Socio-Professional Trajectories of Refugees in France: An Identity Work Perspective

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates refugees’ socio-professional trajectories in France. Our findings suggest that refugees follow different socio-professional paths shaped by identity work and acculturation mechanisms as they go about integrating in the French context. We identify three socio-professional trajectories: ‘adjusting’, ‘enhancing’, and ‘detaching’. This study contributes, firstly, to research on refugees’ socio-professional adjustment and vocational adaptation, and secondly, to the literature on identity work. It does so by offering novel insights into the processes of repairing, reorienting, and reconstructing cultural and professional identities in the context of refugees’ relocation to host countries, in this case, France.

Keywords

• refugees
• acculturation
• discrimination
• identity work
• professional trajectories