Work

The Alienation–Insulation Dynamic and the Low-Wage Migrant Work Ethic

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Low-wage labour migrants moving from lower- to higher-income countries have been celebrated for their strong work ethic over recent decades. The paper draws on qualitative insights from European horticulture to explore why low-wage migrants work as hard as they do. We centre our analysis on an ‘alienation–insulation’ dynamic. Specifically, we show how migrants are particularly alienated in ways that are different to that of the immobile working class. However, we also argue that migrants’ spatial (their dual frame of reference) and temporal (their liminal) agency insulates them from this alienation to some degree. It is important, in this respect, to differentiate between alienation as ostensibly encountered (an objective phenomenon) and the actual felt experiences of alienation (as a subjective phenomenon). We conclude that the alienation–insulation dynamic is a key, but underexplored, element in understanding the complex relationship between labour mobility and labour power.

Source: Critical Sociology

DOI: 10.1177/08969205241276864

Authors: Sam Scott, Johan Fredrik Rye

Institutions: University of Gloucestershire, University of Oslo, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

Language: English

Topic: Migration and Labor Dynamics

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Decent work and economic growth, Reduced inequalities

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,450