Bok:978 3 319 17647 5 PDF

LiisaMkel VesaSuutari Editors
Work and
Family
Interface in the
International
Career Context
Work and Family Interface in the International

Career Context
Liisa Mkel Vesa Suutari

Editors
Work and Family

Interface in the International
Career Context
123
Editors
Liisa Mkel
Department of Management
University of Vaasa
Vaasa, Finland
ISBN 978-3-319-17646-8
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-17647-5
Vesa Suutari
Department of Management
University of Vaasa
Vaasa, Finland
ISBN 978-3-319-17647-5 (eBook)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2015942681

Springer Cham Heidelberg New York Dordrecht London
Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
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Contents
The Work and Personal Life Interface in the International

Career Context: An Introduction .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Liisa Mkel and Vesa Suutari
Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation:
A Case Study of Expatriate Mining Professionals . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Julia Richardson, Steve McKenna, Carolyn Dickie,
and Clare Kelliher
Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility:
Key Characteristics of the Successful Moveable Family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Mila Lazarova, Yvonne McNulty, and Monica Semeniuk
Another Look at Family Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Arno Haslberger, Thomas Hippler, and Chris Brewster
What Is a Better Predictor of Work-Family Conflict

in India? Gender or Gender Role Ideology .. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Ujvala Rajadhyaksha and Sofiya Velgach
11
29
53
71
Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples in International Context . . . .

Agnieszka Kierner
95
Adjustment of Spouses of Self-Initiated Expatriates:

Feeling Different vs. Feeling Welcome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Jakob Lauring and Jan Selmer
Home, Family and the Self-Initiated Expatriate

Experience: Living with Uncertainty, Complexity and Change .. . . . . . 139
David Clark and Yochanan Altman
International Business Travel and Work-Family Balance:

Research Review and Future Directions . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Kati Saarenp
vi
Contents
10 International Business Traveler, Is Work Always

on Your Mind? An Investigation of the Relationship
Between Sources of Social Support and Satisfaction
with Work-Related International Travel: The Moderating
Role of Over-Commitment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Liisa Mkel, Helen De Cieri, and Audra Mockaitis
11 A Framework for Work-Life Management
in Multinational Corporations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Helen De Cieri and E. Anne Bardoel
Chapter 1
The Work and Personal Life Interface in the

International Career Context: An Introduction
Liisa Mkel and Vesa Suutari
The globalization of business has led to an increasing number of people working in

the international business environment and moving across borders for their work.
International work now takes several different forms, from long-term assignments
lasting several years to short-term assignments of some months or to frequent
international travelling (Collings et al. 2007; Suutari and Brewster 2009). The most
extensive attention in both research and practice has been directed towards the
management of organizational expatriates sent abroad by their employer typically
for a few years, for example, to manage international business operations abroad,
transfer knowledge across a unit of an MNC and to coordinate the activities of
MNCs across borders. With access to the long-term experience of MNCs employing
expatriates and the related large-scale research done among such expatriates, we
already know a great deal about issues such as adjustment problems, training
needs and repatriation challenges. Issues affecting spouses and the family have
also attracted expatriation research, albeit in-depth examples are relatively scarce
(Caligiuri et al. 1998; Haslberger and Brewster 2008; Richardson 2007).
More recently the discussion on international careers has been broadened to
involve other kinds of international employees such as those who search for
work opportunities outside their home countries on their own initiative, who are
called self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) (Suutari and Brewster 2000; Cerdin and
Le Pargneux 2010; Bieman and Andresen 2010). Those individuals have taken the
management of their careers into their own hands and have searched for jobs abroad
unassisted by an employer. Such self-initiated mobility is on the rise owing to the
combined effects of the globalization of business life; the changing nature of careers,
that have become more attuned to increased mobility across organizational and
L. Mkel () V. Suutari

Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
e-mail: liisa.makela@uwasa.fi; vesa.suutari@uwasa.fi
L. Mkel, V. Suutari (eds.), Work and Family Interface in the International
Career Context, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-17647-5_1
L. Mkel and V. Suutari
national borders; and the opening of job markets internationally. Consequently, SIEs
are predicted to become the largest group of internationally-mobile managers within
the next decade (Tharenou and Caulfield 2010). In addition to differences in the
original motivation for expatriation, the situation of organizational expatriates and
SIEs is very different from the perspective of the organizational support available to
each during expatriation.
In addition to having longer-term expatriates, companies are increasingly
using short-term assignments as an element in their international staffing strategy
(Collings et al. 2007). Such assignees often work on a range of different projects
or are involved in development processes involving the transfer of knowledge
or organizational practices across borders (Tahvanainen et al. 2005; Collings et al.
2007; Mayrhofer et al. 2012). Sometimes short-term assignments replace traditional
longer-term assignments, while in other cases both forms are used in parallel in a
company targeting increasing internationalization and the integration of operations
across borders. While long-term, traditional expatriation is usually managed by the
international human resource department through the mechanism of organizationwide policies, there is far less clarity about the management of short-term
assignments within companies, and thus policies are often not as well developed,
meaning short-term assignees are often left to fend for themselves more than their
longer-term assignee counterparts (Brewster et al. 2001; Suutari et al. 2013).
In addition to the assignment types mentioned above, it is increasingly common
for professional and managerial roles to involve frequent international travel due
to, for instance, business negotiations and project meetings (Collings et al. 2007;
Ramsey et al. 2011). Work involving frequent travel typically means irregular
working hours, leaving home at short notice and long absences from home (Meurs
et al. 2008; Konopaske et al. 2009). Travelling itself is also often a wearying
business and strain related to travel may continue even after the traveller is back
home due to jetlag and fatigue. Although international business travellers have been
acknowledged to be an increasingly important segment of the MNC workforce, there
is evidence that HRM practices largely overlook the special needs of this group
(Mayerhofer et al. 2010).
International work now takes many forms, and is an increasingly common part
of the careers of managers and professionals in business life and also in many
other kinds of public sector organizations. It is also important to recognize that
it is increasingly common that a proportion of careers become truly global in the
longer term, meaning that internationally oriented professionals often already have
experience in several different types of international assignments (Cappellen and
Janssens 2005; Dickman and Harris 2005; Stahl and Cerdin 2004; Suutari et al.
2012). Such global professionals have a longer-term commitment to working in the
international career context, and have developed the related global competencies
that are increasingly necessary in business life. From that angle, the different kinds
of international jobs may become more permanent parts of the lives of international
professionals and their families, rather than merely being an interruption to the
domestic career, after which life continues as before. The cyclical nature of life
involving frequent relocations and uncertainty about future jobs presents extra
1 The Work and Personal Life Interface in the International Career Context. . .
challenges to global careerists but on the other hand, during their long-term
international careers they will have developed different coping skills to handle such
challenges (Mkel and Suutari 2011).
One of the main challenges faced in the international career context involving
the different kinds of international roles discussed above concerns the work-family
interface. International work has broad repercussions for both the employee and
that employees family (Haslberger and Brewster 2008). The literature on work and
personal life dynamics in the domestic career context has covered issues including
the reasons for and outcomes of such conflicts or enrichment (Eby et al. 2005;
Kinnunen and Mauno 2008), coping strategies individuals and their families employ
in handling conflicts (Somech and Drach-Zahavy 2007), and organizational policies
and practices that facilitate staff successfully combining their work and personal
lives (Thompson et al. 2004). All these perspectives are relevant when addressing
the work-life interface of international professionals.
International work often involves moving abroad with the family, distance
relationships, and/or absence from home due to travel. Overall, international
assignments are often found to be very challenging not least because expatriate jobs
typically involve broad tasks, a high level of autonomy and often responsibilities at
a higher organizational level than previously experienced. In addition, expatriates
have to learn to work in a new organization in a different culture. When expatriation
affects the whole family due to relocation and the related adjustment requirements,
and at the same time the expatriate is burdened with adjusting to the new role,
it is not surprising that managing the work-family interface is among the major
challenges faced by people on long-term international assignment (Mkel and
Suutari 2011). Family reasons have also been identified as being among the main
reasons for expatriate assignment failure, and family adjustment has been found to
affect expatriate performance (Caligiuri et al. 1998; Lazarova et al. 2010).
The situation for SIEs can be even more challenging because they and their
families often receive far less corporate support and training than organization
assigned expatriates (Mkel and Suutari 2013; Richardson 2007). Similarly, the
major negative characteristics of short-term assignments typically include work-life
balance issues (Collings et al. 2007; Suutari et al. 2013). Research on international
business travellers has not so far been very intensive, but nevertheless, the findings
from such studies have indicated that frequent international travelling causes health
and work-life balance issues among others (DeFrank et al. 2000; Mkel et al.
2012, 2014, 2015; Westman and Etzion 2002). The dynamics in balancing work and
family lives in the context of international work are being further affected by global
trends such as the increase in the numbers of dual-career couples and the increasing
number of women in roles involving international responsibilities (McNulty 2014).
The challenges of international work roles may to an extent be balanced by
positive enrichment experiences where the international environment is seen to
offer an interesting, stimulating and developmental working and living environment
both for international professionals and their families (Lazarova et al. 2010). It
may stimulate achieving a better work-life balance. Such positive enrichment
experiences are often forgotten in the literature, where there tends to be a focus on
the conflict perspective (Mkel et al. 2015; Mkel and Suutari 2011). Moreover,
family members can also be a source of social support and thus provide important
backing for the international employee.
The increased international mobility of the workforce and the related challenges
to the work-family interface increase the importance of developing organizational
policies and practices that enhance employees opportunities to achieve a good
balance between their work and personal and/or family lives. In general, family
friendly organizational policies and practices include flexible working hours or work
arrangements, and the option to take leave for family reasons (Kinnunen et al.
2014; Kinnunen and Mauno 2008). In the context of international work, family
friendly formal organizational policies might include a measure of control over
scheduling work-related travel and limiting the scope of job tasks and working
hours to a reasonable level, even in the face of typical features of international
work such as working across time zones, having challenging tasks, long days,
and work-related travel (Wurtz and Suutari 2014). Expatriates and their families
typically receive different forms of training and support during the process (GrantVallone and Ensher 2001). The informal work-family culture of an organization
refers to the attitudes and values people in the organization have in relation to
family and personal life issues. Work-family culture plays an important role in how
well employees are able to balance their work and personal life spheres (Kinnunen
et al. 2014). Typically, internationally-mobile employees and their families desire
different kinds of support and training (e.g. cross-cultural training, dual-career
support, language training, practical support with move and adjustment to new
location, and repatriation support) to help them adjust to a new situation and cope
with the challenging situation facing the whole family.
As this overall discussion indicates, work requiring international mobility across
borders is increasingly common and appears in many different forms. The common
element in all these forms, is the challenge posed to the work-family interface of
international professionals and their families. This book provides novel knowledge
on this challenging phenomenon from different perspectives, highlighting not only
the related challenges but also the positive side of working in the modern globalized
world. Moreover, the book contributes by bringing together international professionals own experiences, family members experiences, organizational aspects and new
theoretical discussions and models. The book covers several different perspectives
on the work and personal life interface offering insights on the likes of adjustment,
social support, dual-career issues and organizational practices. The book examines
the situations of several different types of international employee such as organizational expatriates, SIEs and international business travellers. The research evidence
is drawn from various country contexts from North America, Europe and Asia.
In addition to this introductory chapter, the book includes the eleven chapters
briefly introduced below.
The second chapter Integrating the Work-Life Interface during Expatriation: A
Case Study of Expatriate Mining Professionals (Julia Richardson, Steve McKenna,
Carolyn Dickie and Clare Kelliher) focuses on expatriate issues in the global mining
industry. This chapter is based on a study conducted in a fascinating context in
which to explore the impact of international mobility on the interface between

