‘It changes your priorities’: stay-return motivations among UK’s Polish essential workers in the polycrisis of Brexit and Covid-19

Abstract

This article explores stay-return motivations among Polish migrant essential workers in the UK and how the combination of Brexit and Covid-19 shapes them. It conceptualises Brexit and Covid-19 as polycrisis, ie multiple, mutually reinforcing crises and illustrates how the intertwinement of both produces a new context against which migrant aspirations and transnational mobilities are negotiated. In doing so, the article calls for sustained engagement with polycrisis in research on migrant workers’ decision-making. The focus on Polish migrant workers is far from arbitrary: Polish remains one of the most numerous non-British nationalities in the UK despite decreasing by approximately 25% post Brexit referendum. Poles are also heavily represented in the essential work sectors such as food production, healthcare and transport, in particular in the more precarious and lower-paid roles. Methodologically, the article is based on a mixed-methods study including an online survey (n = 1105) and 40 qualitative interviews with Polish migrant essential workers alongside 10 expert interviews with key stakeholders providing support to migrant workers in the UK. It draws upon the first major study exploring lived experiences of migrant essential workers in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic funded by the UK Economic and Social Research Council.