Workplace Arrangement and Language Acquisition of Immigrants

Abstract

Flexible workplace arrangements (FWA), particularly working from home and working without fixed workplaces, have become increasingly prevalent worldwide. However, their implications for the social integration of immigrant workers remain underexplored. This study investigates whether and how FWA relate immigrant workers’ social integration, focusing on their proficiency in the destination language, a key indicator of social integration outcomes. Using data from the 2016 and 2021 Population Census conducted by the Census and Statistics Department of Hong Kong SAR, we compare immigrant workers under three workplace arrangements: on-site, working without a fixed workplace, and working from home. Our findings reveal a strong and positive relationship between work without a fixed workplace and immigrants’ proficiency in Cantonese, the local language of Hong Kong. This relationship is consistent across immigrants with varying durations of stay and those who migrated before or after adulthood. Instrumental variable regressions, causal mediation analysis and placebo tests further suggest that this relationship is likely causal. This study represents the first work to extend the understanding of FWA beyond economic performance to social integration outcomes, opening avenues for future research on the broader societal impacts of evolving work arrangements in the post-pandemic era and offering fresh insights for migration integration and skill management policies.