Do Immigrants Work Harder

As usual, the media got itself into something of a frenzy earlier this week over the issue of whether our natives are a lazy bunch sponging off society, where the results of yet another survey showed that immigrants work harder and are less likely to claim benefits. For fear of incurring the wrath of the local populace I am inclined to agree, but not for the reasons people might think. Humans are by and large social animals, with a basic need to form themselves into units, whether to procreate and keep the race going, for protection, or friendship. It is by working together that we have progressed from Neanderthals on four legs to the upright two legged beings we are today. So, when someone of their own free will chooses to flee their country of birth they are in general running away from something (fear of persecution, starvation, lack of political freedom etc.), or running towards something, such as a better standard of living, health care or education, and the availability of opportunity. As frustrating as it may seem, unlike us, who may have had fairly stable lives by comparison, they are highly motivated to achieve whatever it was that made them in many cases risk life or limb to get here, often illegally. They have a clear aim. It is this key factor that drives them on to achieve, admittedly sometimes by fair means or foul. I strongly suspect that were a similar survey carried out amongst expat Brits who have chosen to live abroad, apart from those fortunate enough to perhaps retire to a place in the sun, the results would be very similar. They went abroad to achieve something better for themselves, and are therefore highly motivated. It is only when those dreams go horribly wrong that they then think of returning to their homeland, as in the case of many immigrants, where they know that the friends and family they left behind will help them pick up the pieces. That is the crux of the matter, it is not to do with their nationality, but the reason they came in the first place. I went to work abroad in the early 1980s for three months, with three suitcases, and came back 10 years later, when it had all gone wrong, but my sense of achievement remains today.