How the Past Shapes the Present: Multinational Migration and Job Satisfaction among Hong Kong Domestic Workers

• In Event: International Migration Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): 01. Migrant domestic workers

Abstract

Scholarship in migration demography emphasizes that trajectories unfold over the life course, yet few quantitative studies link pre-arrival pathways to post-migration labor outcomes within a bounded institutional setting. Using survey data on Filipino and Indonesian domestic workers in Hong Kong, we apply sequence analysis to reconstruct multi-country migration paths from adolescence to early adulthood and classify them into common trajectory types. We identify three predominant patterns—direct migration to Hong Kong, prolonged stepwise migration, and complex serial/multinational transitions. Multivariable regressions relate trajectory type to two subjective outcomes: job satisfaction and perceived job–match quality. Results show meaningful within-group heterogeneity: workers who arrived in Hong Kong as their first and only destination, especially at younger ages, report higher job satisfaction than those with more complex routes; differences in job–match are smaller and not universal across clusters. These findings underscore the value of integrating life-course migration sequences into research on migrant labor experiences and highlight how pre-migration mobility can shape workplace well-being even among migrants who share the same origin and destination contexts.

Authors

• Sinyee Qianyi Lu, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

• Tim F Liao, University of Illinois