Cultural stereotypes of Italian employers

- If the conflict tends to become or to be destructive, the employee has made a serious mistake and is ready to admit it or the boss's personal qualities and character features do not let the employee apply other strategies, he can only accommodate. In this case, he consents his own needs and opinions and allows his boss to make the decision about the approach of the conflict resolution. However this strategy can either smoothen the conflict or increase the distance between the parties, therefore the employee should use this strategy with caution.

As mentioned above, an employer is often prone to initiate the conflict. Therefore, in order to be a skillful communicator and avoid conflict situations with his foreign employees he should be aware of some strategies of conflict prevention and resolution:

- The best way to prevent the conflict is to prepare in advance to the interaction with foreign workers. When hiring a migrant job-seeker, an employer should learn more about the culture of his workers and check some stereotypes about their native cultures. In most cases, miscommunication can be avoided by familiarizing oneself with cultural differences.

- In order to create a healthy environment in his company, the employer can dedicate some time to the introduction to new employees the traditions and rules of the company, as well as to present him his colleagues. This will help both of the parties to avoid some possible misunderstandings and strengthen the relationship between the company members.

- In case of a manifested conflict situation, in order to reach its positive resolution, an employer should analyze and evaluate the following factors: the issue importance, relationship importance and time limits. It is always preferable for a boss to maintain healthy relationship with his dependents, since it might significantly affect their contribution to the company's well-being. Therefore, in a conflict situation an employer is required to decide the prevalence either of the issue or of the relationship. In the first case he is recommended to choose the competing (or directing) strategy, wheres in the second case the collaboration or the cooperation strategy are more beneficial. Time limits might be a serious obstacle in a conflict resolution, which often requires either competing or compromising strategy.

intercultural communication business employment italy



3. Survey as a method of monitoring the current situation at the Italian labor market

3.1 The structure of the survey

The purpose of the current study is to observe to which extent cultural stereotypes affect job opportunities for migrant job-seekers in Italy. We intend to conduct an experimental study with one major independent nominal variable: cultural stereotypes (prejudices) of Italian employers towards non-Italian employees, and three dependent ordinal variables: non-Italian workers' job opportunities, work conditions and unfair treatment by their bosses and colleagues.

The qualitative research method was chosen with the intention to explore the phenomenon of cultural stereotypes in business environment by collecting, analyzing and understanding people's subjective personal experience, opinions, ideas and attitudes. The purpose of a qualitative research is to explore, understand, and analyze phenomena through a rich description of subjective human experience (Patten & Newhart, 2018).

Survey as a qualitative research method can be defined as "questioning individuals on a topic or topics and then describing their responses" (Jackson, 2011). Surveys are widely used in the social as well as in the business sphere. It is a useful instrument for primary data collection that helps to reflect the ideas, opinions, attitudes of a certain group of people in an amply and accurate way. The results of a survey present a clear vision of the characteristics of the population basing on the answers of the respondents.

The population of interest of this research encompasses the residents of Italy who are engaged in business environment. The research will be conducted by using the stratified sample method. The members of the population will be divided into three groups according to their status: Italian employers, Italian employees and migrant workers and then the participants will be suggested to fill in the Google Forms by answering to a number of questions related to the topic.

In order to study the current situation at the Italian labour market and reveal the level of equality of work conditions for Italians and non-Italians, we will use the induction approach of analyzing data. We intend to receive the reasonings from different points of view, starting from individual notions of single respondents, to the common opinions of each group and to the generalized overview of all the participants' conclusions taking into consideration the coinciding and contrasting inferences.

The structure of the survey

We intend to study the interrelations of the variables in the form of a structured questionnaire that consists of sixteen questions including seven common questions for all the participants as well as with specialized sets of three questions for the members of separate groups. Thus, Italian employers will be asked to express their attitude towards migrant job-seekers as well as their readiness to hire a foreigner. Moreover, employers will be expected to share the conditions on which they would or would not consider to hire a non-Italian job-seeker. The second group of respondents, Italian employees will be suggested to describe the situation in their companies in terms of their bosses' attitudes towards their foreign colleagues. What is more, they will be asked to share their opinions about the essence and influence of cultural stereotypes on non-Italians' chances of employment and work conditions. Finally, non-Italian employees will be asked about their experience in the business sphere in Italy as well as about some difficulties they faced that were caused by their national or cultural statuses. In terms of common questions, all three groups of respondents will be expected to express their opinion on the current situation on Italian labor market as well as to confirm or deny the existence of prejudiced attitude towards foreign job-seekers. At the end of the survey the respondents will be asked to confirm whether the situation can be changed as well as to suggest some possible strategies that could be applied for this purpose.

