Refugees/Displaced people in the workplace

Abstract

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency there were 80 million forcibly displaced individuals worldwide as of the middle of the year 2020. Sharon L. Segrest ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3693-8565 Ph.D. in Management from Florida State University; Master of Business Administration from Meredith College; Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Professor of Management in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL - USA; She was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Southern Management Association; She serves on the board of ReBootKamp, an immersive code bootcamp which helps train refugees and others in Jordan, Palestine, and Tunisia. Cristina M. Giannantonio ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0784-1892 Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland; Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland; Bachelor of Science in Personnel and Labor Relations from the University of Maryland; Professor of Human Resource Management in the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, Orange, CA - USA; She is the co-author of Autism in the Workplace Creating Positive Outcomes for Generation A published in 2020 as part of the Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma series; She is the series editor of Emerald Studies in Workplace Neurodiversity.

According to the United Nations Refugee Agency there were 80 million forcibly displaced individuals worldwide as of the middle of the year 2020. Twenty-six million of them were refugees, persons who have been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster (Uganda National Roads Authority [UNRA], 2021). The call for papers for this special issue of Cadernos EBAPE.BR noted that "the growing number of refugees and displaced people and the work and life difficulties they face is a central social issue in the world today." In addition to the difficulties experienced by refugees and displaced persons, there are corresponding challenges for the countries providing them refuge. The home and work environments faced by refugees will be greatly impacted as they seek to assimilate and rebuild their lives in a new country. The introduction of a large number of refugees into a country will greatly affect the work and life outcomes for all members of society in the host country. Research is needed to examine these issues from the perspective of individual refugees' experiences, as well as, the larger societal effects on host nationals.

This special issue focuses on refugees and displaced people in Brazil. The main focus of the articles in this special issue is the integration of these refugees into the work environments of Brazil. Authors in this thematic issue of Cadernos EBAPE.BR examine a range of topics related to the large influx of refugees in Brazil. We present several articles in this special edition of Cadernos EBAPE.BR that address issues of racism and discrimination that refugees face and several articles that address ways refugees may overcome barriers and integrate into society. Several articles also discuss the role of Non-Government Organizations in assisting refugees with the integration and acculturation process. We hope that this special issue will increase our understanding of this humanitarian crisis and result in positive outcomes for refugees, displaced people, and Brazilian nationals.

When we published the call for paper over one year ago, none of us could have predicted a global pandemic of epic proportions that has infected over 116,064,564 and killed 2,576,761 people worldwide (Worldometers.info, 2021). While virtually little is known about the effects of the coronavirus on refugees, we can expect that COVID-19 has exacerbated the situation faced by refugees and displaced persons throughout the world.

You are invited to read the introductory piece to this special edition, written by Professors Sharon L. Segrest (University of South Florida), Amy E. Hurley-Hanson (Chapman University) and Cristina M. Giannantonio (Chapman University) who served as guest editors for this issue of Cadernos EBAPE.BR.

I wish you a pleasant read!

Ph.D. Sharon L. Segrest

University of South Florida

Ph.D. Amy E. Hurley-Hanson

Chapman University

Ph.D. Cristina M. Giannantonio

Chapman University

Sidebar

Ph.D. Sharon L. Segrest

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3693-8565

Ph.D. in Management from Florida State University; Master of Business Administration from Meredith College; Bachelor of Science in Marketing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Professor of Management in the Muma College of Business at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL - USA; She was elected to serve on the board of directors of the Southern Management Association; She serves on the board of ReBootKamp, an immersive code bootcamp which helps train refugees and others in Jordan, Palestine, and Tunisia. E-mail: [email protected]

Ph.D. Amy E. Hurley-Hanson

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4263-1885

Ph.D. in Management from New York University; Master of Business Administration from New York Institute of Technology; Bachelor of Science in Management from the University of Florida; Professor of Management in the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, Orange, CA - USA; She is the co-author of Autism in the Workplace Creating Positive Outcomes for Generation A published in 2020 as part of the Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma series; She is the series editor of Emerald Studies in Workplace Neurodiversity. E-mail: [email protected]

Ph.D. Cristina M. Giannantonio

ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0784-1892

Ph.D. in Human Resource Management from the University of Maryland; Master of Business Administration from the University of Maryland; Bachelor of Science in Personnel and Labor Relations from the University of Maryland; Professor of Human Resource Management in the George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics at Chapman University, Orange, CA - USA; She is the co-author of Autism in the Workplace Creating Positive Outcomes for Generation A published in 2020 as part of the Palgrave Explorations in Workplace Stigma series; She is the series editor of Emerald Studies in Workplace Neurodiversity. E-mail: [email protected]

References

REFERENCES

Uganda National Roads Authority. (2021). United Nations Refugee Agency. Retrieved from https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance.html

Worldometers.info. (2021). COVID-19 Coronavirus Pandemic. Retrieved from https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/? utm_campaign=homeAdvegas1?%22