**2. Conceptual Framework and Theoretical Background**

#### *2.1. Transitional Society*

A key term used in the research literature in the context of describing traditional societies is "transitional society." This term combines two seemingly contradictory theoretical terms—traditional society and modern society. Traditional society is characterized by strong emotional ties between its members and a strong sense of belonging to the community and family. Formal education is not so important to it and is characterized by conservative religious traits, which are reflected in traditional employment patterns [9]. The focus of the research discourse on "transition society" is the social change derived from the undermining of the traditional structure of the ultra-Orthodox society and the weakening of constituent values such as patriarchal family structure and traditional division of roles in the family.

Societies undergo processes that affect their identity, following the infiltration of new values, such as acquiring higher education and then integration into an out-of-community workplace. In Israel, conservative minority groups are generally considered "transitional societies," as is the ultra-Orthodox society. Proponents of modernity assume that modernization of the individual and society is made possible by processes, one of which is an increase in the level of education and changing employment patterns of men and women. These processes inevitably affect the individual, the family, and society, when combining dominant cultural values, with those of their own culture [10,11].

#### *2.2. Ultra-Orthodox Society—An Enclave in Transition*

An "enclave in transition" is a phrase that came up in the current study, which expresses in broad terms the changes that are taking place in Israeli ultra-Orthodox society in its current form [12]. The combination combines two common terms in the study of traditional minority groups. The first term is "transitional society" as described above, and the second, "enclave culture," rests on Douglas's theory and expresses the concept of the seclusion of conservative societies [1,2]. In this context, most researchers ask about the identity of the enclave and their ways of dealing with the impact of global changes on conservative societies in general and on ultra-Orthodox society in particular. One of the significant changes in modern society is the need to acquire education for occupational integration.

Collins (1979) [13] defines the social necessity of acquiring "qualifications" in order to integrate into the modern society that is defined as giving the qualifications. In ultra-Orthodox society, acquiring an academic education is an act that, from a value point of view, has not yet received general public consent and is, from a practical point of view, full of difficulties. One of the key issues that the ultra-Orthodox society is debating is the proper attitude toward acquiring a general education—which is one of the characteristics of the "external" society—because it also serves as a source for creating and disseminating modern values and is at odds with the value of community self-preservation [14]. Although the acquisition of higher education by the ultra-Orthodox, and especially by women, enjoys

some legitimacy in the community, many of the rabbis and a large part of the ultra-Orthodox public still boycott it.

As mentioned previously, the ultra-Orthodox community in Israel has undergone a significant process in the past two decades in relation to the world of employment and the acquisition of higher education—there has been a significant increase in the number of ultra-Orthodox students studying in academic and professional institutions, as opposed to the past [15]. The escalation in the numbers of ultra-Orthodox learners in academic institutions, and working is due to a number of factors: the penetration of modern norms into the ultra-Orthodox community, worsening economic distress in this community due to cuts in allowances and the significant reduction in contributions from abroad, the culture of abundance, and an increase in living standards. Another factor that is of particular concern to ultra-Orthodox women is the change in the status of the teaching profession, which was until recently the main source of livelihood for them [16].

Integrators face complex barriers during entering the employment market. In the work space itself, they have to deal with issues related to being religious people, such as men and women working together, prayer times, and kosher food. In addition to all of these, there are cultural gaps that make it difficult to socialize with other employees as well as lack of professional knowledge. The men, in particular, have difficulty interacting with technology (computer use, etc.) and often lack English language knowledge [16].

In addition, they have to deal with conflicts in the family–community space—for example, the need to confront the ideal of segregation and seclusion from Western culture and to continue working in adult life within the community according to customary norms.

The purpose of the present essay is to examine how academic ultra-Orthodox deal with stressful situations in an employment space outside the enclave. This may help to formulate ways for the best integration of secluded minorities into the general employment space, and the integrators may be a model for the rest of the community, a model that symbolizes coping capacity in a different environment from their community.

#### *2.3. Coping with Stress and Conflict Situations*

The dialectical process of the departure of ultra-Orthodox from their known boundaries into the "outside" world of employment is accompanied by practical and emotional conflicts. The hopping between a religious and closed conservative society and a non-religious liberal society poses complex challenges for the ultra-Orthodox and can often present conflict in their workplace. Socially, his employers and co-workers expose him to relationships and emotional and social interactions he did not know before. This new environment encourages him to assimilate the importance of emotional flexibility and adapt to social and personal stressors [12].

