Sports as a gateway – and a glass ceiling? Physical leisure and refugee employment trajectories

Abstract

This study investigates the role of engaging in physical leisure activities in facilitating refugees? structural integration through enhancing their social capital, destination-language proficiency, and health. The physical fitness gained from such activities can also be crucial for securing physically demanding jobs. As employment significantly influences refugees? social integration, this research specifically examines the impact of the intensity and regularity of sports engagement on employment outcomes among refugees from the 2015/16 influx in Germany. Utilising longitudinal data from the IAB-BAMF-SOEP Survey of Refugees, findings reveal that regular and more intensive engagement in physical leisure activities increases refugees? chances of securing gainful employment and obtaining physically demanding jobs in the subsequent year. However, sports involvement does not correlate with higher occupational prestige, potentially locking them into lower-status jobs. Additionally, time spent in other types of leisure activities shows a slightly negative association with labour market outcomes, underscoring the unique benefits of sports. This points to the dual-edged nature of sports as an integration tool ? beneficial in fostering initial labour market entry but possibly limiting in terms of career advancement.