work and personal life. This chapter reports findings from a study of 60 expatriate
mining professionals and discusses the prevalent perception that during expatriation,
work and life become more integrated, particularly when organizational support
systems are limited. The importance of the support provided by work colleagues is
highlighted when the authors show how such support can enhance the integration
between work and non-work domains. A relatively unexplored theme in the current
literature the perceived impact of financial status and job security on the work-life
interface is also discussed in this chapter.
The third chapter, Expatriate family narratives on international mobility:
Key characteristics of the successful moveable family (Mila Lazarova, Yvonne
McNulty and Monica Semeniuk), explores family narratives on international
mobility. This study builds on qualitative data from a sample of 656 respondents,
primarily trailing spouses. This chapter analyses the key challenges and
opportunities presented by international mobility from a family perspective. The
chapter also provides information on the organizational support families receive
and the support they wish they could receive during international relocation.
In addition, the key characteristics of the successful moveable family, and the
importance of family dynamics to successful assignments are discussed.
The fourth chapter, Another look at family adjustment (Arno Haslberger,
Thomas Hippler and Chris Brewster), presents a holistic view of the expatriate
family and its adjustment to the international experience. This chapter brings
together the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) model and the
Theory of Work Adjustment (TWA) to provide a comprehensive view of expatriate
family adjustment.
In the fifth chapter, What is a better predictor of work-family conflict in India?
Gender or gender role ideology (Ujvala Rajadhyaksha and Sofiya Velgach), the
authors investigate the relationship between gender, gender role ideology (GRI)
and work-family conflict. The evidence is drawn from a sample of 405 working
men and women from India. The cultural and contextual reality of India, gender
role theory and work-family conflict approach provides the basis for this chapter.
The results of the study did not categorically support gender role explanations of
conflict, even though some differences were identified between genders. Regarding
GRI, differences between those with traditional and egalitarian gender roles were
found, and that relationship was also moderated by gender.
The sixth chapter, Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples in the International
Context (Agnieszka Kierner), reviews existing literature and research on dualincome and dual-career couples in an international context in order to isolate
what is already known about the special challenges such couples face during the
expatriation process. Such challenges are discussed in the context of the different
stages of international assignment from the decision making before expatriation
to the adjustment required when abroad, and finally the repatriation back to the
home country. The chapter also examines the policies and practices available to
international organizations to support dual-career expatriation. In addition, new
research streams and emerging needs for future research are identified.
The chapter entitled Adjustment of spouses of self-initiated expatriates: feeling

different vs. Feeling welcome (Jakob Lauring and Jan Selmer) offers evidence on
the adjustment of spouses of SIEs who do not enjoy the support of an assigning
organization. Furthermore, such spouses are argued to be particularly exposed to
the host culture and thus be more dependent on the local context than the expatriates
themselves, or the spouses of organizational expatriates. The study reports findings
from a survey of over 70 spouses of SIEs in Denmark. Two relevant self-perceptions,
feeling different, in terms of the perceived cultural distance in relation to the host
location and how tit was associated with their adjustment and feeling welcome were
studied in relation to adjustment. Feeling different was not associated with neither
general adjustment or interaction adjustment by the respondents while feeling
welcome had a positive association with both the studied dimensions of adjustment.
The eighth chapter, Home, family and the Self-Initiated Expatriate experience:
living with uncertainty, complexity and change (David Clark and Yochanan
Altman), presents the life stories of SIEs in Crete. This chapter examines narratives
produced by participants over a 10-year period and utilizes the model of adjustment,
with additional insights into family role re-adjustment being included in the data
analysis. Using this unique dataset, the chapter charts the ever shifting and complex
nature of expatriation from the family adjustment perspective. The chapter reports
that the nature of adjustment is far from uniform and thus the adjustment processes
vary considerably, even between individuals in the same household, and that over
time, changing family dynamics and evolving needs within the wider extended
family demand considerable re-adjustment within the family.
The chapter International business travel and the work-family balance: Research
review and future directions (Kati Saarenp) reviews the existing studies on the
work-family interface of international business travellers (IBTs), identifies new
research avenues, and offers proposals for further studies. The literature review
shows that work involving travel abroad makes unusual demands on both travellers
and their families, and that a successful balancing of work and family interface
requires a high degree of flexibility, understanding, and cooperation from all family
members. Understanding the impact of travel at the family level is important in order
to enhance the travellers well-being and efficiency. The chapter first reviews the
existing knowledge and research on the theme, before introducing future research
ideas that could help understand travellers experiences and make it possible to
support them and their families more effectively by implementing social support
and corporate travel policies and family friendly policies.
The tenth chapter, International business traveller, is work always on your
mind? (Liisa Mkel, Helen De Cieri and Audra Mockaitis), examines how
supervisor support and family support are related to satisfaction with work-related
international travel and the role of over-commitment referring to an individuals
inability to withdraw from work in their relationships. The study was conducted
among 200 Finnish employees in jobs requiring international business travel. The
study shows that over-commitment on the part of travellers and the familial support
they received were directly linked to satisfaction with work-related international
travel. People who were over-committed at work experienced more satisfaction
with work-related international travel if they received high levels of familial support;
however, no moderator effect was found for supervisor support.
Work-life issues are a substantial concern for managers and employees in
many multinational corporations (MNCs), suggesting MNCs need to develop better
practices and policies supporting the work-life interface (WLI) of their employees.
Developing such policies brings many challenges related to the need for MNCs
to balance global policy guidelines with responsiveness to regional and local
differences. It is therefore fitting that the last chapter of this book focuses on the
organizational perspective in some depth. The chapter entitled A framework for
work-life management in multinational corporations (Helen De Cieri and Anne
Bardoel) offers a framework specifying the important external and organizational
factors that influence the HRM function and specifically work-life policies and
practices in MNCs. Employee responses to work-life practices are proposed to
mediate the relationship with the organizations social and financial performance.
Avenues for future research are discussed and research questions are set to guide
future research on work-life management in MNCs.
Overall, we believe that the book offers new evidence on the WLI of international
professionals of different kinds. We hope the book will be helpful for international
employees and their spouses/families preparing for an international assignment and
seeking guidance on coping with work-family challenges in the international career
context at different stages of an assignment. We hope that the discussion also helps
human resource professionals and managers within MNCs and other international
organizations to better understand the important role of the work-family interface in
the management of international employees, and thus helps them to develop better
organizational support practices and policies that support international professionals
and their families in coping with these special challenges. For researchers aiming
to improve their understanding of the issues around WLI in the international career
context, the book offers a concise review of what is already known of the issues,
provides new empirical evidence on the phenomena addressed from many angles,
and discusses the future research needs related to the modern global working
environment.
Clearly more research will be required in the future to fully understand the WLI
challenges faced by different types of international employees and their families,
the coping strategies they could employ to effectively surmount those challenges,
and the organizational policies and support practices available to support them in
the coping process.
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Westman, M., & Etzion, D. (2002). The impact of short overseas business trips on job stress and
burnout. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 51(4), 582592.
Wurtz, O., & Suutari, V. (2014). Work-life balance and coping of international assignees. In D.
Collings, P. Caligiuri, & G. Wood (Eds.), Routledge companion to international HRM. London:
Routledge.
Chapter 2
Integrating the Work-Life Interface During

Expatriation: A Case Study of Expatriate
Mining Professionals
Julia Richardson, Steve McKenna, Carolyn Dickie, and Clare Kelliher
Abstract The global mining industry is characterized by increasing demands for

international mobility. With growing calls for more work-life balance across many
professions, therefore, it offers a potentially important context in which to explore
the impact of international mobility on the interface between work and personal
life. Drawing on a study of 60 expatriate mining professionals, this chapter reports
widespread perceptions that during expatriation work and life become more
integrated particularly in situations where organizational support systems are
limited. Specifically, it will report how interviewees relied on work colleagues for
support and how that reliance created more integration between work and non-work
domains. It will also report the perceived impact of financial status and job security
on the work-life interface a relatively unexplored theme in the current literatures.
Drawing the findings of the chapter together, we will suggest that this increased
integration encourages a reordering of the work-life interface during expatriation.
Keywords Work life integration Self-initiated
Qualitative Caring commitments
expatriates Mining
J. Richardson () S. McKenna

School of Human Resource Management, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
e-mail: jrichard@yorku.ca; smckenna@yorku.ca
C. Dickie
Curtin Business School, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
e-mail: Carolyn.Dickie@cbs.curtin.edu.au
C. Kelliher
School of Management, Cranfield University, Cranfield, UK
e-mail: clare.kelliher@cranfield.ac.uk
11
12
J. Richardson et al.
Introduction
In-keeping with the objectives of this book, this chapter explores the work-life
interface among a group of expatriate mining engineers. In recent years the global
mining industry has been challenged to meet three key demands: (1) to respond
to the forces of globalization and the growing need for raw materials in emerging
and developed economies; (2) to identify new and sustainable revenue streams to
maximize organizational and individual performance and (3) to attract, retain, and
deploy key talent globally (Mayes and Pini 2010). In addition to the focus on firm
and individual performance, however, it must also meet growing societal demands
to provide employees with opportunities for what is now widely understood as
work-life balance (Cohen et al. 2009; Kelliher and Anderson 2010; Kossek et al.
2010; De Janasz et al. 2013). From the perspective of individual employees in the
industry, the pressures of globalization have created more opportunities for global
mobility with the related potential to enhance career advancement (Richardson
et al. 2014). Yet, those pressures may also present significant challenges for
achieving work-life balance and for the dynamics of the work-life interface more
generally. Indeed, although global mobility may have a positive impact on career
opportunities it may also have a detrimental impact on non-work responsibilities
and relationships such as family relationships and personal well-being particularly
among internationally mobile women (Hutchings and Michailova 2014).
Findings from the study at the centre of this chapter published elsewhere
have identified the positive impact of expatriation on mining engineers career
opportunities (Richardson et al. 2013, 2014). However, in this chapter we explore
their experiences of the work-life interface specifically. While there have been
calls to move away from the dominant focus on caring commitments in the
work-life balance literature, (Ozbilgin et al. 2011; De Janasz et al. 2013) we will
suggest that caring commitments still dominate expatriates experiences of the
work-life interface. Yet, where expatriate mining engineers are concerned, they
do so primarily during the initial stages of expatriation. After that initial period,
other activities relating to travel and broadening access to cross-cultural experiences
become particularly important. However, as we will suggest, interviewees also
draw a strong connection between working as an expatriate in the mining industry
and these other non-work related activities. We will also consider the connection
between interviewees financial status and job security and the work-life interface.
Drawing the findings together, we will suggest that expatriation required interviewees to re-order their work-life interface in order to cater to the demands of their
caring commitments and other non-work activities and aspirations. The way they reordered it, however, was impacted by the level of organizational expatriate support
systems and relationships with colleagues in the host country. We conclude the
chapter with a discussion of the implications of our findings for our understanding
of the impact of expatriation on the work-life interface in the mining industry.
2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .
13
Expatriation and the Work-Life Interface in the Global

