The Role of the Temporal Dimension in Struggles over Migration and Labour. A Qualitative Analysis of Work-Related Conflicts in Sectors Shaped by Migration

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Anne Lisa Carstensen
• Subject Area: Empirical Social Research
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 495693716

This research project examines the question of how migration processes and labour relations mutually condition each other from a temporal and conflict-related theoretical perspective. The qualitative empirical research addresses conflict constellations around precarious employment relations in sectors characterized by labour migration. Current debates in migration research point out that migration cannot be described as a linear and completed process and increasingly emphasize the role of time and temporariness of migration. Following this, the project brings the temporal dimension for (potentially) conflictual negotiations about work into perspective. This is not limited to migration, but also labor policies, industry-specific operational structures and management techniques have a temporal component. A central hypothesis is therefore that migration-specific time horizons of employees, but also temporal limitations of work and residence permits as well as the endurance of employment relationships, have an impact on how conflicts at work are perceived and acted upon by those involved. At the interface of labour studies and migration research, the research project addresses the impact of the temporal dimension of migration and labour on the potentially conflictual negotiations about working conditions in selected sectors. More specifically, the project explores the significance of temporal horizons of employees in the elderly care, construction and cleaning sector from multiple perspectives within the framework of a qualitative research design. Using expert interviews, document analyses and focused ethnographic observations, an overview of central developments and dynamics in the respective sectors will be provided. Based on this, the heart of the study is made up of guided individual interviews as well as group interviews with employees in these industries. Thus, the project contributes to the state of research on precarious work, flexibilization and labour policies with regard to the selected sectors as well as to the debate on the role of labour policies in migration regimes. In contrast to existing research, however, the focus is not on (national) migration and labor policies or long-term processes of labor market integration, but on the concrete design of working conditions and conflicts over them. By asking how time horizons of employees with and without migration experience influence negotiations about labour processes, the project also contributes to the theoretical debate about the relevance of the temporal dimension in conflicts.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants