained on the intricacies on the delivery of career counseling and assessment services with this population. In this article, the authors provide an overview of current immigration patterns in the United States. In addition, the authors evaluate the current state of vocational psychology research with U.S. immigrants and provide suggestions for future vocational research and practice with immigrants and professional training for career counselors in this area.

Latina/o Food Industry Employees’ Work Experiences

The present study explored the work experiences, job satisfaction, and work behaviors of Latina/o restaurant workers. A total of 10 semistructured focus group ( N = 75) interviews were conducted in the Midwest and Southwest. Data were analyzed using a combination of Consensual Qualitative Research (CQR; Hill et al., 2005; Hill, Thompson, & Williams, 1997) and phenomenology approaches. Five themes emerged across the data: work-related barriers (i.e., time, language, negative perceptions of training, and managers and coworkers), work facilitators (i.e., formal training and informal training), motivation for performing tasks (i.e., recognition, concern for others, concern for job security, personal values, and tangible rewards), cultural context (i.e., perceptions of Latina/o workers), and training preferences (i.e., practice, audiovisual, comfort/discomfort with computers, and language preferences). Some of these themes have traditionally been considered industrial/organizational concerns, but they are becoming increasingly relevant for career counseling practice. Findings suggest that Latina/o workers face considerable barriers in implementing requisite work behaviors, which may impact the maintenance of employment. Recommendations for career counseling practice and research with Latina/o workers are provided.