Paper short abstract:

Amidst the promotion of migration as sole possibility to secure stable futures among supermarket employees in Bosnia, this paper analyses how some employees negotiated their wish to stay put by attempting to create variegated securities at the workplace, and thus a more stable future.

Paper long abstract:

Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the mobility of its citizens, who had been accustomed to mostly unrestricted movement, became increasingly constrained until the introduction of the Western Balkan Regulation in Germany in 2015. This regulation ensured convenient access to the German labour market, sparking a new wave of labour migration. Many individuals left in pursuit of economic but especially political stability (Majstorović 2021). Since 1991, the former Yugoslav countries have lost one-third of their population (Rajković 2023), while migration was heralded as the sole opportunity to secure a stable future in one of the wealthiest European countries.

Contrary to this prevailing narrative, my observations in a Bosnian supermarket in 2019 depicted a different reality. Nearly all my interlocutors shared concerns about an uncertain future in Bosnia, but despite the omnipresence of the option to leave, many of my interlocutors found it challenging to justify their decision, describing it as particularly painful and difficult. And while some decided to leave, others chose to stay.

This paper centers on the motivations and perceptions on mobility of those who stayed. Aligning with Schewel’s (2019) concept of 'acquiescent immobility,' that challenges the ‘mobility bias’, the paper explores the discursive techniques employees created and actions they took to justify their decision to stay put. Employees often engaged in gossip and mockery directed at those arriving from the diaspora or attempted to establish diverse securities in the workplace to ensure a stable environment and a potential future in Bosnia.