“There is so much meaning, and also it is so stressful” Wellbeing for newcomer workers in the settlement sector: A participatory action research study

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorHeaman-Warne, Carl
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeRocke, Cathy (Peace and Conflict Studies)
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeFunk, Laura (Sociology & Criminology)
dc.contributor.examiningcommitteeFletcher, Amber (Sociology & Social Sciences, University of Regina)
dc.contributor.supervisorFlaherty, Maureen
dc.date.accessioned2025-03-20T17:34:11Z
dc.date.available2025-03-20T17:34:11Z
dc.date.issued2025-03-13
dc.date.submitted2025-03-13T21:50:22Zen_US
dc.date.submitted2025-03-20T15:47:03Zen_US
dc.degree.disciplinePeace and Conflict Studies
dc.degree.levelDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
dc.description.abstractThis is a participatory action research study within a critical realist paradigm, developed to work with a group of Newcomer workers in a settlement sector agency in Canada, to understand the complex set of forces that affect their wellbeing at work, and to make reccommendations for improvement to the organization. The study was comprised of two PAR cycles – one with an initial group of six Newcomer workers at a single organization, and a subsequent cycle with four more Newcomer workers at different organizations. The study found that within this group of workers, the workers unanimously stated that the barriers in the settlement sector system, the barriers to accessing resources in the local community that they and their clients face, and the disconnect between the workers and the organization, had a far greater impact on their wellbeing than their clients’ stories of trauma and loss. The workers expressed the importance of their connections with their clients, which increase the meaningfulness of their work. This meaningfulness, along with their fears of setting boundaries as Newcomers, create a system where the workers donate large amounts of unpaid work as well as provide care to their communities in the off-work hours. With the high level of stressful work, combined with constant changes in the system, there is a disconnect between the workers’ focus on their clients’ needs, and the management’s focus on the needs of the funder, resulting in the workers’ needs not being well met. The group developed recommendations to address particular stresses at the organization level, and outcomes were shared with organization management, the team of supervisors, and the larger staff of Newcomer workers.
dc.description.noteMay 2025
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1993/38938
dc.language.isoeng
dc.subjectnewcomer
dc.subjectwellbeing
dc.subjectsubjective well-being
dc.subjectparticipatory action research
dc.subjectcritical realism
dc.subjectsystemic barriers
dc.subjectsettlement sector
dc.subjectvicarious trauma
dc.subjectvicarious resilience
dc.title“There is so much meaning, and also it is so stressful” Wellbeing for newcomer workers in the settlement sector: A participatory action research study
local.subject.manitobano
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
There is so much meaning and also it is so stressful.pdf
Size:
1.65 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
License bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
license.txt
Size:
770 B
Format:
Item-specific license agreed to upon submission
Description:
Download
Collections
FGS - Electronic Theses and Practica