The results of this study showcase that more research around migrants employed in temporary agency work is warranted and can provide insightful findings. This is because earlier research ventures have reached results which show adverse effects to be linked with temporary agency employment and workplace wellbeing. Moreover, the practices which were perceived positively by the migrant workers in this study can be compared with other studies covering similar objectives.
However, because international research around the concept of temporary agency work does exist but lacks common definition, it would be advisable for future researchers to state all notable factors involving their research participants’ work environments and contracts. The fact that the reference point for temporary agency workers changes with the analyzed employment agency, migrant employee type (i.e. migrant, expatriate), employment continuity, and work assignment was noted in the earlier discussion as well. These factors add to the task of building comprehensive research and comparable references. This limitation was also the reason why relevant literature was searched from a broader scope but limited to be suitable for the research on hand.
96
Overall, the validity of qualitative research is often assessed by queries of thoroughness and whether the reached results and conclusions are ‘accurate’ (see Saaranen-Kauppinen & Puusniekka, 2006b). It should also be noted that in studies based on the framework of social constructionism, a pursuit of a single truth is not really an endeavor but rather in these instances’ validity is understood as credibility and persuasiveness. More precisely, this means how well the researcher’s constructions match those created by the interviewees and how well these interpretations are delivered for others to understand (Saaranen-Kauppinen & Puusniekka, 2006b). These notions mirror those of Charmaz’ (2014), with both scholars stating that the examined phenomenon can never be described as fully in the report as it appears in the research situation or to the researcher.
Although there are some conflicting views on using more traditional notions of validity and reliability in qualitative research, there still exists unanimously accepted methods to increase these (see Saaranen-Kauppinen & Puusniekka, 2006b). For example, during the analysis process it is beneficial to make justified and transparent coding choices and categorizations. To achieve this type of transparency, all analysis steps were described as precisely and thoroughly as possible, in order for this process to be more clear-cut for all readers. Interview recordings are also thought to increase reliability, as they allow researchers to thoroughly analyze all materials and compare these for further observations (see Saaranen-Kauppinen & Puusniekka, 2006b).
As of data collection methods, it should be noted that interview excerpts should not be viewed as an objective view of reality at the workplace (see Silverman, 2013). This is because they are perceptions from each migrant worker, who are accounting for their individual experiences as they recall it. Hence, other workers might have different perceptions of the examined communication practices. It is also reasonable to note the position in which the interviewees were in because they were approached in cooperation with the employment agency to participate in the proposed research. Therefore, the temporary employment agency knew about their participation in the study.
This in turn might have informed the way in which they discussed their working life in the conducted interviews.
As mentioned earlier, the study’s sample included two employment agency recruiters and three migrant temporary agency workers. The sample conditions of the research were designed in advance based on the environment under study and the positions which were deemed as valuable (see Silverman, 2014). As the interview participants shared similar views of their experiences, this was perceived as a level of data saturation (see Croucher et al., 2015; Silverman, 2014).
97
Consequently, the findings are seen to provide insights into the experiences of migrant workers in seasonal positions in Lapland. It should be noted, however, that since migrant workers generally work under very different arrangements, the applicability of these cases to other settings should be considered in the light of the similarity of the employment arrangements.
Another limitation which is advisable to keep in mind is that models are constructed simplifications of more complex processes, meaning that they can never produce a complete understanding of phenomena (see Charmaz, 2014; Saaranen-Kauppinen & Puusniekka, 2006b).
They work to make these processes more comprehensible and streamlined. This is especially true considering the complex nature of workplace wellbeing and the multiple perspectives it can be studied from. This is true in this research as well, because even though the categories included in the constructed model are listed individually, they should not be seen as separate entities but rather flexible sections that collaborate with each other.
Taking these aspects into account, it is seen that the study provides new information on the experiences of migrant workers employed in Finland and Lapland. This is considered as an indicator of the successful completion of the set research question. This thesis also provides an overview of the current employment landscape in Finland in which migrant workers are employed in. For future research, interesting endeavors can include questions which inspect how seasonality, location and other contractual factors affect the examined TAWs perceived wellbeing. On top of these, further inquiries in the contexts of cooperation and meaningfulness of work in the temporary agency employment environment could provide more insights, as these have not yet gained much research. Additionally, further studies on migrant workers in the temporary agency employment environment should be performed, as there are very little of them to date. This could include comparative research between migrant and local temporary agency workers, for example.
Inspections of migrant employees’ workplace wellbeing in relation to the found communicative categories could also be compared to other scenarios to see whether these are applicable to them as well. Explorations of multilingual language practices in TAE settings could yield interesting results as well, as matters around language use were also broadly discussed by the interview participants of this study. Lastly, as earlier studies and the results in this study have indicated TAWs to have differing views over their supervisors and responsible contact parties, it could prove helpful to study the process in which the employment agency and client organization negotiate over this factor.
98 Proposals for future research:
• The effect of seasonality and other contractual factors in the TAE environment in relation to workplace wellbeing
• The contexts of cooperation and meaningfulness of work in temporary agency employment
• Further studies of migrant workers in temporary agency employment, for instance, comparative studies between migrant and regional workers
• Migrant workers perceived communicative workplace wellbeing in other scenarios
• Multilingual language practices in temporary agency employment
• Exploring how the employment agency and the client organization negotiate “being the boss”