Decent and Meaningful Work: Experiences of Immigrant Construction Workers in Portugal

Key findings from this study

This research indicates that:

• Temporary contracts and hazardous conditions substantially limit access to decent work for African construction workers in Portugal, yet workers actively construct meaningful work through family motivations and peer solidarity.
• Meaningful work operates as a relational process shaped by supervisor recognition and collective resilience rather than emerging solely from formal employment conditions.
• The relationship between decent work and meaningful work is non-linear; meaning persists in precarious contexts but neither replaces nor compensates for structural protections.

Overview

This qualitative study examines experiences of African migrant workers in Portugal's construction sector, investigating how decent work and meaningful work operate within conditions of structural vulnerability. The research applied Psychology of Working Theory to understand workers' lived experiences across precarious employment contexts.

Methods and approach

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 workers and analysed through reflexive thematic analysis.

Results

Temporary contracts, low wages, hazardous working conditions, and limited social protection substantially constrain access to decent work standards. Despite these structural barriers, workers actively construct meaningful work through family-oriented motivations, peer solidarity, and supervisor recognition. The analysis reveals meaningful work as a relational, situated process shaped by but not reducible to structural conditions.

Workers maintained dignity, purpose, and self-worth through individual and collective resilience practices. The relationship between decent work and meaningful work operates non-linearly; meaning at work persists even under precarious employment arrangements. Structural constraints and worker agency coexist as competing forces rather than separate domains.

Implications

Labour policies and organizational practices require integration of both decent work standards and meaningful work considerations. Frameworks addressing migrant worker well-being should recognize resilience and agency as resources within precarious contexts rather than dismissing meaningful work experiences as compensation for inadequate conditions. Institutional supports must address structural vulnerabilities while acknowledging workers' active role in constructing purpose and dignity.

Long-term integration of migrant workers depends on simultaneous advancement of protective labour standards and recognition of relational sources of meaning. Organizations operating in construction and other migrant-dependent sectors benefit from practices that facilitate peer networks, supervisory recognition, and family-oriented work arrangements alongside regulatory compliance.

Scope and limitations

This summary is based on the study abstract and available metadata. It does not include a full analysis of the complete paper, supplementary materials, or underlying datasets unless explicitly stated. Findings should be interpreted in the context of the original publication.