Where Do You Prefer to Work? How the Work Environment Influences Return Migration Decisions from the United Kingdom to Poland

Abstract

In this paper I argue that understanding the difference in quality of employment between the sending and the receiving countries can help to better interpret people's migration decisions. ‘Quality of employment’ pertains to the conditions in which work takes place, i.e. possibilities for professional development and creativity, stress levels, workplace relations (interactions with supervisors and co-workers) and job security. My argument is based on qualitative and quantitative data from a study of skilled Polish migrants to the United Kingdom. The study concludes that the workplace is an important context in which migration decisions are made, and that consideration of the security of the employment market in the UK is especially relevent, an argument which has important implications for understanding the international movement of labour.

Keywords:

• Employment Quality
• Return Migration
• Poland
• United Kingdom

Notes

1. The Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, which joined the EU in 2004.

2. The interviews are coded alphabetically and numerically to avoid identification of respondents.

3. Significance level .088.