Abstract
Historically, migration has been a way for many to improve their working and earning opportunities, in addition to building different lives for themselves and their families. Despite the widespread economic downturn, while numbers of migrant peoples have decreased, migration has not ceased completely. Inherent difficulties for migrant peoples in finding work appropriate to their levels of qualification; work paying a living wage or salary; work for which workers’ contributions are recognized; are manifold, and ongoing developments in immigration policies exacerbate these complexities still further. Societies across the world, whether sending societies, receiving societies or both are being changed by migration and by the changing availability and nature of work and these changes have implications for social work at present and in the future. This chapter focuses on migration and work in the UK and begins with a brief overview of each of the core subjects: migration, work and social work and then the author introduces psycho-social theories, where intra-psychic, interpersonal, social institutions and macro-societal relationships and issues all are considered. She applies these theories to processes and practices in migration and in work, illustrating their relevance to better understandings of both, arguing for more robust and theoretically grounded responses from the social work profession to the inter-linked issues of migration and work; responses which include critical analysis and practice.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Alford, C. F. (2012). Hanna Segal: A memorial appreciation. Psychoanalysis, Culture and Society, 17, 317–324.
Anderson, B. (2010). Migration, immigration controls and the fashioning of precarious workers. Work, Employment and Society, 24(2), 300–317.
Anderson, B. (2013). Us and them? The dangerous politics of immigration control. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Arendt, H. (1973). On revolution. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books.
Attlee, C. R. (1920) The social worker. London: G Bell and Sons.
Bastia, T. (2013). Migration and inequality. Oxford: Routledge.
Bender, D., Duscha, A., Huber, L., & Klein-Zimmer, K. (Eds.) (2013). Transnationales Wissen und Soziale Arbeit. Weinheim: Beltz Juventa.
Bion, W. R. (1961). Experiences in groups. New York: Basic Books.
Bion, W. R. (1970). Attention and interpretation: A scientific approach to insight in psycho-analysis and groups. New York: Basic Books.
Blok, W. (2012). Core social work: International theory, values and practice. London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
British Broadcasting Corporation. (2004). http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsTidekills18cocklepickers 6th February 2004. Accessed 3 July 2013.
British Sociological Association. (2013). http://www.britsoc.co.uk/study-groups/sociology,-psychoanalysis-and-the-psychosocial.aspx. Accessed 3 July 2013.
Centre for Economic Performance. (2012). Immigration and the UK labour market: The latest evidence from economic research. London: London School of Economics.
Centre for Social Justice. (2012). Rethinking child poverty. London: Centre for Social Justice.
Clarke, S., & Garner, S. (2005). Psychoanalysis, identity and asylum. Psychology, Culture and Society, 10, 197–206.
Cox, P. (2007). Young people, migration and metanarratives: Arguments for a critical theoretical approach. In T. Geisen & C. Riegel (Eds.), Jugend, Partizipation und Migration: Orientierungen im Kontext von Integration und Ausgrenzung (pp. 51–65). Wiesbaden: VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften.
Cox, P. (2009). ‘Connectivity’: Seeking conditions and connections for radical discourses and praxes in health, mental health and social work. Social Theory and Health, 7(2), 170–186.
Cox, P., & Geisen, T. (2014). Migration perspectives in social work: Local, national and international contexts. British Journal of Social Work, 44(Supplement 1), i157–i153.
Davidson, A. (2012). The immutable laws of mankind: The struggle for universal human rights. Dordrecht: Springer VS Verlag.
Dustmann, C., & Frattini, T. (2010). Can a framework for the economic cost-benefit analysis of various immigration policies be developed to inform decision-making, and if so, what data are required? London: Migration Advisory Committee.
Engels, F. (1926). The condition of the working class in England in 1844. London: Allen and Unwin. (translated by Wischenewetzky, F. K.)
Fanon, F. (1952). Black skin, white masks. New York: Grove Press.
Fanon, F. (1952/1967). The wretched of the earth. Harmondsworth: Penguin.
Fox, J. E., Morosanu, L., & Szilassy, E. (2012). The racialization of the new European migration to the UK. Sociology, 46(4), 680–695.
Freud, S. (1929/2004). Civilisation and its discontents. London: Penguin.
Froggett, L. (2002). Love, hate and welfare: Psychosocial approaches to policy and practice. Bristol: The Policy Press.
Garrett, P.M. (2013). Confronting the ‘work society’: New conceptual tools for social work. British Journal of Social Work. Advance Access published March 12, 2013. doi:10:1093/bjsw/bct041.