Mining Industry
According to Mayes and Pini (2010) the global mining industry is an arena that has
been dominated by men and one where masculine norms, practices and discourses
have been privileged whether in the board room or in exploration or in extraction
processes (p, 236). Moreover, despite earlier reports about the putative increase
in women entering the industry (Eveline and Booth 2002), it is still dominated
by masculine work practices (Mayes and Pini 2010; Mihychuk et al. 2010; LahiriDutt 2012). Another widespread and enduring feature of the mining industry is its
long working hours (Peetz and Murray 2010) and their negative impact on family
relationships and individual well-being (Lahiri-Dutt 2012). According to Pocock
et al. (2001) many men in the mining industry are missing out on opportunities
for full fathering (p, 156) due to long working hours which limit contact with
children and family members. Geography also has a direct impact on the worklife interface in the industry because some mining sites are far from centres of
population requiring employees to live and work away from home for extended
periods. Lack of control over working schedules and limited ability to customize
working arrangements around non-work responsibilities/commitments adds further
to this problem. For example, drawing on a study of 15 non-mining and mining
organizations in Queensland (Australia), Peetz and Murray (2010) reported that
mining employees were most likely to say that they had no say in the shifts or
projects that they worked on.
Given the putative connection between achieving a sense of work-life balance
and having flexible work hours (Kelliher and Anderson 2008; Richardson 2010),
mining professionals may find it harder to manage the work-life interface than
their non-mining counterparts. For those who are globally mobile, such as the
expatriates in this study, it might be still harder given the impact of expatriation
on personal and professional well-being and family/non-professional relationships
(Doherty 2012; Shaffer et al. 2012). For example, one study of expatriate academics
identified positive and negative outcomes for relationships with accompanying
family members and those left in the home country (Richardson 2007). The
same study also reported how problematic relationships with family/friends in
the home and/or host country might create feelings of isolation and depression
(Richardson and Zikic 2007; Richardson 2009). Focusing specifically on the worklife interface, a study of highly-educated self-initiated Finnish expatriates (Makela
and Suutari 2013) reported work and personal life experiences impacted on each
other in both positive and negative ways. It may be, therefore, that expatriate mining
professionals are doubly disadvantaged because they are working in an industry
with a culture of long-work hours, work policies and practices that do not support
work-life balance, and are expected to engage in expatriation which introduces
further complexity to the work-life interface.
Alongside concerns about the negative impact of expatriation on family and
personal relationships and experiences, there is an extensive body of literature
14
identifying its positive impact. It can, for example, provide opportunities for more
diverse cross-cultural experiences and travel opportunities (Doherty 2012; Shaffer
et al. 2012) and draw families closer together. It can also increase individual
confidence and self-esteem (e.g. Inkson and Myers 2003; Myers and Pringle
2005). Indeed, a well-established body of literature suggests that opportunities
for self-development are key motivators for expatriation (e.g. Hudson and Inkson
2006; Shaffer et al. 2012; Altman and Baruch 2013; Cerdin 2013). Exploring
these challenges and opportunities further, therefore, this chapter will answer the
following research question:
How Does Expatriation Impact on the Work-Life Interface of Expatriate Mining
Professionals?
Having introduced some of the key themes impacting on the contemporary global
mining industry and the related research question that this chapter seeks to answer,
we turn now to some key issues in work-life balance/work-life interface literature.
Work-Life Balance and the Work-Life Interface

Providing opportunities for and having access to work-life balance is a key concern
among human resource (HR) practitioners, individual career actors and public
policy makers (Kossek et al. 2010; Kelliher and Richardson 2014). This trend
has spawned an extensive body of research exploring how work and non-work
activities interact, i.e. the work-life interface, and how they might best be managed
to meet the needs of both employers and employees (see for example Andreassi
and Thompson 2008; Lero et al. 2009; Kossek et al. 2010). Two areas of interest in
the current work-life balance literature are especially pertinent to this chapter. First,
we are interested in exploring the potential for conflict and enrichment between
work and life during expatriation, because although it could have a detrimental
impact on non-work relationships and experiences, expatriation could also have
a positive impact by enhancing cross-cultural competencies, self-confidence and
family relationships. Our second area of interest is the possibility for work-life
integration and/or separation during expatriation (e.g. Ashforth et al. 2000; Makela
and Suutari 2013). Pursuing this line of enquiry, we will explore the extent to which
expatriate mining engineers are able to integrate/separate their professional and
personal relationships and responsibilities.
While the existent work-life balance literature covers a broad range of topics and
contexts, it has a relatively narrow conception of the word life as signifying mainly
family and caring activities (De Janasz et al. 2013). It also tends to view work-life
balance as a predominantly female domain, neglecting mens aspirations for and
access to work-life balance policies (Bjornholt 2009). Therefore, broadening this
view, this chapter explores expatriate mining professionals experiences of worklife balance beyond the work-family dyad to encompass non-familial themes.
15
It appears that as people become wealthier and more educated in developed and
developing economies, they have fewer children, hence there is a strong case for
extending existent literature beyond caring commitments (e.g. Bjornholt 2009;
Ozbilgin et al. 2011; De Janasz et al. 2013). For example, in Latin America
and Asia, families are getting smaller alongside other changes such as increases
in education, age of marriage, divorce, delayed marriage and cohabitation (The
Economist 2013). More people are also choosing to live alone (The Economist
2013), again reducing the number of employees likely to have domestic caring
commitments. These figures suggest that ideal work-life balancers (Ozbilgin et al.
2011) i.e. individuals who are able to balance work and childcare responsibilities,
are perhaps a decreasing proportion of the workforce in both developing and
developed economies. Moreover, while a decreasing number of employees might
have to balance caring commitments with work, it is likely that they will still
need to balance and order other non-work aspects of their life, for example leisure
and friendships. Therefore, in the empirical part of this chapter we will consider
expatriate mining professionals experiences of these aspects of the work-life
interface.
Research Context
This chapter draws on interviews with 60 expatriate mining professionals working
for Mintech (pseudonym), a global professional services firm in the mining industry.
While they were all expatriates or had previous expatriate experience at the time
of the study, they represented different forms of expatriation. Most interviewees
(51/60), were organizational self-initiated expatriates (Altman and Baruch 2012;
Richardson et al. 2013) who had put themselves forward for an overseas position.
They were, therefore, a hybrid between self-initiated expatriates who expatriate
independently and organizationally assigned expatriates who are sent overseas
by an employer. Of the remaining nine interviewees eight had been assigned to
their current or former expatriate position and one was a UK-based self-initiated
expatriate who had applied for their expatriate position to work for Mintech in
Australia while they were in the UK.
Mintech offers engineering, geological and other services to global mining
companies. It has 180 offices world-wide with around 8,000 staff of which 300 (3 %)
were on an expatriate assignment at the time of the study. Reflecting broader trends
in the industry, expansion of global opportunities and developing a more systematic
expatriate management system were key strategic priorities at Mintech. Although
the firm has some policies and support systems in place they are still evolving and
are relatively inconsistent with regards to support for family such as finding schools
and accommodation.
There are three types of expatriation at Mintech: conventional company driven
expatriation; organizational self-initiated expatriation through a Global Exchange
Program (GEP); and organizational self-initiated expatriation where employees put
16
themselves forward to expatriate but not as part of the GEP. The GEP is designed
for junior employees with limited organizational tenure and is part of the broader
corporate strategy to ensure that the firm has a robust cadre of globally mobile
employees spread across all areas of expertise. By comparison, senior employees
tended to find their own expatriate opportunities or wait to be sent overseas.
Primarily because of their age, limited professional experience and relatively short
tenure in the organization, employees on the GEP receive relatively more support
than those who are sent on an overseas assignment or those who seek out their own
assignment within the company. Most interviewees on the GEP in this study had
direct access to cross-cultural training programs and formal assistance with finding
accommodation. Yet, as our findings will show, Mintech still lacks an integrated
and consistent global support system available to all expatriate employees. For
example, although it has a fairly efficient system for managing payment of taxes,
healthcare benefits etc., assistance with accommodation and finding schooling for
accompanying children can be ad hoc.
Research Design
We used a qualitative, multi-method approach to data collection comprising documentary analysis (company expatriate policy documents), interviews with the VP
HR and another senior HR Manager and with expatriates themselves. This approach
added consistency and rigor to the findings (Marshall and Rossman 2011). As
with much qualitative research (Gephart 2004; Merriam 2009), the study design
was iterative moving between data collection and analysis, returning to company
documents and speaking with senior management to clarify emerging themes about
organizational policy.
We first examined all relevant company documentation, including reports and
websites about expatriate policies and general business functions. We then interviewed the VP HR and another senior HR manager to clarify organizational policy
(informal and formal) on expatriation and the strategic intent of the GEP and other
mobility systems. We also asked about managements views on work-life balance
opportunities. We then conducted in-depth interviews lasting between 45 and 90 min
with expatriates or former expatriates. Interviewees were spread across eleven
different countries so telephone or Skype were the main means of data collection.
We constructed an initial interview agenda with our main research question firmly
in mind: i.e. how does expatriation impact on the work-life interface of expatriate
mining professionals? However, we amended that agenda after the documentary
analysis and interviews with the two senior HR executives in order to capture
some of the themes they had raised such as their concerns about the different
levels of organizational support between different offices. After completing the
60 interviewees, we conducted a focus group discussion with the two senior HR
managers to solicit feedback about their impressions of the findings.

