Passion for work and organisational commitment in professionals working with migrants: an approach in Spanish organisations

Abstract

Introduction. Research on the reality of immigration tends to focus on immigrants’ living and working conditions, their perception in the receiving societies, or the factors that facilitate or hinder their participation and social integration. Few studies, however, have addressed the realities of people working with migrant groups. Methodology. The present analysis centred on the passion and organisational commitment of these latter workers who practice in environments that are sometimes hostile and often difficult. Organisational commitment and passion for work were analysed in a sample of 171 workers (126 women, 43 men, and 2 participants who did not specify their sex). Results. Descriptive statistics were elaborated for the passion for work (harmonious and obsessive) and organisational commitment (affective, normative, and calculated) variables. Finally, the socio-demographic variables of the sample were analysed together with the results of the different bivariate correlations between the psychosocial variables and their dimensions. Discussion. These «pro-migrant» entities showed high values in harmonious passion. This can be regarded as positive, as this passion reflects the worker’s desire to freely participate in the work. Another positive finding was that the obsessive passion mean was not very high. High scores in affective engagement were also consistent with the characteristics of work in the social field, where affective bonds can often be created. Conclusions. According to the obtained data, the factors under study could be considered protective. Nevertheless, other factors need to be further explored in order to promote a good working environment, i.e., one that is conducive to achieving the objectives of the organisations that employ these workers.