The questionnaire is expected to include open questions, closed-answer questions, multiple-choice questions as well as rating scales that would give the respondents an opportunity to fully describe their ideas on the given topic. Some of the multiple-choice questions allowed the participants to leave his own answer if he did not manage to find the variant that would suit him best. It is important to mention that some open questions were optional, i.e. the participants were not obliged to answer. Generally, the purpose of non-obligatory questions is to prevent the respondents from worrying about their personal data and to encourage them to reflect on the given topic and share their real thoughts or to leave the space unfilled if they do not feel free enough to answer. Otherwise, if the researcher decides to make all the questions obligatory it might increase the risk of bias caused by dry and undisclosed answers, which the respondents are obliged to give rather than want to. The survey will be suggested for the participants in two languages: English and Italian, since some Italian respondents might not have the sufficient level of English. During the process of data analysis we will present the answers as they were recorded in Google Forms, hence some of the Italian participants are expected to reply in Italian. In this respect we will present the original quotation followed by its translation into the English language

The survey will be conducted in the format of Google Forms. This type of survey was chosen for a number of advantages it possesses:

• it gives an opportunity to get answers easily and efficiently;

• Google forms are user-friendly and easy to use;

• they help to cover a large number of people and get more precise results;

• the participants feel more free and comfortable since no one can observe their emotions, behavior, etc.;

• this format gives the participants a chance to answer whenever and wherever is convenient for them;

• the short form of questions will not take them much time, therefore, more people would be likely to agree to participate.

Taking into consideration that the stratified sample type was chosen, the research is expected to be sufficiently representative and unbiased. However, it is important to assume that some answers of the respondents may not correspond to the opinions of other members of the whole population due to the personal nature of the questionnaire. On the other hand, cultural stereotypes affect everyone individually and the degree of their influence is different in each case. Nevertheless, the sample taken for this research is considered to be representative enough to reveal some general tendencies in the influence of cultural stereotypes on business relationship in Italy.

3.2 The presentation of the collected data

The survey has been conducted for 60 days and have received fourteen answers.

It should be mentioned that the expected results almost completely match the actual outcomes. In particular, it was expected that Italian employees would outnumber foreign job-seekers and that Italian employers would make up the minority. Moreover, we supposed that the majority of the respondents' views on the situation at the Italian labor market would coincide, while their subjective opinions on the hypothesis of the prejudices towards foreigners as potential employees might differ in accordance with their individual background and experience in the business sphere. The questions that required complete answers revealed the general positive tendency of reduction of stereotypes' influence on foreigners' employment opportunities.

It is important to point out that originally the respondents were not selected by such criteria as gender or ethnicity. The only requirement for the participants was work experience gained in Italy as an employer, Italian employee or non-Italian employee. That allows us to narrow down the research area after having collected the data. Thus, the results of the research can be presented and analyzed with the consideration of the respondents' gender and nationality. Nevertheless, we have accurately chosen and verified the participants of the current research in order to avoid extraneous answers and to reduce the risk of bias. All the respondents are involved in the business environment in Italy and belong to different business areas, which allows us to observe the situation from different angles.

The presentation of the collected data

The complete list of the questions and the respondents' answers can be found in the Appendix.

The set of common questions for all participants

1. The status of the participants.

This question allows us to separate the participants into three suggested groups.

2. The correlation of foreign employees in Italian companies.

The participants were asked about the essence and amount of foreign employees in their companies.

3. The respondents' self-presentation.

This question was not obligatory, so that the participants could feel free and not worry about their personal data, therefore, only twelve out of fourteen participants gave their answers. What is more, not all them were ready to give a full answer: only four presented their name, age, the name of the company and shared the experience.The participants who identified their age can be divided into two groups: the 20-28-year-old and the 41-43-year-old. The generation gap between these groups might as well influence their attitude towards migrant dependents.

4. The situation at the Italian labour market.

The participants were asked to evaluate the correlation of Italian and non-Italian employees at the Italian labor market basing only on their own suppositions and experience.

5. The possible reasons for the situation at the labour market.

The purpose of this common question was to encourage the participants to reflect on the motives that have led to the actual employment situation in Italy. This question was optional and eleven people responded to it and every respondent expressed his or her individual point of view.

