Adapting to Cultural Diversity at Work: A Thematic Analysis of Resources Mobilized by Local and Posted Agricultural Workers in France

Authors

Alexandrine Ceschiutti, UR 1901 Qualité de vie et Santé psychologique (Qualipsy), University of Tours, FranceFollow
René Mokounkolo, UR 1901 Qualité de vie et Santé psychologique (Qualipsy), University of Tours, FranceFollow

Abstract

When workers have to adapt to a new culture, they develop intercultural skills as cultural intelligence (CQ), which is the ability to show an interest and act effectively in an environment characterized by cultural diversity. There has been little research on this subject in France, and studies have focused on expatriates, while acculturation also affects people from the local community. This is the case for local agricultural workers (LW), whose perceptions we compare with those of foreign posted agricultural workers (PW) in France. Our study had two aims: (a) to explore the personal resources that these workers perceive as necessary to adapt to cultural diversity and (b) to identify potential differences between adapting to cultural diversity at home and abroad. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 24 PWs, mostly Moroccan and Senegalese, and 18 French LWs, followed by a thematic content analysis. All the participants mentioned two categories of resources: first, the ability to apply moral values (e.g., respect, equality) and secondly, the ability to engage with others and to adapt culturally, at cognitive and behavioural levels. The only difference between the two groups was the order of importance given to these resources; PWs tended to give greater importance to moral values, while the LWs focused more on cultural adaptation. These results indicate the workers' awareness of the need to develop specific skills to adapt to intercultural work environments. These are discussed in relation to the four corresponding dimensions of CQ.

Keywords

cultural diversity, individual resources, intercultural skills, cultural intelligence, thematic analysis, agricultural workers

Author Bio(s)

Alexandrine Ceschiutti has a Ph.D. in Intercultural Psychology of Work and Organizations from UR 1901 Qualité de vie et Santé psychologique (Qualipsy), University of Tours, France. Please direct correspondance to ceschiutti@univ-tours.fr

René Mokounkolo is a Senior Lecturer in Intercultural Psychology of Work and Organizations at UR 1901 Qualité de vie et Santé psychologique (Qualipsy), University of Tours, France.

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all those who contributed to this research and to the writing of this scholarly article, with particular thanks to Erwan Touzé, Manon Fillion and Sorenza Laroche for their help with data coding.

Publication Date

2-16-2026

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2026.7976

Recommended APA Citation

Ceschiutti, A., & Mokounkolo, R. (2026). Adapting to cultural diversity at work: A thematic analysis of resources mobilized by local and posted agricultural workers in France. The Qualitative Report, 31(2), 5283-5305. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2026.7976

ORCID ID

https://orcid.org/0009-0009-6213-7508