Challenges of a Migrant Worker

  1. Cultural Adjustments – customs and traditions of the host country may be new to you. Difficulty in understanding a foreign language, local norms and practices may be different to the one you are accustomed to, the predominant religion is different from your own; the manner of dressing and social etiquette are different from your own.
  2. Physical Adjustments – there are differences in the climate, dwelling areas, time difference, topography, distance of workplace to lodging, food, recreational options from what you are accustomed to.
  3. Workplace Adjustments – there are differences in work ethic, management, culture and practices, technological facilities from what you are used to.
  4. Homesickness – missing those who are left behind, typically: family members, friends, peer groups; a migrant may also miss the following: his/her houses, the neighbor, food from his/her locality, the recreational activities he/she used to do, the religious and cultural festivities he/she traditionally participates in, the different forms of entertainment available to him/her.
  5. Crisis Situations – employer-employee disputes, sickness, injury, accident, cultural conflict, natural disasters, wars, epidemic, prevalence of crimes, involvement in or accusation of crimes, physical, verbal or sexual abuse, employment contract violations, company closures, mergers, retrenchments, incidences of runaways, illegal recruitment, trafficking, irregular migration, deportation.
  6. Crisis in the Family – risk of having a broken family, possibility of family’s over-dependence on OFW’s remittances, possibility of infidelity of the OFW’s spouse during the latter’s absence, other potential consequences of a parent being absent during a child’s formative years.

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