6. Opinions on the hypothesis of the prejudices towards migrant job-seekers.

Taking into consideration their own experience in Italian companies the respondents were expected to express their opinion on the issue.

The set of questions for Italian employers.



7. The factors that matter for the decision of hiring a job-seeker.

The Italian employers were suggested to reflect on the aspects that they consider more valuable and essential for a potential employee.

8. Hiring an Italian and/or non-Italian job-seeker if they possess of equal skills and qualities.

9. Hiring an Italian and/or non-Italian job-seeker if the non-Italian possesses of higher skills and qualities.

The set of questions for Italian employees

10. Relationship between their Italian bosses and foreign colleagues.

This question was aimed at revealing the corporate culture within Italian companies from Italian dependents' point of view.

11. The essence of prejudiced attitude towards foreign dependents.

The Italian participants were asked to share their experience concerning prejudiced attitude from their bosses towards their non-Italian colleagues ever noticed by them.

12. The influence of the existing stereotypes on migrants' chances of employment and work conditions.

The purpose of this question was to reveal the opinions of the Italian employees who did not experience prejudiced attitude personally but who could observe and evaluate its influence from the inside of their companies.

The set of questions for non-Italian employees.

13. Difficulties in the process of work searching in Italy.

14. The essence of prejudiced attitude from their Italian employers.

15. The influence of the existing stereotypes on migrants' chances of employment and work conditions.

The non-Italian participants of the survey were asked to share their opinions on the issue basing on their individual experiences at Italian companies.

The last common question for all participants.

16. The possibility of changing the current situation.

We supposed that the participants would agree with the theory of a certain influence of cultural stereotypes on the situation at the Italian labour market. This open question purposed on observing some possible strategies for changing this situation for better.



3.3 Analysis and results of the survey

After the process of data collection the outcomes of the survey can be analyzed and presented in the following manner:

1. Firstly, it is necessary to determine the research area according to the characteristics of the participants and the features of the companies they belong to.

2. Secondly, we will present the statistical data based on the answers of the multiple choice questions along with the open questions that fully reflect the participants' opinions. We are planning to generalize the answers of all the participants taking into consideration each individual reply. Thus, we will be able to study carefully the coinciding and different points of view.

3. Finally, we expect to reveal the intercorrelation between the independent and the dependent variables and prove or disprove the hypothesis.

Analysis of the survey

The first and the third common questions allow us to narrow down the research area. According to the answers, out of the fourteen participants of the survey there are: three Italian employers, five non-Italian employees and six Italian employees. The participants' age varies from 20 to 44 years and their nationalities are: Italian, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish.

Ten of the fourteen questions of the survey were suggested in the multiple-choice format, with an opportunity to leave an individual answer in some cases and four questions were open. According to the received data, we can generalize the following results:

1. Migrant workers take job positions in Italian companies. Depending on the company, their number can vary greatly. Out of the four groups of respondents the majority (five people) confirmed that there are many foreign employees in the Italian companies, while the other three groups of three people each replied that there are some migrant workers, few migrant workers and no migrant workers in their companies.

2. Non-Italian respondents have had different experience in Italian companies. Some of them claimed to be completely satisfied and not to have faced any problems (three answers), while others have noticed the influence of cultural differences (three answers) as well as the fact of different attitude and even pressure from their Italian coworkers (one answer).

3. At the Italian labour market local employees outnumber foreign ones, as confirmed by the vast majority of the participants. Ten of the fourteen answers show that there are considerably more Italian workers (35,7%) and slightly more Italian than migrant workers (also 35,7%). Some of the respondents suppose that there are equal number of Italians and non-Italians or that foreigners outnumber natives (7,1% and 14,3%) respectively.

4. The ideas about possible reasons for the current situation at the Italian labour market are considerably different: some participants indicated the global reasons such as globalization, the population of Italy, immigration management, stereotypes (four answers); a number of respondents pointed out minor factors such as the type and period of work, bonds with homeland, the fact that non-Italian dependents are forced to accept unfavorable work conditions (four answers); some replies did not contain the actual answer but various emotions connected with the issue: the dissatisfaction with the unequal job opportunities for locals and immigrants as well as with the large number of foreigners at the Italian labour market (two answers), either considering the situation to be completely normal (one answer).

