This question has become a real concern for companies and institutions when it comes to hiring. I have noticed that lately, more and more people are travelling to different countries for studying, working or as refugees due to active wars and conflicts. The problem is that belonging to a different ethnicity or nation usually leads to discrimination when applying for a job.
Why does discrimination occur?
I think that it occurs because companies are not good at managing diversity, or simply because they are not looking forward to have ethnicity diversity. According to Imdorf (2017), in some European countries non-EU applicants are being penalized, in order to avoid organizational trouble. Moreover, Imdorf (2017) claims that non-EU applicants are being avoided because they are perceived as foreigners and the managers are not sure if other employees will accept them. Therefore, as I expected, they are afraid of internal conflicts. I find it sad that people are still discriminating others and that they even harass them due to a different ethnicity.
Should companies hire immigrants?
Absolutely. Mitaritonna, Orefice and Peri (2017) suggest that immigrant workers increase productivity especially for smaller firms with low initial productivity. Moreover, “the positive productivity effect of immigrants was also associated with faster growth of capital, larger exports, and higher wages for natives”(Mitaritonna, Orefice and Peri, 2017, p.62). I think this is possible because immigrants can possess a higher motivation for working, and because in some domains there is a lack of native workers.
The lesson?
We are all humans with equal rights. Therefore, companies should stop discriminating job applicants, as it has been proven that hiring immigrants has positive effects.
The Investigator 