Challenges faced by foreign professionals when acculturating in the Irish professional workplace

Moctezuma Angeles, Daniela (2025) Challenges faced by foreign professionals when acculturating in the Irish professional workplace. Masters thesis, Dublin, National College of Ireland.

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Abstract

Foreign professionals have arrived in Ireland, creating a force from the diversity that can enrich organizations, but at the same time, bring significant challenges to Human Resources. This study aims to analyze the challenges and strategies experienced by foreign professionals when facing the acculturation process in the Irish workplace. The study draws on Berry's (1997) theoretical framework, which distinguishes between integration, assimilation, separation, and marginalization, to explore how cultural identity, work norms, and external contextual factors interact in professional and social adaptation.

A qualitative research approach was adopted, collecting data through semi-structured interviews with six foreign professionals from Italy, France, Brazil, Mexico, and Guadeloupe, working in sectors such as technology, finance, construction, education, and supply chain. Participants were recruited through personal networks, and interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a hybrid coding approach that combined deductive methods from the theoretical framework with emerging themes identified inductively from their experiences.

This research contributes to the literature by highlighting the context-dependent and nature of acculturation strategies among skilled migrants in Ireland, and by focusing on the interaction between inclusivity at work, language acquisition, and external socioeconomic conditions. Based on the findings, recommendations will be proposed for employers and policymakers, such as proactively promoting language learning, creating structured opportunities for social inclusion, and addressing non-work-related barriers that influence the overall experience of migrants, as well as improving work performance and achieving better results for the company.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Supervisors:	Name Email Hurley, David UNSPECIFIED
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > HD28 Management. Industrial Management > Human Resource Management > Diversity J Political Science > JN Political institutions (Europe) > Ireland H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work H Social Sciences > HD Industries. Land use. Labor > Issues of Labour and Work > Industrial Sociology > Multiculturalism in the Workplace
Divisions:	School of Business (- 2025) > Master of Science in Entrepreneurship
Depositing User:	Ciara O'Brien
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2026 14:59
Last Modified:	11 Feb 2026 14:59
URI:	https://norma.ncirl.ie/id/eprint/9123

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