5. The available answers supporting or denying the hypothesis of the influence of cultural stereotypes chosen by the participants are in the equal correlation (42,9%, or six people chose each of them). However, one participant pointed out that the likeliness to follow the stereotypes depends on the person (which does not negate the hypothesis) and another one mentioned the improvement achieved in the recent years, despite the existence of stereotypes in many Italian companies. Overall, six participants did negate the theory and eight of them did not or even supported it.

6. For the majority of the participated Italian employer work experience is the most significant factor (three people), however, each of the other two respondents chose also gender and/or age and mentality, which is related to culture. Finally, one respondent claimed that his choice of the employee depends on the type of work.

7. Generally, the employers' decision for hiring and Italian or a non-Italian employee did not depend on their nationalities. What is more, one respondent pointed out the importance of every individual's personality. However, one respondent would hire an Italian even if he possesses of lower education level, skills and work experience.

8. Less than a half of the interviewed non-Italian employees find their bosses' attitudes towards the Italian and foreign workers equal (two answers), whereas others called it «positive» (one answer) or «normal» (one answer). Some of them pointed out that the attitude differs according to some factors such as the worker's competence and certain differences (two answers).

9. Interestingly, Italian employees tend to either deny the existence of prejudiced attitude towards their foreign colleagues (two answers) or noticed it rarely (two answers) and occasionally (three answers). On the other hand, three of the non-Italian respondents have never experienced prejudiced attitude, other three participants confirmed the rare occasions and one employee claimed the high frequency of the incidents.

10. The five Italian employees can be divided into two opposite groups: those who think that stereotypes have little or no influence (two answers); and those who claim that Italians trust the stereotypes that might prevent them from hiring foreign job-seekers (three answers). Nevertheless, the statistics shows that employers are prone to be affected by the stereotypes' influence.

11. In each individual case, non-Italian job-seekers have had different degree of difficulty while searching for a job in Italy. One respondent found job easily with the help of her acquaintances otherwise it is likely to have been much harder; another one finds it moderately difficult. The majority (3 respondents) do not find it challenging.

12. Less than a half of the non-Italian respondents did not notice prejudiced attitude personally (two answers), however they supported the theory of stereotypes' existence and negative influence. Moreover, all the participants confirmed the existence of stereotypes that negatively affect foreign job-seekers' employment chances (five answers).

13. Only one out of the fourteen respondents does not believe in the possibility of the amelioration of the attitude towards foreign job-seekers. Six answers included mentality and cultural competence improvement as one of the main factors and instruments for the change. Some of the respondents believe that the mentality should be changed naturally (two answers). The majority of the participants consider the issue significant enough to be addressed at high level (seven answers). In particular, they mentioned globalization, promotion companies, various media as useful instruments for increasing people's awareness of the problem and encouragement for change.

The results of the survey

The survey analysis allows us to come to conclusion that cultural stereotypes and prejudiced attitude take place in the Italian business sphere and have a certain extent of influence on the corporate culture in Italian companies. Undoubtedly, in each case the degree of this influence varies, as can be evidenced from the respondents' replies. However, the qualitative research that has been conducted representatively proves the main hypothesis since the essence of cultural stereotypes taken as an independent variable does have a certain influence on the dependent variables: job opportunities, work conditions and unequal treatment at work of non-Italian job-seekers.

Another important outcome that should be pointed out from the survey is the fact that people admit the existence of prejudices and realize their negative influence on the communication, business relationships and corporate culture. This can be noticed from the answers to the last question, in which people suggested various reasons for the problem along with a number of approaches to its resolution at different levels. In this respect, not only the essence of the problem was unclosed but it was also revealed that people are ready to confront it and believe in its positive resolution.



Conclusion

The currently changing modern world along with globalization tends to expand work opportunities for everyone despite his or her nationality and cultural background. Large and small companies all over the world are eager to engage foreign partners into their activities in order to increase their influence at the world market. However, it is widely admitted that sometimes local and migrant workers might have unequal chances of employment and work conditions. The present study focuses on Italy as a multicultural and multiethnic country and examines the actual situation at the Italian labour market basing on the insiders' evidences. Many scholars of economics, political science and sociology have studied the issue of inequality at the workplace between Italian and non-Italian job-seekers in different economic situations in order to reveal the correlation between these two variables. Yet, the recent studies disprove this hypothesis, which encourages us to look at the problem from another point of view.

