Stress, Burnout, and Turnover Issues of Black Expatriate Education Professionals in South Korea: Social Biases, Discrimination, and Workplace Bullying

Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 May 29;17(11):3851. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17113851.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to understand expatriate educators' overall teaching experiences and opinions about living in South Korea. The research study sought to explore the relationship between stressors and social biases against Black individuals and their suicidal behaviours and turnover decisions. The approach of stress, burnout, career decision, and suicide guided this study as the lens. The research method for this study included a phenomenological analysis of two sessions of semi-structured interviews with 18 Black expatriates in the field of education in South Korea. The results indicate that their experiences were impacted by unfairness against individuals based on their skin colour and nationalities. The outcomes of this study highlight the major difficulties experienced by foreign professionals living in South Korea. They can be used by human resource professionals, school administrators, and government leaders to reform their current policy and improve expatriate experiences so as to prevent turnover.

Keywords: South Korea; burnout; career decision; discrimination; foreign professionals; social biases; stress; suicide; turnover; workplace bullying.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Bias
  • Bullying*
  • Burnout, Professional*
  • Humans
  • Personnel Turnover*
  • Republic of Korea
  • Workplace