Geddes, A., Craig, G., Scott, S., Ackers, L., Robinson, O., & Scullion, D. (2013). Forced labour in the UK. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Geisen, T. (2004). People on the move: The inclusion of migrants in ‘Labor Transfer Systems’—The European case. In T. Geisen, A. A. Hickey, & A. Karcher (Eds.), Migration, mobility and borders (pp. 35–79). Frankfurt a. M.: IKO Verlag.
Geisen, T. (2005). Migration als Vergesellschaftsprozess. In T. Geisen (Ed.), Arbeitsmigration. WanderareiterInnen auf dem Weltmarkt für Arbeitskraft (pp. 19–36). Frankfurt a. M.: IKO Verlag.
Geisen, T. (2012). Arbeit in der Moderne: Ein dialogue imaginaire zwischen Karl Marx und Hannah Arendt. Wiesbaden: VS Verlag fur Sozialwissenschaften.
Gill, J. (10–16 October 2013). We push as Europe pulls. Times Higher Education, 5.
Gilroy, P. (2004). After empire: Melancholia or convivial culture? London: Routledge.
Goodhart, D. (2013). The British dream: Successes and failures of postwar immigration. London: Atlantic Books.
Gurney, P. (2010). The acc(id)ental tourist: Exploring the tribal areas between class and race. Journal of Psycho-Social Studies, 4(1), 47–56.
Harzig, C., & Hoerder, D. (2009). What is migration history? Cambridge: Polity Press.
Hickey, A. A. (2011). Post-retirement migration to rural areas in the U.S.: Cultural conflict and accommodation. Unpublished Paper. Migration und Kultur, Klagenfurt, Austria June.
Hickman, M., Morgan, S., Walter, B., & Bradley, J. (2005). The limitations of whiteness and the boundaries of Englishness. Ethnicities, 5(2), 160–182.
Hoerder, D. (2010). Capitalization of agriculture 1850s–1960s: Rural migrations in a global perspective. In M. Van der Linden (Ed.), Labour history beyond borders: Concepts and explorations (pp. 157–176). Linz: ITH.
Homayounpour, G. (2012). Doing psychoanalysis in Tehran. Cambridge: MIT Press.
Howe, D. (1996). Surface and depth in social work practice. In N. Parton (Ed.), Social theory, social change and social work (pp. 77–97). London: Routledge.
Huffington, C., Armstrong, D., Halton, W., Hoyle, L., & Pooley, J. (Eds.) (2004). Working below the surface: The emotional life of contemporary organisations. London: Karnac Books.
Husband, C., & Alam, Y. (2011). Social cohesion and counter-terrorism: A policy contradiction? Bristol: The Policy Press.
International Federation of Social Workers & International Association of Schools of Social Work. (2013). Draft International Definition of Social Work. http://ifsw.org/get-involved/global-definition-of-social-work/. Accessed 3 July 2013.
Kalayaan. (2013). http://www.kalayaan.org.uk/. Accessed 3 July 2013.
Kasinitz, P., Mollenkopf, J. H., Waters, M. C., & Holdaway, J. (2008). Inheriting the city: The children of imigrants coming of age. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
Khattab, N., Sirkeci, I., Johnston, R., & Modood, T. (2011). Ethnicity, religion, residential segregation and life chances. In T. Modood & J. Salt (Eds.), Global migration, ethnicity and Britishness (pp. 153–176). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Klein, M. (1975). Collected works of Melanie Klein, Volumes 1–4. London: Hogarth Press.
Klein, M. (1988). Love, guilt, reparation and other works 1921–1945. London: Virago.
Kuvik, A. (2010). Skilled migration in Europe and beyond: Recent developments and theoretical considerations. In M. Martiniello & J. Rath (Hrsg.), An introduction to international migration studies (S. 211–236). Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press.
Marvakis, A. (2011). “No place, nowhere” for migrants’ subjectitivity? In Z. Bekerman & T. Geisen (Eds.), International handbook of migration, minorities and education: Understanding cultural and social differences in processes of learning (pp. 67–84). Dordrecht Germany: Springer.
May, J., Wills, J., Datta, K., Evans, Y., Herbert, J., & McIlwaine, C. (2006). The British state and London’s migrant division of labour. London: Queen Mary University.
Menzies Lyth, I. (1988). Containing anxiety in institutions: Selected essays volume 1. London: Free Association Books.
