Supervisor and coworker trust as predictors of work engagement and burnout among migrant workers: the moderating role of language proficiency and contact with co-national coworkers

Introduction Migration has become a crucial factor influencing social and economic landscapes in the Global North, creating challenges for workplace integration. In this study we describe how supervisor and coworker trust increase work engagement and decrease burnout among migrant workers. Methods The hypotheses were tested with a cross-sectional study based on the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) theory and using well established questionnaire tools. Results We showed that secondary level factors: supervisor and coworker trust act either as resources (from β [standardized coefficient] = 0.126, CIs = [0.001, 0.326] to β = 0.302, CIs = [0.184, 0.421] for particular subscales) or demands (from β = −0.090, CIs = [−0.127, 0.025] to β = −0.270, CIs = [−0.298, −0.116] for particular subscales), depending on primary level variables, located in individual and environmental conditions. We further show how the primary level factors influence the aforementioned relationships: host-country language proficiency moderates the relationship between coworker trust and burnout ( B [unstandardized measure] = 0.960; CIs = [0.002, 1.918]; f 2 [standardized measure] = 0.242) and that contact with co-national coworkers ( B = 0.315; CIs = [0.046, 0.584]; f 2 = 0.215) moderates the relationship between coworker trust and burnout. Discussion Results indicate that coworker trust positively predicts work engagement and reduces burnout, particularly for migrants with high host country's language proficiency, irrespective of work's dominant language proficiency. Conversely, limited interaction with co-national coworkers strengthen the effects of workplace distrust on burnout. Our findings suggest that fostering inclusive workplaces and linguistic support may increase migrants' psychosocial well-being. Supporting communication and in particular the development of trust in culturally diverse work environments can increase employee health and wellbeing by decreasing burnout (from 3% to 23% depending on its dimension) and enhancing engagement (from 12% to 23% depending on dimension). The results may also be an insight to organizational and public health policies creators, referring to United Nations' Sustainable 2 Development Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being and 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth.