Beyond Remittances: A Holistic Framework Of Migrant Workers’ Resilience From Pre-Departure Psychology To Family Coping Mechanisms

Abstract

Migrant workers represent a structurally vulnerable demographic susceptible to transnational labor exploitation, psychological distress, and economic shocks that reverberate back to their origin countries. While global labor migration research predominantly evaluates the economic impact of remittances linearly, this study proposes an integrated, multi-phase framework of migrant resilience. Employing a comprehensive desk-based analytical approach synthesizing socio-economic, psychological, and institutional datasets from Indonesian migrant workers (PMI), this paper maps the migrant journey across three critical phases: pre-departure, host-country penplacement, and left-behind family survival. The analysis reveals that psychological readiness—specifically fostered through Group Positive Psychotherapy—serves as a vital baseline to mitigate pre-departure anxiety. Upon placement, the financial optimization of remittances is heavily dependent on the workers' localized living costs, educational backgrounds, and the safety nets provided by institutionalized Islamic philanthropy (e.g., Dompet Dhuafa), which redefines traditional tenets to shelter exploited workers. Finally, the study examines how structural remittance delays force left-behind families to deploy active, passive, and network-driven coping strategies to survive. Consequently, this paper argues that international labor policies must transcend mere legal-repressive frameworks, shifting toward a holistic protection ecosystem that synchronizes psychological capital, financial literacy, and transnational social support.