Table 2.1 Interviewees
Nationalities
Nationality
Australian
Bolivian
Brazilian
British
Canadian
Chilean
Indian
Italian
New Zealand
Peruvian
South African
Swedish
US
Venezuelan
Dual Nationality (Australian/Canadian)
Non-specified
17
Number
5
1
1
11
12
1
1
4
3
1
2
1
11
1
4
1
The Sample
Of the 60 participants, 14 nationalities were represented as indicated in Table 2.1:
At the time of the study interviewees were spread across, or had previous
expatriate experience in, 26 countries. A majority (n D 42), had been on at least
one expatriate assignment prior to their current or previous assignment. Most had
a Bachelors, Masters or PhD in their respective field (n D 48); 47 % had less than
10 years professional experience, 37 % had 1020 years experience, and 16 %
had 20C years experience. Thirty-seven were in the age range 2640. Most were
married, 39 % had children. Consistent with current trends in the global mining
industry, 40 interviewees were men and 20 were women (at the time of the study,
43.8 % of Mintech employees were women 23.9 % of managers, 22 % of the
executive team and 20 % of directors).
Data Analysis
All interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and then analyzed with
Nvivo8. We used template analysis (King 1998) to identify and then code themes
into a hierarchical model of trees showing dominant and subsidiary themes
and how they connected to the main research question. Nvivos memo facility
was especially useful for noting hunches for further exploration and to identify
areas of disagreement/concern among the researchers or that needed to be followed
up on with interviewees. This on-going and iterative approach enhanced the rigor
18
of the study by creating an audit trail (Marshall and Rossman 2011) to ensure
trustworthiness, credibility and consistency (Atherton and Elsmore 2007).
After the initial round of first-order coding, we conducted a second round
of analysis, splitting and splicing codes and rearranging the coding trees to
answer the main research question. Integration of work and non-work activities
and relationships dominated most interviews where, for example, interviewees
reported socialising more with other employees and their families outside of work
during expatriation than when they were in their home countries. They also relied
heavily on other employees for informal advice about finding accommodation and
schooling.
Findings
Integration of the Work-Life Interface
When asked about the impact of their work-life on their non-work life there was
widespread agreement that being an expatriate meant that work and non-work
domains are inextricably linked precisely because they had come/gone to the host
country and were living there because of their work. For example, many spoke
about how living away from family and friends they were more likely to develop
friendships with work colleagues and their families (or at least initially) in the host
country whom they also relied on for emotional support. Bill and Marissa, below,
are good examples of the way in which interviewees described forming friendships
with colleagues as a means of support.
There are people whove shown a real interest in us, that we work with but not officially : : :
and I would regard them as friends [because of] the interest that theyve shown and
expressed in coming around for a meal and spending time talking to us and not because
they were told to. So, I mean, since weve got very few personal friends here, in fact weve
got no friends outside the company. (Bill, Australian in Canada)
We had two colleagues who moved out to Australia in December and February,
respectively, to Melbourne and theyre good mates now, so I e-mailed them and said
Clare/Tim, come on, give me a crib list what do I need to do between England and
Australia and what do I have to get sorted? And they were both great and sent us almost a
tick list to say this is what you have to do insurance, shipping agents, and all the bits you
need to get organized, which was absolutely fantastic and really helpful. So, actually they
are our best friends as well as our work colleagues now. (Marissa, Briton in Australia)
Many interviewees also described how they were more likely to take part in nonwork activities organized by Mintech such as family camps for children, voluntary
work etc., and to socialize with work colleagues than if they were living in their
home country. Indeed, the majority of interviewees said that they didnt separate
their work lives from their non-work lives, again primarily because they had moved
to the host country in order to fulfill a specific professional role and because of
19
their close relationships with colleagues. Holly, for example, captures this sentiment
below:
I prefer to talk about how much I got out of life as an expatriate in a more holistic way, what
I concluded really was that I had some really good experiences in the year I was away, but
in the end, your work life as an expat is a lot of your life and : : : and a lot of your intrinsic
happiness comes down to how much you enjoy your job and how much you get out of
your job, but also, your family and your relationship with your family and your friends and
people youre close to as an expat are all mushed together so I cant talk about work-life
as separate entities. (Hollie, American in New Mexico, previous experience in Santiago,
Chile)
Yet, the extent of work-life integration and whether or not it was viewed
positively was also connected to two further themes: levels of formal support from
Mintech and availability/willingness of host country colleagues to provide informal
support. In situations where formal organizational support was not available or
perceived as inadequate, interviewees were much more likely to speak about
developing friendships with and/or looking to colleagues as a source of informal
support. Interviewees who received only limited formal support from Mintech and
who were receiving help from colleagues, like Angela and Neil below, tended to
describe the level of integration positively.
Im single, so I was moving myself and I didnt really know anybody in Northern Ireland so
it was, you know, difficult for me. I mean, the guys over there were great though and gave
me ideas of where to look for a house and that kind of thing. There wasnt much coming
from Mintech, there wasnt necessarily the backing from them. So, once I got to know the
people in the office they were very helpful but it was more unofficial but that brought us
closer together. (Angela, British currently in Ireland)
Oh, [the unofficial support in] the Kelowna office was fantastic. They were so helpful
when I first arrived and they booked us a room in a hotel with a kitchen and everything, so
we could cook our own stuff and at least try and make it like home. They provided that for
two weeks and also we made friends with a couple of people in the Kelowna office and they
were really generous about helping us in their own spare time till we found a place : : : So,
informally just talking to other people was terrific. (Neil, New Zealander in Canada)
Interviewees who felt that they had received limited organizational support and
had been unable to get informal support from local colleagues also said that their
work and non-work lives were more integrated than if they were in their home
country. However, they viewed such integration negatively suggesting that having
to rely on colleagues for support was problematic as suggested by Simon and Phil,
below.
When I moved to Santiago, Chile it would have been good to have a host even if it was
informal, who showed us around and introduced us to the local culture, who told us where
to buy things in the supermarket. There was no offer of language tuition, classes for my wife
and kids in Chile; it was all Spanish speaking. So I didnt like to ask informally either but
I resented them not offering it out of friendship and then Mintech not offering it either. : : :
: : : But nobody kind of thought it through. (Simon, Australian currently in Canada; married
with four children and expatriate experience in Chile)
No, I got no help or advice. Actually the Australian government just set up a website
and it lists all the schools in the areas and ranks them : : : it would have been so good if
20
Mintech had done that, but they didnt do that. So, I didnt have the networks in the office
either, so I ended up doing it all. (Adam, South African in Australia)
Caring Commitments: Family

Among those with school age children, themes relating to the potential for conflict
between work and caring commitments to family during the initial stages of expatriation were especially common. A major source of challenge during this period was
fulfilling work responsibilities at the same time as trying to find accommodation
and schools or when partners were looking for employment. Mintechs official
policy is to give employees a 2-week grace period where they provide employees
and accompanying family members with accommodation (usually in a hotel). In
practice, however, many interviewees reported having to hit the ground running.
Some parents with children (especially younger ones in the 06 age range) found
this particularly problematic. We heard complaints about not being able to juggle
settling themselves and their family members into the new environment and being
stretched to the limit in terms of trying to manage the work-life interface, as
suggested by Mark:
Actually two weeks felt pretty tight. We got pretty lucky. We did find a flat, sort of, it felt
like just by chance anyways at the time, two weeks can be pretty tight, especially when you
start work and you are so stretched. I found youre a bit overwhelmed cause youre trying
to get some balance, you know, youre in a new office, in a new country, and you know,
youre trying to figure out where things go : : : it was definitely : : : it was tight, but we
found a flat and, unlike Canada, they rent month-to-month, so from that point of view it
was probably easier to find a place, but it was tough. (Mark, British currently in Australia
previous experience in Canada)
All interviewees who raised this theme felt that their caring commitments to
accompanying family members had to be given priority and yet they also struggled
with wanting to get started in their new work role and establish positive working
relationships with new colleagues as a platform for their future work performance.
Importantly, many also said establishing positive relationships with new work
colleagues early on was essential precisely because they were a potentially valuable
source of friendship and help resolving issues such as finding accommodation
and taking care of family and personal matters outside of work. Indeed, as noted
earlier, informal support from work colleagues had been invaluable for satisfying
family/caring commitments and managing the work-life interface more generally.
It is notable that very few interviewees expressed concerns about fulfilling their
caring responsibilities to accompanying family members after the initial stage of
expatriation. Indeed, most said that expatriation had had a positive impact on their
personal relationships, non-work experiences and opportunities. Discussions about
the work-life interface moved away from caring commitments to themes such as
personal fulfillment through travel and cultural experiences which we will discuss
next. Still, it is notable that the underlying theme of the impact of expatriation on
the work-life interface continued.
21
Non-caring Commitments: Travel and Cultural Experiences

Opportunities for personal travel and diverse cultural experiences were a dominant
theme when interviewees were asked about the work-life interface after the initial
expatriation period. A key theme in this regard was how the global nature of the
mining industry and the related need for international mobility meant that travel
and exposure and access to diverse working and living environments were central
to both their work and non-work lives. For example, all interviewees in Australia or
who had been to Australia, such as Jennifer below, described how working in the
mining industry had given them a chance to travel (with or without family members)
to places that they would otherwise never have been able to visit.
Australia is somewhere Id never been and Id always wanted to go and theres nothing
like living somewhere to find out and explore it, so thats why we decided that it was time
to go and have a look. The one thing that we do spend a serious amount of money on is
good holidays. So obviously here, we can explore a whole new part of the world together
relatively easily. Our daughters only 4 , so shes just exactly the right age to move and
were not gonna be upsetting her schooling at all. She can start school here in Australia, so
you know, it seemed like it was almost meant to be. (Marissa, British in Australia)
Other interviewees described how expatriation in the mining industry in particular provided opportunities to enjoy a diverse range of landscapes, climates and
culturally distant contexts:
And this was the first opportunity where it looked like it really could work, that we could
both go to a country like Chile where we could travel and enjoy different locations; that we
both felt comfortable bringing children to and both still work for Mintech and neither of
us having to quit our position. (Linda, Canadian in Canada previous experience in Chile,
Bulgaria and Guyana)
I got the opportunity to travel without forking out a lot of money for it. I got
the opportunity to live in another different country to experience something completely
different and challenging, to experience new cultures and new ways of life, but I had the
assistance of the company behind me the whole time. They helped me find accommodation,
they helped me set myself up, and they helped me with all the paperwork, so it was a very
easy move for me. (Cecil, American in Italy previous experience in Russia, South Africa,
Germany)
We identified widespread perceptions that the mining industry provides

more opportunities for travel and cross-cultural experiences than other industries/professions. Interestingly, there was also a widespread perception that the
demands for mobility to different geographical locations such as the Australian
outback and South America, also present greater opportunities for personal
development such as enhancing personal and professional resilience. Most
interviewees believed that working in the global mining industry creates what
can be loosely understood as a global mindset, encouraging them to seek out more
diverse international/cross-cultural activities/experiences. For example, both Linda
and Jason described how the nature of their work took them to places which were
very different from their own home country culture (Canada).
22
And just the cultural thing. Like we have pictures of them (the children) doing their
[Chilean] dances that the cultural dances that the Chileans would do : : : it was very
enriching to all our lives to observe a very different culture and live in a big city, because
Northern Canada : : : you know, like its 150,000 people in the whole extended area and
Santiago has six million people. (Linda, Canadian in Canada previous experience in Chile,
Bulgaria and Guyana)
For me, definitely the career opportunity was exciting for me, but also the cultural and
personal experience was also very, very exciting to me all meshed into one. Africa is a place
Id always wanted to experience and you know this is exactly the way I like to experience
a place personally and professionally, actually you know, plunk in and live there. Like Im
not much of a tourist where work and play are separate. I like the idea of being in a place
and actually living there. So certainly the cultural and personal experience was also very
important to me. (Jason, Canadian in Ghana)
Financial Status and Job Security

Financial status/income and job security was the third dominant theme in interviewees accounts of their work-life interface. This theme was mentioned by
both singles and those with accompanying family members/spouses. Those with
experience of expatriating to developing countries or countries with a relatively low
cost of living such as Chile, Guyana, Indonesia and India, explained how they had
more opportunities to spend quality time with their families and/or on individual
non-work related activities primarily because of their relatively high income which
meant that they could afford to pay for domestic help or because it allowed them to
live closer to work thus reducing commuting times, as suggested by Ian and Linda.
So your salary [as an expat in Indonesia] is probably a hundred times higher than anybody
else in the country, so youve got that money to do basically whatever you want. We were
living in a beautiful apartment with six floors we didnt have any cleaning to do. We just
enjoyed ourselves, great work, great time outside of work (Ian, Italian, in Brisbane previous
experience in Indonesia and Australia)
So, also because we were able to afford having some domestic help there [Chile] which
we dont here and because we lived in an apartment rather than a house, there was a lot less
maintenance and daily routine that took up our time so we were able to, every weekend, go
somewhere and see something different and go to a different museum or expose the kids
to all different cultural events, like ballet and stuff like that. (Linda, Canadian in Canada
previous experience in Chile, Bulgaria and Guyana)
The theme of hiring domestic help in developing countries was invariably