The current study suggests cultural stereotypes and prejudiced attitude of employers towards immigrants as one of the possible factors of reduction of employment chances for foreign job-seekers. We hypothesized that despite the current economic conditions of a country, employers are prone to hire their fellow citizens rather than foreigners. We have studied the emergence and development of stereotypes and have observed their functions in the process of intercultural communication. In the process of study we have revealed that every person possesses of a set of behavioral norms and characteristics, which is adjusted and regulated by his native community. When two representatives of different cultures are engaged in an interaction act, their own norms and values might collide, which eventually leads cultural conflicts at different levels. Therefore, in order to be a skillful intercultural communicator it is essential to be aware of possible generalizations about a foreign culture since they might lead to misunderstanding and miscommunication. The current study suggests the list of approaches for preventing and managing intercultural conflicts that are likely to occur between an employer and an employee. The main aim of creating the list was the intention to suggest possible strategies of amelioration of the relationship between Italian employers and non-Italian dependents. Nevertheless, the recommendations might be useful for everyone involved in the business environment regardless of his work position and nationality.

The study presents statistical data on the Italian demography, immigration history and tendencies as well as on the intercorrelation of higher education degree with salary amount. It can be concluded that generally Italians tend to have higher salaries than non-Italians regardless of their level of education. Moreover, according to the recent studies, Italians are prone to show hostile attitude towards immigrants due to such false beliefs about them as that foreigners occupy work positions, which increases unemployment among Italians. The statistical data collected in the process of our study show that normally migrant job-seekers get jobs with harder work conditions and lower salaries. However, there are various factors that regulate business relationship between Italian employers and migrant dependents. Therefore, in order to dispel such stereotypes we have conducted a survey that illustrated the real opinions of Italian and non-Italian insiders of the companies in the country of interest. We consider the survey to be representative enough, however taking into account the human factor and personal nature of the questionnaire we assume a certain extent of bias and inaccuracy.

The survey allowed us to observe the actual situation at the Italian labour market. It was found out that generally Italian employees outnumber foreigners even to a larger extent that is presented by the official statistics. What is more, the majority of the participants confirmed the hypothesis of the existence of cultural stereotypes in their companies and some migrant workers claimed to have experienced pressure and occasional prejudiced attitude from their employers. The positive outcome of the survey consists in people's awareness of the problem and their readiness to struggle it. We consider the most significant result of the present project to be the contribution it makes toward enhancing the awareness of both employers and employees about the problem of prejudices.

The present study may provide valuable theoretical information for researchers in the fields of sociology, conflictology, cultural studies, as well as in Italian economics, politics and demography as a basis for investigations of cultural stereotypes. The study offers space for further research due to the versatility of the topic and the essence of significant aspects that regulate business relationship in Italy. The outcomes can be of practical use for the agents engaged in the business environment in Italy.



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Appendix

1. Choose your status / Scelga il Suo stato:

• Employer / Datore di lavoro

• Italian employee / Impiegato italiano

• Non-Italian employee / Impiegato straniero

2. Are/were there any foreign workers in the company you work/worked? / Ci sono/ c'erano dei lavoratori stranieri nell'azienda in cui lavora/ lavorava?

• Yes, many of them / Si, molti

• Yes, some of them / Si, alcuni di loro

• Yes, few of them / Si, pochi

• No, no one / No, nessuno

3. Please introduce yourself (name, age, company) and briefly share your experience in terms of attitude to foreign employees / Si presenti, per favore (nome, età, azienda) e brevemente condivida la Sua esperienza in termini di attitudine verso i dipendenti stranieri.

1) “My name is Lisa, I'm 20, I worked in a company “Hosteslclub.com”, there worked mostly foreigners but also some Italians, including the boss. Usually we got well with each other, tried to collaborate.”

2) “Nome: Vittorio Zugno età 22 azienda hostelsclub.com la mia attitudine era di lavoro, ho avuto il piacere di lavorare con persone di diverse nazionalità e ritengo che con la maggior parte di loro fosse possibile lavorare in maniera organizzata.”

Name: Vittorio Zugno, age 22, company hostelsclub.com. My attitude was working, I had the pleasure of working with people of different nationalities and I believe that with most of them it was possible to work in an organized manner.

3) “Olga, 21; positive and welcome but aware of cultural differences”

4) “Lavoravo ogni giorno con i stranieri, alcuni dipendenti che coordinavo, e per l'attività mi rapportavo continuamente con i operatori internazionali”

I worked every day with foreigners, I coordinated some of the employees, and in my business activity I constantly happened to talk to international operators.

