The contribution of working conditions and care recipient characteristics to work-related abuse and exploitation of migrant home care workers

Pages1001-1014
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1108/ER-07-2016-0136
Published date06 November 2017
Date06 November 2017
AuthorOhad Green,Liat Ayalon
Subject MatterHR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law
The contribution of working
conditions and care recipient
characteristics to work-related
abuse and exploitation of
migrant home care workers
Ohad Green and Liat Ayalon
School of Social Work, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel
Abstract
Purpose Migrant home care workers constitute a vulnerable group in society, which is often exposed to
work-related abuse. The purpose of this paper is to explore which characteristics are linked with their abuse.
Design/methodology/approach Overall, 187 Filipino home care workers who work in Israel were
recruited via snowball sampling and filled an anonymous questionnaire regarding work-related abuse
incidents and working conditions.
Findings More than half of the participants reported exposure to abuse (e.g. sexual, physical, or emotional)
or exploitation (e.g. asking to do more than job requirements). Particularly vulnerable were migrant workers
during their first year in the host country and those who were taking care of an older adult with cognitive
impairment. Interestingly, men who served as care workers were more susceptible to abuse than women.
Originality/value The findings point to specific characteristics which make home care workers more
susceptible to abuse illustrate the need for a closer supervision on the working conditions of home care
workers, especially during the initial period of their work. Training migrant home care workers in the area of
dementia care is also important.
Keywords Workplace, Employee relations, Home care, Migrant workers, Abuse, Older adults, Rights,
Violence, Immigration, Long-term care
Paper type Research paper
Over the past few decades, the developed world has become increasingly dependent on the
cheap laborforce of migrant workers. The most importantreasons for the importof migrant
workers are anincrease in life expectancy anda decline in birth rate resultingin a shortage of
workers, as well asthe insufficient number of local residents willing to undertake dreary and
demandingjobs (World Health Organization,2016). These jobs tend to jeopardize theworkers
health and generalwell-being. At times, migrantworkers are patronized and areoften treated
with suspicion (Ahdut and Amit, 2010). Within the vulnerable group of migrant workers,
those who are likely to face abuse and exploitation are the care workers, as demographic,
situational and contextual factors are tied together to create a multi-layer vulnerability.
The special vulnerability of migrant care workers: when gender, race, and
social status meet isolation and dependency
The first layer in this aforementioned multi-layer vulnerability of the migrant care worker is
his or her demographic profile. Care work, similar to other forms of non-reproductive labor
(such as cleaning, cooking, and child rearing), has a gendered, racialized history, which
makes cares particularly vulnerable (Doorn, 2017). A theoretical framework that has been
widely applied is the notion of the care chain(Parrenas, 2012), in which people are
connected via the work of care. In the USA, paid care workers will generally be black,
Latina, or Asian American women (Doorn, 2017), whereas in Europe, these women are
Employee Relations
Vol. 39 No. 7, 2017
pp. 1001-1014
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-07-2016-0136
Received 10 July 2016
Revised 12 April 2017
Accepted 28 April 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0142-5455.htm
1001
Work-related
abuse and
exploitation

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