Navigating the Psyche of Migrant Support Workers in Social Enterprises

Abstract

The integration of migrant populations requires a multifaceted support system while the quality of the service depends on the workers in these organizations and institutions. This research explores the experience of workers that support migrants in a social enterprise. To investigate the layered complexities of the job, psychoanalysis provides a robust framework and useful concepts. Lacanian theory is used to analyze the worker's conundrums through 3 different fronts: "Cultural Alterity", "Pro-social Fantasy", and "Neoliberal Subjectivation". Based on psychosocial research methodology, this thesis unravels the unconscious dynamics and complexities in discourse through the use of ethnography, and semi-structured interviews. The findings underscore the complexities faced by workers in dealing with cultural alterity and in their endeavor to reconcile personal passion with pragmatic demands. The organization fosters strategies to assist the worker as they have to encounter systemic paradoxes in navigating the nuanced challenges inherent to migrant support.