Coping is the realization of behaviors that are the product of assessments the individual makes about situations he experiences. These behaviors do not appear in a vacuum but are the result of a process that began even before encountering the circumstances. For example, recognizing that a response (as opposed to a lack of response) is available to the individual and has the power to recreate the feeling as less threatening than it appears at first glance. In another example, if a response (versus a lack of response) does not help to the extent that the individual expected it to help, it is possible for him/her to reassess the level of threat or the effectiveness of his response.

The complex system known as the "coping process" is a continuous cycle of the individual's interaction with stress situations. As we mentioned above, there are two main coping strategies. The first is problem-focused coping—taking action to solve the problem. That is, the individual needs to do something to reduce the stress. The other is emotion-focused coping—managing the emotions that arise in response to the situation [8]. Although stress situations usually produce both types of strategies, the problem-focused strategies are usually the more dominant ones in that one feels able to do something meaningful and constructive in order to effect change. In contrast, the emotion-focused

strategies are more dominant when one feels that the stress situation is unchangeable and hence provides no choice other than enduring it.

The interactional model for studying stress situations by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) [8] addresses the question of how individual and specific characteristics affect coping situations. Stress status, according to this model, is a subjective phenomenon. Each person's response depends on how much he or she considers the situation as threatening or challenging and the coping resources available to them in dealing with the experience. Lazarus and Folkman's approach [8] relies on the assumption that coping with stress is an active process associated with cognitive, emotional and behavioral aspects. External coping resources, such as social and family support, are of great importance for successfully coping with stressful situations. That is, positive relationships make a big contribution to developing coping strategies, expanding employee emotional resources, and effectively coping with stress and conflict situations.

Lazarus and Folkman distinguish between two types of coping strategies—problem-solving and emotion-focused coping. The problem-solving strategies obviously focus on solving the problem, while the emotion-focused strategies are centered on one's attempt to change one's own perception. Problem-solving strategies include, for example, planning or addressing religion or social support. Emotion-focused strategies involve, for example, venting emotions, self-blame, or denial [17].

The current study sought to examine the ways in which the academic ultra-Orthodox deal with the "outside" during the integration into the employment market. To address this, three key questions were defined:


The phenomenological analysis of the research materials was done in light of the interaction model for coping with the pressure by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman [8]. The two researchers have tried to answer how people deal with stress situations given their personal characteristics and, of course, the characteristics of the particular situation in the context in question.

#### **3. Methodology**

#### *3.1. Research Procedure*

The research was conducted for the Israel Democracy Institute and received the approval of the Ethics Committee for the Dispute Management and Conflict Program at Ben Gurion University. The participants were informed that we are interested in understanding their perceptions and opinions on the subject under study. The confidentiality of the work was also emphasized.

Participants were selected using the snowball sample method [18]. The decision to use this technique arose from the difficulty of accessing likely subjects, in particular those belonging to closed religious communities that prefer to avoid exposure. Such subjects are objectively difficult to reach due to their insulation [19]. The choice of this sampling method was also influenced by the suspiciousness characterizing religious communities and "hidden populations" that are difficult to locate and engage [20].

The research leans on the qualitative paradigm that claims to understand the phenomenon being explored in its daily natural environment [21], thus gaining insights into their experiences and meaning [22].

The data analysis was based on the "Grounded Theory" approach [23], which is relevant to research and raises general questions, as in the present study. This approach assumes that people with shared life circumstances also have common social and psychological patterns that grow out of their shared experiences. Accordingly, the researcher attempts to identify these key patterns and describe them in order to explain the phenomenon under study. The analysis according to this approach includes two steps: first, general topic analysis, which looks for key themes and patterns that emerged in the interviews; and second, providing an interpretation of those themes and the hidden and implicit meanings of the more visible ones.

#### *3.2. The Focus Groups*

In order to examine the central issue regarding the ways of dealing with the ultra-Orthodox, in the realm of employment, the central tools used in this study are focus groups. These groups were in fact a form of focus groups, whose central purpose was to explore the participants' personal opinions and understand their feelings in depth [24].

The focus groups have a clear advantage of the dynamics between the participants which can reveal fascinating information about them. This is information that individual interviews will not provide. The same dynamics and sharing produce a diverse discourse, different from any other research tool. In addition, within a group, a focus on listening and special diagnostic ability is required. It requires the researcher to develop listening and analysis skills. In women's groups, the group seems to be productive and unique in that it helps to address significant social issues that are sometimes taboo or met with silence [25].

