Attachments to Work: Russians in Israel

Immigrants moving between contrasting industrial cultures carry work habits and perceptions of work from their culture of origin, not readily erased through assimilation. Russian émigrés to Israel persisted in a Soviet-like view of work authority, importance of their employing organization, and their union. They also emphasized self, self-expression, and personal achievement as one reaction to their having been minimized in the USSR. At the same time, Russians assimilated to global perceptions of satisfaction with job, organization, and work life in general, as well as many microfeatures of their work environments, responding in a manner similar to their Israeli counterparts. Assimilation to the Israeli work culture was clearly piecemeal.