Mergner, G. (2005). Compulsive and coerced identities: Once more on the theory of social limits to learning. In M. Van der Linden (Ed.), Social limits to learning: Essays on the archeology of domination, resistance and experience (pp. 139–152). New York: Berghahn Books.
Miller, C., Hoggett, P., & Mayo, M. (2008). Psycho-social perspectives in policy and professional practice research. In P. Cox, T. Geisen, & R. Green (Eds.), Qualitative research and social change: European contexts (pp. 112–131). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Modood, T., & Salt, J. (Eds.). (2011). Global migration, ethnicity and Britishness. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Obholzer, A., & Roberts, V. Z. (Eds.). (1994). The unconscious at work. London: Routledge.
Office for National Statistics. (2013). 2011 census analysis: 170 years of industry. London: Office for National Statistics.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013a). Employment outlook. Paris: OECD.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013b). Migration outlook. Paris: OECD.
O’Hara, M. (2013). Plant closure’s ‘huge’ impact on local communities. York: Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Ottersbach, M. (2011). Soziale Arbeit im Kontext der Einwanderungsgeselleschaft. In H. Celik (Ed.), Handbuch zur interkulturellen Arbeit. Aspekte, Erfahrungen, Perspektiven (pp. 93–110). Bonn: Free Pen Verlag.
Ottersbach, M. (2012). Ungleichheit und kulturelle Diversität als Herausforderung für die Soziale Arbeit. In H. Effinger et al. (Hrsg.), Diversität und Soziale Ungleichheit. Analytische Zugänge und professionelles Handeln in der Sozialen Arbeit (S. 68–84). Opladen: Buderich.
Papademitriou, D. G., Sumption, M., Terrazas, A., Burkert, C., Loyal, S., & Ferrero-Turrión, R. (2010). Migration and immigrants two years after the financial collapse: Where do we stand? Washington DC: Migration Policy Institute.
Piňeiro, E., & Haller, J. (2011). Learning to live together—Towards a new integration society. In Z. Bekerman & T. Geisen (Eds.), International handbook of migration, minorities and education: Understanding cultural and social differences in processes of learning (pp. 85–100). Dordrecht: Springer.
Portes, A., & Yiu, J. (2013). Entrepreneurship, transnationalism and development. Migration Studies, 1(1), 75–95.
Richmond, M. (1917). Social diagnosis. New York: Free Press.
Ruhs, M., & Anderson, B. (Eds.). (2012). Who needs migrant workers? Labour shortages, immigration and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Rustin, M. (1982). A socialist consideration of Kleinian analysis. New Left Review, 131(1), 71–96.
Rustin, M. (1983). A statutory right to work. New Left Review, 137(1), 61–84.
Salomon, A. (1997). Ausgewählte Schriften: Frauenemanzipation und soziale Verantwortung. In A. Feustel (Ed.), (3 ed.), Neuwied: Luchterhand.
Sayles, S. (2011). The making of docile working class subjects: CBT, class and the failure of psychoanalysis. Journal of Psycho-Social Studies, 4(2), 126–138.
Scheifele, S. (Ed.). (2008). Migration und Psyche: Aufbrüche und Erschütterungen. Giessen: Psychosozial Verlag.
Segal, H. (1988). Introduction to the work of Melanie Klein. London: Karnac Books.
Shutes, I., & Chiatti, C. (2012). Migrant labour and the marketisation of care for older people: The employment of migrant care workers by families and service providers. Journal of European Social Policy, 22(4), 392–405.
Spalek, B., & McDonald, L. Z. (2012). Editorial: Social work and political contexts: Engagement and negotiation. British Journal of Social Work, 42(6), 1013–1021.
The College of Social Work. (2013). http://www.tcsw.org.uk/. Accessed 3 July 2013.
Tonkiss, K. (2013). Migration and identity in a post-national world. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Tremain, R. (2008). The road home. London: Vintage.
Tronto, J. C. (1994). Moral boundaries: A political argument for an ethic of care. London: Routledge.
Wlliams, C., & Graham, M. (Eds.). (2012). Social work in Europe: Race and ethnic relations. London: Sage Publications.
Wright, E. O. (2010). Envisioning real utopias. London: Verso.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Cox, P. (2015). Migration, Work, Social Work and Psycho-Social Theories. Towards Improved Understandings, Knowledge and Practice. In: Geisen, T., Ottersbach, M. (eds) Arbeit, Migration und Soziale Arbeit. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-07306-0_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-07306-0_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer VS, Wiesbaden
Print ISBN: 978-3-658-07305-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-658-07306-0
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Science (German Language)