5) “L'esperienza è positiva”

The experience is positive.

6) “Ana Henriques, 26, Hostelsclub

I believe um general the company ia welcoming to foreigners. Although the fact that there are more italians then any other nationality makes you feel pressured to learn the language (although you don't need it to performe your job).”

7) “Francesca 21 almar”

8) “Francesco, 44, university hospital”

9) “Ekaterina, 28 anni, l'azienda Coccinelle: la mia esperienza è positiva, le mie condizioni di lavoro sono uguali alle condizioni degli italiani, non sento nessuna differenza nei miei confronti.”

Ekaterina, 28 years old, the Coccinelle company: my experience is positive, my working conditions are the same as the conditions of the Italians, I don't feel any difference towards me.

10) “Pierpaolo Bettoni 42 anni, Lampre srl . Abbiamo export manager stranieri, Perfettamente integrati in Italia (sono adattati alla mentalità locale )”

Pierpaolo Bettoni 42 years old, Lampre srl. We have foreign export managers, perfectly integrated in Italy (they are adapted to the local mentality).

11) “Jacopo, 41, scuola di italiano per stranieri”

Jacopo, 41, school of Italian language for foreigners

12) “Polina, 20, Hostelsclub. the attitude to foreign employees is nice at the beginning , but it can be changed during a couple of months.”

4. How would you describe the current situation at the Italian labour market in terms of it ethnic content? / Come descriverebbe la situazione attuale nel mercato del lavoro italiano in termini di contenuto etnico?

• There are considerably more migrant workers than Italian ones / Ci sono molto più lavoratori migranti di quelli italiani

• There are slightly more migrant workers than Italian ones / Ci sono un po 'più lavoratori migranti rispetto a quelli italiani

• The correlation between migrant and Italian workers is approximately equal / La correlazione tra lavoratori migranti e italiani è approssimativamente uguale

• There are slightly more Italian employees than migrant ones / Ci sono un po 'più di dipendenti italiani rispetto a quelli migranti

• There are considerably more Italian employees than migrant ones / Ci sono molto più dipendenti italiani rispetto a quelli migranti

• "La media nazionale sono 10%, però il vero numero degli stranieri sono 1-2%"

The national medium is 10%, however the real number of immigrants is 1-2%.

5. In your opinion, what are the possible reasons for that? / Secondo Lei, quali sono le possibili ragioni per questo?

1) “I think that immigrants have less job opportunities than locals, that's normal in every country. Still a reason for that can be stereotypes.”

2) “In Italia ci sono moltissimi immigrati, e siamo quasi arrivati a un punto in qui gli immigrati occupano quasi il 50 percento delle offerte di lavoro che ci sono in Italia.”

In Italy there are very many immigrants, and we are almost at a point where immigrants occupy almost 50 percent of job offers in Italy.

3) “È naturale che ci sia più italiano che migranti. Se ci fossero più migranti vuole dire che c'è un problemino.”

It is natural that there are more Italians than migrants. If there were more migrants, it would mean that there is a little problem.

4) “Perché l'immigrazione è non gestita, non organizzata”

Because immigration is unmanaged, not organized

5) “It's a season thing, in the summer the number of foreigners will equal the number of Italians”

6) “Globalizzazione”

Globalization

7) “La popolazione italiana è maggiore rispetto ai migranti.”

The Italian population is greater than migrants.

8) “E forte il legame con il territorio”

The bond with the territory is strong

9) “Dipende dal tipo di lavoro, una scuola di italiano necessità di personale italiano principalmente”

Depending on the type of work, a school of Italian needs mainly Italian staff

10) “Gli italiani sono in priorità”

Italians are in priority

11) “Needing a job migrant workers are willing to work under all conditions.”

6. Do you agree with the hypothesis of the essence of cultural prejudices towards migrant job-seekers among Italian employers? / Lei è d'accordo con l'ipotesi dell'essenza dei pregiudizi culturali nei confronti degli impiegati stranieri dai datori di lavoro italiani?

• Yes / Si

• No

• Dipende dalla persona"

Depending on the person.

• "Ritengo che questa domanda non possa essere risposta con un si o un no, ritengo che negli ultimi anni si è fatto dei passi da gigante per migliorare, ma esistono ancora in molte aziende italiane."