connected with being able to spend more time on non-work activities beyond what
Linda describes as maintenance and daily routine. A key theme here, therefore,
is how for some expatriates financial income/status impacts directly on the worklife interface in the sense that it encourages more work-life balance by reducing
domestic responsibilities, which frees up more time for leisure pursuits such as
travel.
Turning now to the specific issue of job security, while the majority of interviewees indicated that working in a boom industry has significant advantages, some
interviewees felt that it also increased performance demands which could have a
23
detrimental impact on the work-life interface. For Rob and Benny, for example, it
had meant that they had had to spend more time at work.
I havent had any leave : : : theres probably about six weeks of leave owing to me, but
theres no opportunity really to take a big chunk of time off, because were so busy. You
know, I could take it but it wouldnt be seen too favorably, because weve got so much
work going on, that it would just, you know, present a larger burden on the rest of the team.
(Sheldon, New Zealander in Australia, previous experience in the US and Yemen)
We had a job that paid well [in Australia] and we were covered. We didnt have to go
looking for work, etc., so we had this assured work and assured income for the group and it
was seen as a good opportunity, and it was in a slightly different area of expertise we could
develop and possibly use and market in the future. So that was one of the motivating factors
but of course but it also meant we were so rushed off our feet we couldnt take any time off.
(Adrian, American in US, previous experience in Peru, Angola, Algeria and Guinea)
This latter theme suggests that being an expatriate in a boom industry may
be something of a double-edged sword, offering both job security and lucrative
earning capacity but at the same placing demands on individual employees to meet
performance requirements.
Discussion
This chapter has explored the work-life interface among a group of expatriate
mining professionals. It contributes to the expatriate management and work-life
balance literatures by speaking to a broader definition of work-life balance that
extends beyond caring commitments, in this case to travel and cross-cultural
opportunities. Yet, as we have shown, caring commitments are still a central concern
for expatriates in this particular industry and especially during the earlier stages of
expatriation. We have also identified the perceived impact of financial status and
job security on the work-life interface. Therefore, while the chapter answers recent
calls to incorporate non-caring activities into our understanding of work-life balance
(Ozbilgin et al. 2011; De Janasz et al. 2013) it suggests that caring commitments are
still an important area of concern during expatriation.
The chapter also offers a critique of attempts to separate work from non-work
experiences, suggesting that this is particularly problematic during expatriation
where work and non-work activities and relationships are inextricably entwined.
For some of the expatriates we spoke to fulfilling caring commitments can be
problematic in situations where formal organizational support is limited because
in those situations expatriates are more likely to look to work colleagues for
informal support. Moreover, work colleagues providing informal support leads to
even greater interaction/socialisation outside of work thus blurring the boundaries
between work and non-work domains further. Indeed, findings from the study
published elsewhere have shown that friendships made with colleagues during
expatriation are often strong and endure over time i.e. beyond the respective
expatriate assignment (Richardson and McKenna 2014). We have also reported
24
greater willingness among our interviewees to get involved in non-work activities

that were organized by Mintech when they were on an expatriate assignment, thus
signalling further work-life connectivity during expatriation. Both of these findings
echo Suutari and Makelas (2013) argument that work and non-work experiences of
self-initiated expatriates are closely interrelated.
Whereas technology has enhanced the connectivity of work and non-work
domains such that they overlap in significant ways (Besseyre des Horts et al. 2011;
Richardson and McKenna 2013; Harris 2014), so global mobility in the mining
industry also seems to enhance the connectivity of work and other aspects of life
such that the idea of balance and separation of the two merits more critical
attention (Richardson and McKenna 2014). When moving overseas either alone or
with partners and/or children expatriate mining professionals at Mintech have to
reorder the overall shape and balance of their lives, which may involve seeking
informal help from work colleagues, particularly in situations where organizational
support systems are limited. Re-ordering is necessary, therefore, precisely because
expatriation changes the expatriates work-life interface. When a family expatriates,
for example, caring commitments have to be re-ordered in the new host environment
which may be very different from the home environment particularly in terms of
schooling and childcare. As we have shown, how this is achieved may vary; some
expatriates may receive organizational support for childcare and schooling or; as
was the case for many of the expatriates in our study, they may receive informal
help from work colleagues. Whichever source of support is used, it implies a much
deeper integration of work and non-work domains as a means of satisfying caring
commitments. Lauring and Selmers (2009) ethnographic study of expatriates living
in a compound in Saudi Arabia provides what might be understood as an extreme
example (Pratt et al. 2006) of the integration of work and non-work domains during
expatriation. Although in that particular case expatriates were living in walled
compounds so opportunities to socialize were restricted to the expatriate community.
For the expatriate mining professionals in our study, however, there were no such
physical restrictions and yet they still elected to socialize for the most part with other
Mintech employees both other expatriates and locals.
Our findings echo other studies (Lauring and Selmer 2009; Lauring et al.
2014) which have shown that work-related expatriation offers opportunities to
broaden ones professional and personal competencies and aspirations and to
develop what many of our interviewees described as a global mindset. In this
respect we observe what Lauring et al. (2014) have described as the blurring of
boundaries between work and non-work related travel and specifically the potential
connectedness/interdependence between the two. However, we have suggested
that this may be particularly the case in the global mining industry because of
requirements to relocate to geographically diverse and culturally distant locations
both within and between countries, e.g. the Australian outback, South America,
Africa etc. We have also reported how expatriation to developing countries may
allow for opportunities to take part in a wider range of non-work activities beyond
domestic maintenance, primarily because domestic help is more affordable and
25
available. This may be especially the case in the mining industry with its relatively
high financial rewards and job security.
Exploring the experiences of expatriate mining professionals has highlighted
some important themes. Yet, we acknowledge the mining industry has its own
specific characteristics such as the inherent need for expatriation and/or domestic
mobility and willingness to work in often relatively remote and culturally distant
locations. Indeed, it might be that individuals who choose to pursue careers in this
industry are already predisposed to expatriation and mobility more generally (i.e.
domestic and international). The relatively high job security and salaries may also
create different dynamics during expatriation, especially in developing countries,
compared to other industries. We are also sensitive to the fact that our findings
are for the most part positive, which leaves us open to charges of presenting
an optimistic image of the work-life interface during expatriation in the mining
industry. On a related note, we only spoke to Mintech employees speaking to
their families might well have revealed a different perspective. For these reasons, we
encourage further work in this particular industry as well as comparisons between
different industries.
While our findings are for the most part positive, we acknowledge that expatriation in the mining industry is not without its problems and have reported challenges
faced by the women who took part in the study elsewhere (see Richardson et al.
2014 for further details). Some employees also reported problems with repatriation,
being unable to transfer the knowledge and experience they had acquired during
their expatriation to their home offices and the implications of that for career
development. However, the challenges of managing caring commitments during
the initial stages of expatriation notwithstanding, the overall positive nature of the
interviews is still striking particularly given widespread reports about the lack of
work-life balance available in the mining industry discussed at the beginning of this
chapter. What is significant about our study, however, is that our interviewees are a
group of expatriate mining professionals whereas the literature we reviewed seems
to focus on local/home country mining professionals. This suggests that expatriates
may enjoy a more positive connection between their work and non-work domains
than their home-based counterparts. Moreover, our interviewees were working for a
professional services firm rather than for a specific mining company, which points
to the need for further work exploring the experiences of expatriates working in
the professional services industry (and in different industries more generally), as
Beaverstock (2004) has suggested.
The theme about the impact of income, job security and working in an expanding
industry suggests several avenues for further research. First, the existent literature
on work-life balance does not adequately attend to the potential impact of income
and job security. Whereas these two concepts have been the focus of much attention
in the literature on career experiences, particularly job loss (Virick et al. 2007; Zikic
and Richardson 2007; Blau et al. 2013; Richter et al. 2013), they have received
less attention in the expatriate management literature. For example, whereas some
studies have identified money as a motivator to expatriate (see for example Thorn
2009) further research might explore how income and job security impacts on the
26
experience of expatriation. Finally, the pros and cons of working in an expanding

industry and specifically its impact on the work-life interface offer a further avenue
of research. Although much attention has been paid to employees working in
industries and organizations negatively impacted by the global financial crisis, we
know very little about what it means to work in an industry experiencing relatively
strong growth.
Overall we believe that the work-life interface as it is experienced and perceived
by expatriates is in need of further study. In particular, the way in which expatriates
reorder and re-shape the interface between work and other aspects of life as it is
impacted by the process and experience of expatriation.
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Chapter 3
Expatriate Family Narratives on International

Mobility: Key Characteristics of the Successful
Moveable Family
Mila Lazarova, Yvonne McNulty, and Monica Semeniuk
Abstract While the body of research that confirms the importance of family as
a factor in expatriate success is growing steadily, organizations with expatriate
employees do not appear to have utilized much of the knowledge generated by
researchers. Expatriates still face just as many, if not more, family-related challenges
as they did several decades ago. According to industry reports, organizations provide
a wide variety of support services to address and hopefully ease many of the
expatriation challenges. However, it is less than clear whether data provided by
human resource (HR) managers and global mobility divisions is truly reflective
of the experiences of expatriate families and whether the support that is offered
is actually helpful. Further, despite increased attention to expatriate support issues,
one thing has not changed: organizations and families generally underestimate, by
a wide margin, the challenges of international assignments. Based on qualitative
data from a sample of 656 respondents (primarily trailing spouses) in this chapter
we explore family narratives on international mobility. We unpack issues such as
key challenges and opportunities presented by international mobility as a family,
the organizational support families receive and the support they wish they
could receive during international relocations, the key characteristics of the
successful moveable family, and the importance of family dynamics to successful
assignments. We conclude by discussing emerging themes and ideas for future
research on international mobility.
Keywords Expatriation Family Spouse Support Qualitative Married
Divorce Children
M. Lazarova, Ph.D. () M. Semeniuk

