Decent and Meaningful Work: Experiences of Immigrant Construction Workers in Portugal

ABSTRACT This study explores the experiences of African migrant workers in Portugal's construction sector, focusing on how decent work and meaningful work coexist under structural vulnerability. Guided by the Psychology of Working Theory, semi‐structured interviews with 18 workers were analysed through reflexive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that temporary contracts, low wages, hazardous conditions and limited social protection constrain access to decent work. Despite these challenges, workers actively construct meaningful work through family‐oriented motivations, peer solidarity, and recognition from supervisors. Meaningful work emerges as a relational, situated process, shaped by structural conditions but not reducible to them. Individual and collective resilience sustain dignity, purpose and self‐worth, highlighting the non‐linear relationship between decent work and meaningful work. The results suggest that meaning at work can persist even in precarious contexts, emphasizing the importance of integrated labour policies and organizational practices that foster both decent work and meaningful work, supporting migrant workers' well‐being, agency and long‐term integration.