Work-life balance of Eastern European migrants in Portugal

Abstract

his study is devoted to the balance between work and life the Eastern European migrants manage to obtain. Work and life balance is considered as one of the core factors for the quality of life of the individual. Processes of migration and integration of migrants make the attainment of the work-life balance even more complicated and involve more resources. In this work the work and personal life balance of migrants is being analysed from the following perspectives: occupation, family life, childcare, expectations that they had before the migration and that they have towards future, migration experience, leisure in the sense of how they spend their free time, socialization in new society and participation in civil activities. The balance between work and family life is being studied regarding theoretical framework of the demands-resources approach. As one of the objectives of the study was to measure the satisfaction context of the Eastern European migrants in Portugal this approach was considered interesting by the author. For the study 10 in-depth interviews and 102 online questionnaires were collected. Most of them reported that their life has changed a lot compared to the country of origin. As well the majority of respondents claimed to be satisfied with the quality of life and balance of work and life they are gaining in their new country. The traditional model of the family widely spread in Eastern European countries where women are responsible for childcare and domestic work highly influence the behaviour that migrants are reporting. Work is still more important for men, while women are fulfilling all the family support activities. Nevertheless, the level of satisfaction with division of responsibilities is higher among the female sample.