SOME FINDINGS ABOUT THE WORK-LIFE OF TURK IMMIGRANTS LIVING IN GERMANY AND THE EFFECTS OF WORK-LIFE ON TURK IMMIGRANTS

Individuals who do not have enough employment opportunities to lead their life where they live immigrate voluntarily to other cities or countries in order to reach better financial conditions. Fun- damental reason that lies behind these immigrations is not an obligation like the wars, natural disasters etc., nor a political reason, but rather the economic circumstances. Our immi- grants in Germany in the 1960s immigrated just for these reasons. The first generation Turk immi- grants in Germany used to think about earning much money in a short term and returning to Turkey with better financial conditions. However, that was not the case as they had thoughtin the beginning. They did not return to Turkey; on the contrary, they eve brought their spouses and children to the “bitter homeland” Germany, and over the time, their children and grandchildren started to have a work-life in Germa- ny as well. Today, there are four generations of Turks who work and earn their life there. In this study, we will try to address the work-life conditions of the first, second, and third generation of Turks living in Germany, and the psychosocial effects that such work-life have on their life