Migrants lose their 'strong work ethic' after just two years in Britain
- 'Strong work ethic’ identified among migrants by bosses actually disappeared
- By then, foreign workers are taking as many sick days as their UK counterparts
- It means native workers could be missing out on jobs because their nationality is wrongly not associated with hard work, say researchers from University of Bath
Complaints that British workers are lazy compared to Eastern Europeans are ‘misconceived’, a ground-breaking study has found.
Academics discovered that the ‘strong work ethic’ identified among migrants by bosses actually disappeared after just two years.
By then, foreign workers are taking as many sick days as their UK counterparts.
It means native workers could be missing out on jobs because their nationality is wrongly not associated with hard work, say researchers from the University of Bath.
The paper comes as ministers are urged to put in place policies to wean businesses off cheap foreign labour after Brexit.
British Prime Minister Theresa May delivers a speech to workers at a company in Stoke-on-Trent
Employers have warned that some sectors of the economy, such as construction, agriculture and horticulture, rely heavily on EU workers and could struggle if the labour supply dries up.
But campaign groups have argued what the latest study shows - that, beyond the short-term, UK workers are as diligent as Eastern Europeans.
Research carried out for the first time found that workers from Poland and seven other eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 were initially more than three times less likely to be absent from work than native UK workers.
Economists equate work attendance – one of the most valued attributes for employers – with work ethic.
Share this article
The report suggests that the extra effort put in by migrant workers is intended to ‘signal their worth’ to employers – compensating for limited English language skills and to reflect higher pay relative to their homeland.
But after a little as two years, the number of sick days taken by them has increased to levels recorded by those from the UK.
Dr Chris Dawson, senior lecturer in business economics at the University of Bath, said: ‘This is the first study with concrete evidence on the existence of the migrant work ethic.
‘It backs up managers’ perceptions that Polish and other Central and Eastern European migrants are harder working than UK employees, but importantly only for around two years from their arrival in the UK.
‘The study shows that the common view that UK workers are lazy compared to migrant workers is misconceived: In fact migrants are temporarily working extra hard to offset the challenges they face when they first enter the UK job market.
‘We clearly see in the research that migrants new to the UK put in a couple of years of hard work, before a better understanding of our culture and job market means they adopt the same work ethic as native workers.’
Research carried out for the first time found that workers from Poland and seven other eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 were initially more than three times less likely to be absent from work than native UK workers
The research studied 113,804 people, of which 1,396 were workers from the so-called A8 ex-Eastern Bloc countries – Poland, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.
The study, published in the Journal Work, Employment and Society, used data from the Office for National Statics UK Labour Force Survey from 2005 to 2012.
Alp Mehmet, vice-chairman of think-tank Migrationwatch which campaigns for balanced immigration, said: ‘It is a fallacy that UK workers are any less keen, diligent or hard-working than any other nationality. If anything, they are harder workers.
‘But companies often use this as an excuse to have access to cheap labour, who are also more likely to be pushed around.’
Recent figures showed that manufacturing in Britain employs some 332,000 EU nationals while the wholesale and retail trade has 508,000.
In March, Pret A Manger bosses told a House of Lords committee that only one in 50 applicants for jobs at the chain was British.
Most watched News videos
- Shocking scenes at Dubai airport after flood strands passengers
- Despicable moment female thief steals elderly woman's handbag
- Chaos in Dubai morning after over year and half's worth of rain fell
- Murder suspects dragged into cop van after 'burnt body' discovered
- Appalling moment student slaps woman teacher twice across the face
- 'Inhumane' woman wheels CORPSE into bank to get loan 'signed off'
- Shocking moment school volunteer upskirts a woman at Target
- Shocking scenes in Dubai as British resident shows torrential rain
- Jewish campaigner gets told to leave Pro-Palestinian march in London
- Sweet moment Wills handed get well soon cards for Kate and Charles
- Prince Harry makes surprise video appearance from his Montecito home
- Prince William resumes official duties after Kate's cancer diagnosis