I believe that we cannot answer yes or no to this question, I think that in the last years huge steps of improvement have been made but they still exist in many Italian companies.

7. (For employers only) What do you pay the main attention at a job interview with a potential employee? / (Solo per i datori di lavoro) A cosa si rivolge l'attenzione principale in un colloquio di lavoro con un potenziale dipendente?

• Nationality / Nazionalità

• Education / Laurea

• Work experience / Esperienza di lavoro

• Appearance / A

• Gender and/or age / Genere e/o età\

• "Dipende dal lavoro, per quale cerco la persona"

Depending on the work that I look the person for.

8. (For employers only) Would you rather hire an Italian job-seeker if he had an EQUAL education level, work experience and skills with a non-Italian one? Why? / (Solo per i datori di lavoro) Preferirebbe assumere un lavoratore italiano se avesse un livello di istruzione, l'esperienza lavorativa e competenze fossero UGUALI a quello straniero? Perché?

• I would hire an Italian / Assumerei un italiano

• I would hire a non-Italian / Assumerei uno straniero

• I would hire both / Assumerei tutti i due

• I would not hire anyone / Non assumerei nessuno

• "Valuto la personalità/carattere del futuro e probabile dipendente"

I appreciate the personality/ character of the possible and potential employee

9. (For employers only) Would you rather hire an Italian job-seeker if his education level, work experience and skills was LOWER than of a non-Italian one? Why? / (Solo per i datori di lavoro) Preferirebbe assumere un candidato italiano se il suo livello di istruzione, esperienza lavorativa e competenze fossero inferiore a quello straniero? Perché?

• I would hire an Italian / Assumerei un italiano

• I would hire a non-Italian / Assumerei uno straniero

• I would hire both / Assumerei tutti i due

• I would not hire anyone / Non assumerei nessuno

• "Dipende dalla situazione."

Depending on the situation

10. (For Italian employees only) Please describe the relationship between your foreign colleagues and your boss. - (Solo per i dipendenti italiani) Descriva cortesimente la relazione tra i Suoi colleghi stranieri ed il Suo capo.

• "Con le persone valide, lavorativamente parlando, il capo si comporta bene». In terms of work, with valuable people the boss behaves well.

• "Assolutamente identica a quella con un lavoratore italiano» Absolutely identical to that with an Italian worker.

• "Positiva" Positive

• "Normale" Normal

• "Rispetto delle differenze" Regarding the differences

• "Come quelle dei colleghi italiani" Like those of Italian colleagues

11. (For Italian employees only) Have you ever noticed (even slightly) a prejudiced attitude of your boss towards them? If yes, please evaluate the degree. /(Solo per i dipendenti italiani) Ha mai notato (anche leggermente) un atteggiamento prevenuto nei confronti del Suo capo nei loro confronti? Se è cosi, si prega di valutare il grado.

• Never / Mai

• Rarely, almost unnoticeable / Raramente, quasi impercettibile

• Quite rare, occasionally / Abbastanza raro, occasionalmente

• Quite often, noticeable prejudices / Abbastanza spesso, pregiudizi evidenti

• Often, considerable prejudiced attitude / Spesso, un atteggiamento pregiudizievole

• Other

12. (For Italian employees only) Do you believe that cultural stereotypes affect migrants' chances of employment and create harder work conditions? Why? / (Solo per i dipendenti italiani) Crede che gli stereotipi culturali influenzino le possibilità dell'occupazione dei migranti e creino dei condizioni di lavoro più difficili? Perché?

• "Sì, perché ci sono molti stereotipi" Yes, because there are many stereotypes

• "Ritengo che in certi casi si creino degli stereotipi che poi possono perseguitare il lavoratore di alcune nazionalità…"

I believe that in some cases stereotypes are created that can then persecute the worker of some nationalities…

• "Poco" A little

• "No, valgono i titoli" No, the titles matter

• "Perché gli italiani credono agli stereotipi,anche nazionali»

Because Italians believe in stereotypes, even national ones

13. (For non-Italian employees only) Was it challenging for you to find a job in Italy? If yes, to your mind, was your non-Italian origin one of the main reasons for that? / (Solo per gli impiegati stranieri) È stato difficile per Lei trovare un lavoro in Italia? Se è cosi, secondo Lei, la Sua origine non italiana è stata uno dei motivi principali?