Beedie School of Business, Simon Fraser University, 500 Granville Street, Vancouver,
BC V6C 1W6, Canada
e-mail: mbl@sfu.ca; monica_semeniuk@sfu.ca
Y. McNulty, Ph.D.
School of Business, Singapore Institute of Management University, 461 Clementi Road,
Singapore 599491, Singapore
e-mail: ymcnulty@expatresearch.com
29
30
M. Lazarova et al.
Introduction
While in recent years long-term expatriation has been supplemented, and in some
cases replaced, by alternative expatriation in the form of short-term, commuter,
frequent traveler or virtual team assignments (Meyskens et al. 2009), traditional
(long-term) assignments are still the norm in many organizations, and the most
common expatriate profile is still that of an expatriate who is married or attached,
often accompanied by children (Brookfield Global Relocation Services 2013).
International assignments are a strong catalyst for changes in both the family and
work lives of expatriates, and prior research has determined that spouse and family
adjustment is an important contributor to overall international assignment success.
Study after study have suggested that the trailing spouse in particular plays a key
role during expatriation in terms of willingness to go, assignment completion,
expatriate adjustment, and expatriate performance (Andreason 2008; Black and
Gregersen 1991; Black et al. 1991; Brown 2008; Caligiuri et al. 1998b; Cole 2011;
Lazarova et al. 2010; Takeuchi 2010). Recent industry surveys (e.g. Brookfield
Global Relocation Services 2013; Cartus and Primacy 2010) show that family and
personal circumstances and partners career remain the top reasons for refusing to
accept an international assignment, thus representing a critical relocation challenge.
Expatriate families (and in particular, expatriate spouses) have been an important
topic in expatriate research for over four decades (e.g., Brown 2008; Hays 1974).
It is now commonly accepted (at least by researchers if not by corporate HR
departments) that family-related issues (notably spouse and family adjustment and
satisfaction issues) can bear directly on the success of international assignments
(Chiotis-Leskowich 2009; Lazarova et al. 2010; Mkel and Suutari 2011; McNulty
2012; Shaffer and Harrison 2001; Takeuchi 2010). Nevertheless, the literature
has been criticized for being too expatriate-centric and for neglecting other
stakeholders, and in particular, families, where the experiences of families are often
examined only in so far as it detracts from, or adds to, the expatriates performance.
There is relative lack of research providing more in-depth understanding of the
work-family interface, of the complex crossover and spillover processes involved,
and of the strategies that families use and the resources they need to counteract the
many stressors of the relocation experience they face (Mkel and Suutari 2011;
Takeuchi 2010). The family as a resource, its structure, and internal functioning
during relocation have received far less attention (Haslberger and Brewster 2008).
Given the large amount of transference between the work and non-work spheres
of families during international assignments (Lazarova et al. 2010), it is important
to better understand the ways in which organizations can help expatriates and their
families. Research has highlighted that expatriate support programs contribute to
enhanced expatriation outcomes for both assignees and their families (e.g., Guzzo
et al. 1994; Harvey 1996, 1997; McNulty 2012). While much has been said about
how organizations can improve the non-work aspects of assignees and their families
regarding work-life balance and their overall well-being (e.g., Caligiuri 2005; Glanz
and van der Sluis 2001; Shaffer and Harrison 1998), few academic studies have
3 Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics. . .
31
identified which aspects of support are most helpful. Industry consulting reports
suggest that great strides have been made by listing, year after year, the types of
relocation support being offered: there are more look-see visits than ever before,
more training is provided, and more companies are making it easier for female
executives to take overseas jobs by recognizing the needs of the male accompanying
spouse. Indeed, issues not seen a few decades agosecurity, work permits for
accompanying partners, special needs children, split families, even elder care
are all being noticed and addressed by some organizations (Brookfield Global
Relocation Services 2012; Cartus and Primacy 2010; Mercer 2011). What remains
less clear is whether data provided by HR managers and global mobility departments
who contribute to these industry reports is truly reflective of the experiences of
expatriate families. HR practitioners may know what is contained in a companys
relocation policy, but may remain unaware if the policy is being implemented
sufficiently well through outsourced third-party vendors, or whether the policy
provisions are actually effective.
In this chapter, we re-visit the issue of organizational support through the eyes
of expatriate families. Our research is grounded in theoretical perspectives on
perceived organizational support (Armeli et al. 1998; Aselage and Eisenberger 2003;
Eisenberger et al. 1990), work/life balance (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985; Greenhaus
and Powell 2003, 2006), family systems theory (Caligiuri et al. 1998a, b; Olson
1993; Rosenbusch and Cseh 2012), crossover theory (Westman 2001; Westman
et al. 2004), and the job demands-resources model (Bakker and Demerouti 2007;
Demerouti et al. 2001; Karasek 1979). Drawing on these theoretical perspectives,
we explore and interpret expatriate family narratives on international mobility.
Specifically, we focus on the key challenges and opportunities international mobility
presents to expatriates and their families (in their roles as family members first,
rather than as expatriate employees or accompanying partners), the organizational support families receive and the support they wish they could receive
during international relocations, the key characteristics of the successful moveable
family, and the importance of family dynamics to successful assignments.
Our goal is to give voice to the human dimension of relocation for families
that undertake global mobility. Our findings can be used to determine what
types of support are essential for expatriate families and what can be considered
superfluous (Haslberger and Brewster 2008; van Erp et al. 2013). Our study
is in line with calls for research investigating in-depth experiences of multiple
stakeholders and the crossover and spillover processes involved, and examining
how aspects of global work relate to work-life conflict and work-life enrichment
(Greenhaus and Kossek 2014; Mkel and Suutari 2011; Schtter and Boerner
2013; Takeuchi 2010). Our work is consistent with the broader research goal of
investigating factors that contribute to sustainable careers and sustainable lives
(Greenhaus and Kossek 2014).
Our findings are based on data from an online survey of 656 respondents (expatriates, their spouses, and several teenage children) on assignment in 77 countries
with origins in 51 home-countries (see Table 3.1 for sample characteristics).
32
M. Lazarova et al.
Table 3.1 Sample characteristics

n D 656 %
Gender
Female
Male
473
181
Respondents age
1418
1925
2635
3645
4655
56 and over
11
14
190
253
150
36
Marital status
Married/relationship
Single-parent
I am a child
609
10
18
Number of children
I am one of the children
None
One
Two or more
15
226
111
297
Ages of accompanying children

Newborn
14
59
1014
1518
Over 18
38
143
181
174
108
35
Relocated for what purpose

72
Partners career
28
Own career
Both careers
2 Type of organization
2
Business/corporate
29
Government agency
39
Non-profit agency
23
Academic institution
5
Stage of assignment cycle
Pre-departure
93
Presently on assignment
2
In location less than 3 months
3
Repatriated
About to be repatriated
Relocating again in 6 months
2
34 Home country
17
North America
45
Europe
Asia & Middle East
Australia & New Zealand
6
South America
22
Africa
28
27 Host country
16
North America
5
Europe
Asia & Middle East
Australia & New Zealand
South America
Africa
n D 656 %
395
198
35
60
30
5
409
65
13
8
62
10
2
1
16
417
38
74
46
60
2
64
6
11
7
9
259
156
47
42
12
11
39
24
7
6
2
2
174
243
151
32
27
23
27
37
23
5
4
4
Note: Due to missing responses, not all percentage calculations add to 100 %
Data Collection
Data for the study was collected in 2008 using Survey Monkey as a web-hosting
platform. Adopting a convenience sampling approach (Creswell 2003), industry
contacts were used to secure an initial sample of about 200 expatriates from a large
multi-national corporation (MNC) headquartered in Canada. Using the snowballing
33
technique (Denzin and Lincoln 2005), all of the respondents were then asked to
forward the survey (via a link) to other expatriates they knew. A link to the study was
also posted on an expatriate resource website inviting expatriates and their families
to participate. Given this approach, it is not possible to calculate an exact response
rate for the study. However, it should be noted that the sample size compares
favourably to sample sizes reported in other expatriation family studies (McNulty
2012; Shaffer and Harrison 2001; Tharenou 2008).
Sample Characteristics
Seventy-two per cent of the respondents were women and 93 % were presently
married or in a committed relationship. The majority of respondents (60 %) had
moved because of their partners career. However, there were differences between
men and women: 83 % percent of the female sample had moved because of their
partners career, 12 % because of their own career, and 5 % because of both
careers. Among the men 82 % had moved because of their own career, 10 %
because of their partners career, and 8 % because of both careers. The largest
group of respondents were in the 3645 year age group (39 %). Sixty-two percent
of respondents were accompanied on their assignment by one or more children.
The sample also contained 18 teenage children (3 % of total sample) and 10
single parents (less than 2 % of sample). Sixty-two percent of respondents had
been relocated by corporations, 10 % by government agencies, 2 % by non-profit
agencies, and less than 1 % by academic institutions. The large majority of the
sample (79 %) were currently on assignment and 11 % had repatriated. Nine percent
were between assignments. More than two thirds of respondents had had multiple
assignments with the majority originating from home-countries that included USA,
UK, Australia, Canada, Germany and France.
Question Development
The online survey contained a mix of Likert-type scales and open-ended questions
that solicited information about the support expatriates receive during international
relocations, the logistics of support and moving, and relocation-related tension and
its impact on family relationships. We asked the respondents opinions on what
makes relocation successful and on the skillset of the successful movable family.
The original version of the survey was designed by an HR practitioner but the
advice of two academic consultants specialising in expatriation was sought and
subsequently used as an orienting framework (Creswell 2003, p. 30). Questions
were developed based on the consultants deep knowledge of the expatriation
literature and the central issues and challenges faced by those relocating abroad. To
facilitate a narrative account that is central to the qualitative approach adopted in this
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M. Lazarova et al.
study (see Gertsen and Sderberg 2010; Holt 2010 for similar approaches), a wide
range of open-ended questions were included. These questions allowed respondents
to provide as much detail as possible in order to convey more richly the depth of
their experiences while living abroad. The stories arising from the detailed data are
recounted in our findings section.
Data Analysis
Given the large amount of data collected, three steps based on content analysis were
adopted to constrain the meaning of the respondents opinions and attitudes in an
organised way (Tharenou et al. 2007; Sommer and Sommer 2002). Analysing qualitative data was based on data reduction and interpretation, which involved taking
the information provided by respondents and reducing or de-contextualising it
into specific categories (Tesch 1990, p. 123). The information was then interpreted
or re-contextualised to form themes from which key outcomes could be determined.
In the first step, data were coded and themed by reading through all the survey
responses and then sorting and clustering data to arrive at emergent key themes. This
often involved re-grouping and re-linking (theming) to consolidate the meanings
emerging from the data (i.e. emergent analysis). Topics that related to each other
were grouped together and re-labeled to reduce the number of categories. The most
descriptive wording for that particular topic was used. The category system enabled
us to maintain a clean and organised structure.
For the second step, interpretative analysis was utilized in which data were linked
to the findings of existing literature to form the research outcomes (see Eisenhardt
1989). Analysis of the themes involved searching for patterns in the data and for
ideas that could explain why those patterns emerged (Saldana 2009). As required,
themes were re-organised, re-named and/or re-grouped, and further refined and
modified as data analysis progressed.
The third and final step involved frequency counts of Likert-type questions to
determined how strongly some key themes were manifested (Tharenou et al. 2007).
Findings
Organizational Support
What Expatriate Families Receive
Most broadly, our analyses suggest that despite years of research illustrating that
organizational support is hugely beneficial during international relocations (e.g.,
Fischlmayr and Kollinger 2010; Gomez-Mejia and Balkin 1987; Guzzo et al. 1994;
Lazarova and Cerdin 2007; McNulty 2012; Tung 1987), organizations appear to
have learned very little. Our findings show that while support may be written down
35
in a policy, it is neither being communicated nor implemented to those that need

it, in particular the trailing spouse. Thus, although the respondents in our study
experienced a lot of demands (from major stressors, such as marital tension, to
daily hassles, such as being unable to contact a service provider) and expected
organizational support to help ease the strain, the majority perceived that the support
they received was largely inadequate.
To illustrate our point, 76 % of family members received no direct communication from the sponsoring organization (other than via the employee) before
undertaking an international relocation. Further 70 % received no direct communication from the company about the relocation after they had arrived in the new
location. As one respondent said,
I dont trust HR and would not want to rely on them (six moves so far, all in different
countries, on five continents). I find out all the information on expat websites now.
More than 60 % of respondents were also not offered cross-cultural training

(CCT) before undertaking their current international relocation. However, this
finding must be interpreted with caution on the basis that we did not control
for company-assigned versus self-initiated expatriate status (CAEs versus SIEs),
wherein CAEs would likely expect CCT but SIEs would not (the same might also
apply for direct communication). Nonetheless, and on the bright side, whenever
CCT was offered, it was more likely to be extended to all family members as
opposed to only the employed spouse. Those who had received CCT considered
language training to be the most valuable, followed by culture shock training and
country-specific information briefs.
While many respondents reported the availability of onsite host-country support,
this support was focused predominantly on practical and logistical issues. Typical
components of practical support included real estate assistance (67 %), help with
obtaining necessary work permits (55 %), help with setting up bank accounts (42 %),
medical referral services (29 %), school search (25 %), and handyman services
(15.5 %). Several respondents also reported being offered language lessons (or help
with arranging them). These numbers do not compare favourably to the picture
painted by industry reports at the time the survey was conducted, which showed that
practical and logistical support was extensively provided (e.g., GMAC and NFTC
2008; Brookfield Global Relocation Services 2009).
Overall, our results suggest that consistent with other recent academic studies, the
practical and logistical support offered to respondents is patchy and inconsistent
(Kupka et al. 2008; McNulty 2012). Comments in this regard indicate that whilst
some support was provided, it was not what the expatriate family needed:
I got a packet of information that listed shopping information, areas of interest and some
services but I probably could have gotten most of the same info from the yellow pages and
the visitor center.
Additionally, many respondents shared that they felt the burden of the international relocation was on their shoulders alone with little if any support from an
organization. Several respondents indicated that while they were well compensated
during the assignment, this still did not negate the need for support:
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M. Lazarova et al.
I think they figure we must be used to it and as long as his package is high enough in
terms of salary then we have nothing to complain about. They are paying for us not to be a
problem.
And in the words of another:

