Integration of refugees involving organizational managers’ experiences

Abstract This article investigated the organizational integration of refugees from the experience of company managers in the city of São Paulo, Brazil. A basic qualitative research was developed, based on interpretative paradigm assumptions, and the data were collected through a semi-structured interview applied to five managers in charge of refugees in their workplace. The interviews data underwent qualitative content analysis. The results showed potential integration benefits, such as experience sharing, new talents, gratitude, engagement, improvements in the company’s reputation, productivity, creativity, and organizational development from the inclusion of new languages. However, factors such as language, diploma revalidation, skill limitation, and low schooling levels were seen as obstacles to efficient integration. The research also found that employers are highly dependent on voluntary assistance from organizations for hiring and integrating refugees, which indicates that, without the presence of these mediators, the possibilities of recruiting the refugee workforce may be affected. The study contributes to broadening the discussion on the organizational integration of refugees, a topic that is still little explored in the field of administration. It also intends to awaken in managers a more sensitive view about people in a situation of refuge and how their effective integration can impact their businesses and individuals.