• Yes / Si

• Maybe / Può essere

• No

• "It was easy to find a job, but I was lucky, my friend help me. Maybe it would have been much harder if I had been looking for a job by myself»

14. (For non-Italian employees only) Have you ever experienced a prejudiced attitude from your boss because of your nationality? / (Solo per gli impiegati stranieri) Ha mai sentito un atteggiamento prevenuto da parte del Suo capo a causa della Sua nazionalità?

• No, never /No, mai

• It was once or happens/happened very rarely / È stato solo una volta o succede/succedeva molto raramente

• It happens/happened quite often / Succede/succedeva abbastanza spesso

• I always feel/felt treated unfairly because of that / Mi sento/sentivo sempre trattato ingiustamente a causa di questo

• Other

15. (For non-Italian employees only) Would you agree that cultural stereotypes of employers in Italy reduce foreigners' chances of employment and worsen their work conditions? Why? / (Solo per gli impiegati stranieri) Concorderebbe che gli stereotipi culturali dei datori di lavoro in Italia riducono le possibilità di occupazione degli stranieri e peggiorano le loro condizioni di lavoro? Perché?

• "Yes, because still employers prefer to hire their cocitizens, maybe even without realizing that. That's unfair, no doubt."

• "Yes but l never experienced that in Hostelsclub"

• "Nel mio caso personale non ho notato degli stereotipi, comunque credo che le aziende grandi sono più aperti ad assumere gli stranieri rispetto alle aziende più piccole e mentalmente più chiuse."

In my personal case I did not notice stereotypes, however I believe that large companies are more open to hiring foreigners than smaller, mentally closed companies

• "si, se gli steriotipi sono negativi, la occupazione degli stranieri e poco probabile"

Yes, if the stereotypes are negative, the employment of foreigners is unlikely

• "It usually reduces non-italians chances just for the fact that in Italy the mentality of "putting the italians first" instead of putting the most effective and efficient first rules."

16. Final question! Do you believe that this situation might be changed? If yes, please provide some possible strategies that to your mind could ameliorate Italian employers' attitude towards foreign job-seekers. / Domanda finale! Crede che questa situazione potrebbe essere cambiata? In caso affermativo, si prega di fornire alcune possibili strategie che potrebbero aiutare a migliorare l'atteggiamento dei datori di lavoro italiani nei confronti dei dipendenti stranieri.

• "Sì. Si accorciano le distanze conoscendosi."

Yes. We shorten the distances by knowing each other.

• "Maybe some articles with tips should be written. Some facts and data that reflect the reality. Or lectures, trainings. People should change their point of view. In the world of globalization it is inevitable"

• "Si, come già detto, negli ultimi anni si sono visti dei grandi passi in avanti, sono convinto che molto presto grazie a questo aumento dei popoli stranieri in Italia (e con un loro costante impegno nell'ambito lavorativo), questi pregiudizi, spariranno molto presto."

Yes, as I've already mentioned, in recent years there have been done great improvements, I am convinced that very soon thanks to this increase in foreign peoples in Italy (and with their constant commitment in the workplace), these prejudices will disappear very soon.

• "It is a question of mentality; however, the attitude may change if employers understand the benefits they can get by hiring foreigners"

• "Secondo me, evolverà al livello naturale. La mentalità diversa crea sempre i problemi. La situazione può cambiarsi solo naturalmente."

In my opinion, it will evolve to the natural level. The different mentality always creates problems. The situation can only change naturally.

• "Si, se il curriculum vitae di un lavoratore straniero deve convincere un datore di lavoro di assumerlo"

Yes, if the CV of a foreign worker convinces an employer to hire him

• "I think it should be changed, diversity is good for business. Working with universities and employing foreigner srudents from those universities could be a good start"

• "Si attraverso promozioni di uhiagliaza" Yes through equality promotions

• "Leggi ad hoc" Ad hoc laws

• "Se le aziende dovessero pagare meno tasse per i dipendenti stranieri o avessero altre agevolazioni di questo tipo per aiutare l'integrazione dei migranti le aziende italiane sicuramente assumerebbero più stranieri."

If companies had to pay less taxes for foreign employees or had other benefits of this kind to help the integration of migrants, Italian companies would certainly hire more foreigners.

• "Si la mentalità con il tempo cambia" Yes the mentality changes with time

• "No, non-credo possa essere cambiata"

• No, I don't believe it can be changed

• "è necessario aumentare la consapevolezza delle differenze culturali"

It is necessary to increase awareness of cultural differences

• "It may be changed,by changing the mentality"

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