The company gave us money and washed their hands off the entire situation so it was a very
difficult transition.
Or as one respondent expressed it more humorously,

I said to my husband after our third move: I think the company would prefer to send me in
the container as well, much easier.
What Expatriate Families Would Like to Receive

To explore this question we included a list of typical assignments support initiatives
and asked that respondents indicate whether such support was available and/or
desired. The survey also included an open-ended question, asking what support
they personally preferred to have received during relocation. While a small minority
of respondents indicated that no specific support was needed (None at all. None
required. These are all routine life tasks. If you need help with any of this then stay
at your parents house was the quote that best illustrated this position), the majority
of respondents discussed specific programs they wished had been available to them.
Social support
When asked what needs to be included in a relocation policy in order to meet
the needs of the family, 66 % of respondents indicated that a contact at the new
destination to help them settle in is the most important type of support. Such social
support initiatives topped the wish list of programs our respondents would advise
future expatriates to seek from their companies. Many talked about being assigned
a local buddy, the ability to talk to other folks, and the benefits of facilitating
social introductions. As one respondent put it, she needed someone I can call even
with questions that may seem minute details of the move.
There were a number of comments regarding the social time needed for families
to settle in and the challenges that arise when the employed spouse begins working
right away, often with gruelling hours and traveling away from home on business
trips. More manager support and flexibility at work are called for, as is more time off
for the working expatriate in the days immediately following the relocation. There
is a clear sense of frustration that companies do not understand that relocations are
not completed in 2 weeks, and that throwing money at the problem does not solve
the challenges expatriate families face.
Practical support
Our data also indicated a strong focus on practical support. Funding for looksee visits (64 %), funding for school searches (64 %), language training where
necessary (57 %), and involving the spouse in preliminary discussions about any
37
new relocation (56 %) were listed as important. Look-see visits in particular

are seen as an important way to reduce education and housing stresses which
impact on families, yet was offered to only 50 % of families. In terms of prerelocation preparation, look-see visits enable families to choose home and school in
advance of arrival and avoid poor choice of housing in relation to distance from
school/work. Another important area where support was insufficient was school
searches. As indicated above, less than 30 % received school search assistance
a major failing considering the high number of families relocating with children
(65 % of our respondents were accompanied by one or more school-aged children).
Access to local practical information, be it from other individuals or formalized
as a relocation handbook specific to the assignment location, was equally important.
One respondent would have liked a five things I wish I knew when I arrived
manual (compiled by expatriates currently at the location), while another wished
for a map with the bank and the grocery store on it. Among the most highly
sought types of support were information on the local housing market and on local
schools, followed by medical referral information and a list of favorite spots. The
desire for local information was not limited to clarifying logistical issues, however.
Working expatriates would have appreciated informal information and tips on the
work culture and the rules of the local workplace.
Respondents also discussed at great length the need for on-site practical support,
starting with interim housing and transportation (and, where needed, interim
daycare, followed by help when unpacking, especially for families with very young
children). Next was help in setting up the basics of day-to-day life (internet and TV,
connecting utilities, mobile phone upon arrival, getting driver licenses or help
securing a car and a driver, access to a handyman, opening bank accounts, or
applying for credit cards). Further, there was a shared opinion that such support
should be ongoing and that relocation companies should not say good-bye in
two weeks. Respondents talked about the need for regular check-ins between the
company and the families and about the flow of care from expatriation decision,
throughout the assignment, and ending with a debrief post-repatriation.
Support for family members
Support for family members including spouses, children, elderly parents, and
even pets was another important wish list item. Perhaps not surprisingly, support
for spouses was required mostly in the career domain, with most respondents
looking for career counselling, and more importantly, help finding jobs and applying
for work permits (less than 10 % of respondents had access to spouse career
counselling). Most commonly, support for children was needed in terms of finding
the right schools, but respondents also talked about the challenges of finding
daycare options for young children. Another topic was special needs children and
obtaining support specific to their issues and challenges. Another area that appears
to represent a blind spot in organizational support and policy development is that
of single-parent expatriate families. Although accounting for less than 2 % (n D 10)
of the sample, respondents vividly described their challenges in the face of nonexistent support for their unique situation. Several respondents also talked about
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the assignment removing them from aging parents who required ongoing attention
and care, and the need to address this issue for current and future assignments that
might be undertaken. As many respondents consider their pets to have the standing
of family members, many wished for better support for relocating pets.
Financial support
There were also a surprisingly high number of comments about the unexpected
financial costs of an international move for which expatriates are not reimbursed
(e.g., driving license fees, fees for car leases, or the fees involved in renting
an apartment for a period shorter than a standard lease period) and the burden
of these costs to the families. These issues are rarely, if ever, examined in the
academic literature, and only glossed over in industry reports. Respondents not
only commented on the high price tag of relocating abroad but also expressed
surprise that they were expected, in most instances, to cover some expenses out
of pocket. Many said that their company policies were unclear or misleading,
thereby suggesting that families considering a move abroad need to request generous
relocation budgets with all the costs to be covered being explicitly spelled out, or
to be mindful of ambiguity in policy wording and to seek clarification early and in
writing. In the absence of direct financial reimbursement, there is a suggestion to
request a relocation-only credit card or an extra cash allowance in countries where
the lack of credit history may create an obstacle in credit card applications. While
the expectation is that many expatriates undertake international assignments on full
packages, the reality is that an increasing number are doing so today on local-plus
and localization packages, where compensation is significantly reduced, and many
are living as locals in the host-country (ORC Worldwide 2008; Tait et al. 2014).
Communication support
As briefly alluded to earlier, many respondents feel that there is a lack of
transparency in international relocation policies. One respondent referred to living
with uncertainty and unpredictability brought about by lack of information (what
happens next) as living in limbo-land (see also, Brown 2008). There were calls
for more clarity about the expatriate contract as well as detailed explanations of the
types of relocation support to be expected what the relocation package contains,
what the relocation policy will cover, where to seek support, who to contact in
case questions arise (especially during the move and in the immediate period after
arrival), information as to what can be shipped and related customs implications
(e.g., China restricts personal books to a maximum of 500 per shipment and does
not allow photocopiers), tax implications of the move, home leave policies, and
so forth. Along the same lines, respondents wished that the expatriating company
would also provide information regarding any relevant rules and regulations in the
host country that may affect the family.
Another important aspect of communication support is that of a direct contact
between the expatriating company (and the third-party relocation company, if
applicable) and the trailing partner, as it is the latter that typically bears the lions
share of responsibilities regarding pre-departure preparation and post-arrival settling
39
in. Leaving spouses fumbling around in the dark while necessitating that the
working spouse is the go-to person for everything even though they have little
to do with every day relocation tasks and are often traveling on the other side of
the globe, appears to be rather common and predictably, it is a cause for much
frustration, tension, and, eventually, deep resentment. As one trailing spouse said:
Since I am not an employee, I cant even request a plumber by myself! Its as if the regular
components of everyday life no longer have anything to do with me.
Communication support cannot be overstated. As perhaps the least expensive

type of support that can be offered to expatriate families, the value of clear
communication channels that directly involve the expatriate family is immense,
particularly in providing peace of mind. Many of the respondents said that their
move would have been much easier if they had had regular status updates, good
regular communication with the people involved, and a single point of contact
who is in full control. The respondents therefore advocated very strongly that not
only was it necessary that a contact between the company and the trailing spouse
be established, but that it also be fully formalized, with the trailing spouse being
given proper authorization to make important decisions related to the relocation.
This includes being copied on all important (non-job-related) briefings and being
kept in the loop regarding the move.
The Causes of Assignment Failure

We asked respondents two related questions as to the factors that contribute most
to their familys adjustment during an international relocation and, conversely,
the factors they consider to be at the root of assignment failure. In response to
adjustment, assignees agreed that how financial issues were handled (76.7 %),
culture shock (72 %), support after the relocation (71.6 %) and spousal career
concerns (70.4 %) were all important. In terms of failure, the responses focused
squarely on family-related issues such as spousal career concerns (90 %), spousal
resistance to the move (90 %), and marital breakdown (90 %). Open-ended
comments were very much in line with these themes, as discussed below.
Financial Concerns
The dominance of financial issues is consistent with the concerns regarding
unexpected financial costs arising from an international relocation. This may come
as a surprise given the widely reported generous compensation packages expatriates
are said to receive (Chen et al. 2002; Leung et al. 2009; Puccino 2007; Reynolds
1997; Toh and DeNisi 2003). Related comments suggest that the most common
cause of financial difficulties is the loss of a second income as a result of moving,
due to an inability of the trailing spouse to get a job in the new location arising from
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M. Lazarova et al.
work permit restrictions or other barriers (e.g. qualifications not being recognized,
language difficulties, or local licensing requirements). This often leads to marital
tension for the expatriate couple (McNulty 2012) or identity problems for the
trailing spouse (Shaffer and Harrison 2001). Financial stress, for example, may
exacerbate the loss of identity and independence family members feel as a result
of giving up paid employment. In the words of one respondent:
My husband began working horrendous hours, I had difficulty finding a job, and I received
no career support. It created a very stressful environment for our new marriage without any
counseling or support from the company.
Another said,
Work has become the focus of my husbands life. This is to be expected but since I dont
have a job to consume my life, there is a division : : : it is no longer OUR money (even
though it is) we both know its his. And that is very difficult to accustom ones self to.
Another reason for financial difficulties is that, in an attempt to rein in costs,

corporate generosity appears to be dwindling. For example, an increasing number
of organizations are introducing local-plus or other hybrid compensation packages.
A local-plus package is one where assignees are paid according to the salary
levels, structure, and administration guidelines of the host location, as well as being
provided with limited expatriate-type benefits such as transportation, housing, and
dependents education in recognition of their foreign status (Stanley 2009). The
downside of local-plus is that it is often coupled with being relocated to a city where
there is a dramatic change in the cost of living between [home and host] locations
which reduces expatriates buying power for everyday goods and services. As one
spouse explained:
We had a really healthy and strong marriage for a long time before the relocation [but] our
family grew apart (coming close to divorce) : : : definitely over finances I was not working
and it was stressful to realize how much more expensive this city is than the one we left : : :
I felt isolated and missed my friends and was resentful that we felt broke and it appeared
to be on me to get a job when there were so many things we needed to do that required
me to be home.
Spousal Career Concerns

