A temporal perspective on refugee employment – Advancing HRM theory and practice

As the number of refugees worldwide continues to increase, Human Resource Management (HRM) scholars and practitioners have an opportunity to rethink their role in advancing workforce integration for this highly vulnerable group of jobseekers. In this introduction to a special issue on refugee workforce integration, we argue that in order to promote comprehensive and sustainable solutions, scholars and practitioners alike need to understand refugee employment as a long-term undertaking. We propose a four-phase temporal model of refugee workforce integration, highlighting the potential role of HRM at the various stages of the integration process. We identify practical recommendations for HRM professionals to consider and several areas for future research in support of evidence-based solutions. While our paper focuses specifically on refugee employment, we argue that temporality should be considered by all HRM scholars working within the domain of global mobility.