Four focus groups were convened throughout December 2015. The groups were divided by gender, as is accepted in ultra-Orthodox society; 15 women (Table 1) and 11 men between the ages of 20 and 56 participated in the groups. The participants had varied occupational backgrounds (e.g., municipal management, teaching, software engineering, swimming instruction) and also belonged to different streams in Orthodox society (e.g., Lithuanian, Hassidic, Mizrahi, modern). Furthermore, participants in the focus groups reported that they work in a variety of workplaces (16 employees at ultra-Orthodox workplaces, two employees at national religious workplaces, and eight at secular workplaces).


**Table 1.** Participants in focus group for women—personal data.

The focus groups were recorded with the permission of the participants and then transcribed into text. In the article, all original names have been replaced with pseudonyms. The accumulated findings were interpreted through content analysis of the statements made by the subjects and used to construct the central themes presented below. The group discussions focused on the issue of coping with challenges of integration into the workforce.

#### **4. Findings**

The research materials relate to three main questions that the research sought to examine—What coping strategies do ultra-Orthodox academics use in the employment space outside their community? Is there a difference in the patterns and coping resources of the ultra-Orthodox who remain in the ultra-Orthodox enclave compared to the ultra-Orthodox who move outside? Are there differences in women's and men's coping patterns?

In general, the research materials indicate two major trends: first, the formulating of unique coping patterns of most participants with conflicts that have arisen in their work situation. The second, the use of problem-focused strategies as opposed to the use of ineffective (emotion-focused) strategies. I will address the three key questions posed by the research in detail.

#### *4.1. Coping Strategies in the "Out-of-Community" Employment Space*

The first research question, therefore, focused on examining the coping strategies that academic Ultra-Orthodox m take in their encounter with the "outside" working world, one characterized by modern secular values and culture. The different strategies have been grouped into two main strategies—adaptive (i.e., problem-focused) and non-adaptive (i.e., emotion-focused). The work place itself forces them to deal with conflicts associated with belonging to a conservative community with norms different from those outside. There are also work skills that the ultra-Orthodox lack due to their lack of experience.

#### 4.1.1. Instrumental Social Support

The coping strategy that stood out among the research participants was the appeal for instrumental social support. Joining other ultra-Orthodox workers in the workplace is a convenient and effective strategy for dealing with the conflicts that arise.

Participants' comments reveal a combined strategy of seeking emotional support and a united format for solving problems. This form of coping stands out in workplaces with a number of ultra-Orthodox employees, who have gained power by instituting "ultra-orthodox" norms in the workplace, which help the integration of the ultra-Orthodox without harming the output of other workers.

*We do not come to an orientation day. They tried to persuade us in the past and tried to figure out why not. It includes accommodation, and we decided as a team that we're not even giving it a chance, and they really respect that. And even if some of them curse, they really refrain to do so when we're around. [* ... *] For example, there is a toast and they want us to come, so we come and everything is kosher by our standards, but we are observers and do not interfere as long as it is during work hours. But once there are fun days, etc., we don't participate at all.*

Ruth speaks in terms of "they" and "us" as she describes her coping in the workplace. There is no doubt that social support from like-minded women serves as a pillar to help her personally cope with the difficulties but also provides a tool for dealing with employers when she and her friends present different demands.

Because it is a closed society, an ultra-Orthodox person is usually not exposed to his peers from the general population. As the ultra-Orthodox press (mostly printed, and also online) operates a strict filter of news and events in general society, ultra-Orthodox people are rarely exposed to behaviors and situations that are not appropriate for their community. We therefore asked how they emotionally cope with exposure to complex social situations. This question mainly answered by women who work in the fields of care and education in non-non ultra-Orthodox frameworks, as Michal replied:

*All in all* ... *there are di*ff*erent views, so I'm not too involved. And I come from a home where my mother works and in the past, studied at the Hebrew University, where it's really heresy, right against religion, and she always told us, "There's nothing to do. We are in a world with lots of people and* *sectors and need to know how to cope." I don't intend to come and fight, I just keep to myself, the main thing is that as for moral deterioration, everything is okay, and parties and stu*ff *I don't interfere, and in opinions, too, I'm not fighting. I just keep to myself.*
