Strangers in paradise? The wellbeing of migrant professionals across professional and personal environments

Abstract Highly skilled migration is increasing both in absolute terms and as a relative share of international migration. The increasing number of migrant professionals (MPs) raises questions about the consequences of their migration - for themselves, for society and for the employing companies. While the wellbeing of different occupational groups is well researched, the wellbeing of migrant professionals remains understudied. In particular, migration studies have not yet captured the implications of migrant professionals’ wellbeing. We theorise an understanding of wellbeing that integrates both professional (workplace) and personal (family and non-work socialisation) dimensions. Following Allardt’s conceptualisation of wellbeing as ‘Having, Loving, Being’, we answer the question of how and what affects migrants’ subjective wellbeing in their professional and personal spaces. We show how the professional-personal interface is defined in the context of transnational labour mobility. To do so, we draw on our unique sample of 42 two-stage interviews with 21 MPs recruited from abroad to high-level positions in Danish companies. We identify four key factors that affect migrants’ wellbeing at the intersection of their professional and personal lives: 1) social alienation at work, 2) professional autonomy, 3) work-leisure balance, and 4) perceptions of equality and meritocracy. Our work is the first to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors that shape migrant professionals’ wellbeing in the context of their personal and professional lives.