Consistent with much past research (Harvey 1996; Mkel et al. 2011; Reynolds and
Bennett 1991; Riusala and Suutari 2000; Stephens and Black 1991), respondents
indicated that spousal career concerns were a major factor that may be related to
assignment failure:
The key source of tension has been my change in circumstances from full time employment
to struggling to find work. This combined with my partner working long hours and travelling
a lot has made it very difficult for us.
Findings illustrate the link between spousal career concerns and changes in the
marital relationship. McNulty (2012) alluded to marital power struggles in her study
of trailing spouses. Our study provides further evidence for this:
41
The relationship is no longer equal. The working partner works long hours, receives
substantial recognition for his work : : : its as if the regular components of everyday life
no longer have anything to do with me. The working partner, while trying to be incredibly
supportive, simply doesnt quite understand the change in status weve each gone through.
Findings here point to prior research (Harvey 1997; McNulty 2012; Moeller
et al. 2013; ORC 2005) showing that professional support in the form of job
search, career counseling, resume preparation, work permit assistance, and retraining/tuition reimbursement are highly valued by expatriate family members. It is
worth considering also that the Permits Foundation (2009) found that employed
trailing spouses perceive working during an assignment as having a positive impact
on their adjustment, family relationships, health and wellbeing, as well as on their
willingness to complete or extend their current assignment, and go on a new
one.
Marital and Family Stress
Marital stress and marital breakdown have rarely been looked at in the
expatriate literature (see McNulty 2012 for an exception). As previously
mentioned, many respondents in our study were candid about marital stress.
One clear theme was that when things are not quite right to begin with
or your marriage is on the rocks before a move, then relocating abroad
will break your marriage up. This is because relocation isolates the family
from known outside support networks further increasing the tension. In other
words:
If the marriage is already weak or the ability to communicate is poor, then the relocation
heightens intrinsic weaknesses or flaws. I dont think it causes a marriage to fail but often
it is the straw that breaks the camels back.
A frequent complaint by expatriate families that causes considerable marital

tension is the absence of working spouses due to excessive job demands and the
feeling that they need to prove themselves in the new location by spending
a lot of overtime at the office. This leads to stay-at-home spouses feeling
lonely at times and being sad that he is losing out on raising his children
because of the 24/7 work cycle that often involves multiple time-zones. For
others, there is resentment towards the company, and sometimes their spouse,
for promises about time spent together not [being] kept and for failing to see
that these types of habits can cause longer-term problems. As one trailing spouse
said:
Just because it may be expensive to have the employee on a project doesnt mean the
employee owes the company 80 hours a week.
Another candidly confessed:

My husband works long hours. Im lonely and I cant tell him because I dont want to add
to his stress. We hardly talk anymore.
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M. Lazarova et al.
Working spouses too feel the pressure as this respondent explains:

It is difficult for the family to understand why I am working so many hours. Im trying to
do my part in what I know can be a very successful deployment. [But I] just do not have
the level of support that is needed from the team here who needs to take ownership of the
process.
A lack of trust in a marriage is also a key factor in assignment failure, particularly

when there is a change in the working culture for the employed spouse. Changes in
some countries include heavy drinking like in Korea and Japan, womanizing, or
even second wives. There are also infidelity-related problems arising from things
that happen when mom and the kids leave for the summer! and the availability of
cheap local options!! that can create longer-term problems for expatriate families.
One respondent went so far as to suggest that men end up having affairs and women
end up being lonely.
Undoubtedly, happiness of family members is key to many aspects of assignment
success, and conversely a key factor in assignment failure when family members
are unhappy, particularly where the happiness of the accompanying spouse is
considered by many to be pivotal to family closeness after relocation (McNulty
2012). As one respondent said:
[ : : : ] while I wanted to move, my wife did not [so] settling in and integrating has been a
challenge for her, and she hasnt really embraced living in the new location because she
wasnt very happy to be moving there in the first place.
It is important to note that while family happiness entails many different factors,
there is considerable research showing that these factors do not exist in isolation
but are in fact inter-related: there is crossover between the partners and spillover
of family and work issues (Lazarova et al. 2010; Shaffer et al. 2001). Respondents
in the study agreed that tension definitely impacts the whole family stress begets
stress and that basic family systems theory says that tension affects homeostasis of
the family unit; it affects everyone. Even little kids know that something is different.
The resulting stress can impact on family members level of adjustment, satisfaction,
marriage quality, physical and mental health, and willingness to re-assign. Consider,
for example, the following example where the trailing spouses loss of self-esteem
creates conflict in the marriage:
My husband started work immediately and I was left with the task of settling us in. Without
support I felt lost and in a foreign language and culture sometimes it was scary. My husband
would get impatient because I seemed less confident than usual and was taking a long
time to cross things off the list. The tension began there. Had I had someone to meet with,
to support me and help guide me through, I would have had a much better experience.
My husband was the only support and he was frustrated with me. I resented this and our
relationship changed.
Children, too, can be a source of stress, as these parents candidly shared:

The middle child was very angry at having to leave his school and friends behind. He chose
to rebel and make life miserable for himself, and consequently, the rest of us.
Almost anyone who makes a big move will face tension at some point it may come from
the couple or the children, but at either level it affects everyone. In our case, the big issue lies
43
around our daughter who hates her school (justifiably as far as Im concerned). As changing
school would mean moving house for us, thats not an option now. Her unhappiness has
weighed heavily on me, which affects the whole family. It only takes one person to start the
snowball effect be that person child or adult.
The majority of respondents (92 %) believed that relocation-related marital

tension filters down to the family: kids can sense the tension no matter how hard
you try to protect them from it and [we have] less patience with the kids; we all
get frustrated and much more arguing goes on.
Childrens own comments were in line with the idea that stress crosses over
across family members: any stress between Mum and Dad has an impact on
the children! Despite these findings, there are no industry reports and only very
limited research (Weeks et al. 2010) touching on the subject of childrens stress
during international relocations. Our findings therefore reveal some unique data that
cast light specifically on the experiences of expatriate children, as these teenagers
explain:
I would like more help for the children. It was left to my parents, but they were so busy
organising everything, that they had little time to tell us where we were going, or even
prepare us for the shock of moving to a country where its so culturally different to what we
were used to.
My parents restricted us from talking to our friends about our move until they had made
it public. It was awful. AWFUL. We couldnt talk to [our parents] (because they dont
understand), or our friends, or anyone. It still hurts just thinking about it. Parents are key
if they minimize your pain, they dont realize that they are just adding to it.
Related to this, the child respondents shared that they often feel relocation stress
more keenly than their parents may be aware of:
Make sure that your children have help with adjusting to the change. It was very hard on
me and I hope that other people will have an easier time of it.
Children also shared their concerns and views about frequently changing schools:
When I went to an international school it was great, they were prepared for resistance and
confusion. But non-international schools are not and they didnt know how to cope with
my lack of education from a previous system or how to get me to catch up. Do not leave
the kid struggling to catch up in a more advanced education system thus leading to poor
educational self-esteem, which leads to all kinds of problems.
In addition to constantly changing schools, as well as the loss of friends

through each subsequent move, children experience stress through a parents workrelated absence or when families engage in a split assignment across different
countries:
My father now works in China (before, we lived with him wherever he worked), whilst I
live in England with my Mum and sisters, so we see him for about a week every two or
three months. My sisters and I are all at separate boarding schools (we used to all go to the
same day school), so during term time we see each other for one or two days a week.
I had a hard time with the move, and then I went to boarding school while my brother stayed
at home. It made our family grow apart.
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Not surprisingly, our data indicate that relocation-related tension affects everyone
in the family negatively, as summed up eloquently by this expatriate child:
Dad gets caught up in work, mum gets caught up in unpacking, brother plays his games, I
read my books. No one really goes out of their way to talk to each other.
As noted above, our study also found evidence of unique challenges faced by
expatriate single parents. Consider, for example, the following comment:
In my case, as a single parent, it has been much harder than I ever imagined and there is no
appreciation for this. I worry every day about the safety of my daughter. Policies assume
one is either single with no kids or that there is a spouse that will be able to take care of
things.
Another respondent, a divorced father and assignee, describes:

Relocation packages are normally aimed at the traditional nuclear family. Being divorced
with two young children, a lot of the benefits are not relevant, and yet additional expenses
and difficulties arise (for example, my children are still in my source country, so I have the
obligations to travel and videoconference that most relocatees do not have). Recognition of
the increasingly nontraditional family structures would be a benefit.
It must be noted that not everyone had a negative perspective of the impact of the
relocation on the family. Although in the minority, several respondents suggested
that the shared experience of a relocation can bring a family together no matter how
unfavourable the circumstances may be, as illustrated by the following quotes:
We bonded because it was a crisis situation; we had no assistance, and we (mother and kids)
were basically dumped in a foreign country and left to fend for ourselves. It was a survivor
situation.
[We] got close because of the challenges we faced.
Characteristics of the Successful Moveable Family

What do successful moveable families look like? When answering this question
some respondents provided several stereotypical images: a family that does not
relocate with children, a family with a spouse with a portable career, and a Stepfordtype family with a non-working spouse. Others suggested that success is dependent
on the female partner being a strong, independent, unflappable woman ready to
manage the logistics of the relocation. But instead of focusing on images of an ideal
expatriate family most respondents discussed several family characteristics. Many
suggested that the core is provided by a healthy relationship between the partners,
where the family must be water-tight. Others suggested:
Relocation support is only a small factor : : : if your marriage is not strong, you shouldnt
relocate overseas. People try and escape their problems and realities by going abroad only
to have them re-surface elsewhere.
Next comes the right attitude towards the move. Assignments can be derailed by:
inherent lack of adventurous spirit among those participating in the move. If the people
moving see the glass half empty [and] not half full, it will be more difficult to see the
changes to come as anything but irritating.
45
The critical role of attitude is also illustrated by comments suggesting that

as long as all family members are on the same page, the relocation is a lot
easier. For example, some trailing spouses viewed long hours at the office by their
partners as part of the agreement for undertaking the assignment, and were therefore
comfortable with the arrangement:
Although my husband works long hours and is frequently away, I understand that we cant
have it all I cant expect to live in another country with my husband earning an excellent
salary, and be able to afford for me to stay at home with the children, and be able to afford
frequent travel for shopping, a cleaner, a gardener etc., and have my husband not work long
hours. My children know how lucky we are, and know why their Daddy works so hard. We
accept this, it works for us, and we are happy.
Another trailing spouse suggested that:

some people just work harder at coping with new surroundings and living them realistically
rather than treating the overseas experience as a long-term holiday.
Other family characteristics include having a sense of adventure, good

communication that involves sharing and active listening with no blame or
judgement, everyone being committed to the move, a sense of humour, a conscious
effort to socialise outside of the family rather than focusing constantly on the
family unit, a family where all members pull in the same direction and where
all members are treated as important and come first in family decisions. As one
respondent said, a moveable family succeeds as a family, not as a spouse with a big
career and trailing appendages. The remaining characteristics for family success
refer to an expatriate familys expectations, and include having few expectations
that things will be the same as the home-country with checks in place to ensure
there is minimal craving of things from home, not expecting that everything will
be perfect, and an organized family that can still go with the flow when something
does not go according to plan.
Implications for Research and Practice

Our study examines data from more than 650 expatriate family members who drew
on many combined years of first-hand expatriation experience. Findings relating to
the characteristics of a successful moveable family therefore represent a depth of
understanding that is quite rare in research to date, and is typified in comments such
as the following:
Everyone is on edge and feeling vulnerable : : : we may all have similar needs but they
surface at different times. Some of our worst arguments have occurred during the pre/post
move times, but as well, some of the most bonding moments have happened also. I have
loved our expat life, but have always felt that moving sucks : : : everyone tries to put on
a brave face and show the world how well they are coping, when secretly, the wheels may
be falling off, behind closed doors.
What can companies do to be more effective in supporting moveable families?

Many respondents talked about improving communication between non-employed
members of the family (the trailing spouse) rather than funnelling information
46
M. Lazarova et al.
about a move only through the assignee. Also important is professional support
for the career-oriented spouse, better practical support that is meaningful and
targeted at actual (as opposed to perceived) family needs, and social support
to engage with others in the expatriate community, aging parents in the homecountry, and improved pet relocation support. A new finding not yet widely reported
in the literature is the need for financial support, particularly when policy does
not cover certain unexpected expenses, and/or when a family is compensated
on a reduced package. Local-plus and localization represent new challenges for
expatriate families that research is yet to catch up on (Tait et al. 2014), hence more
research is needed to investigate the implications of reduced compensation packages
and how companies can better support families on the ground.
Related to this is the idea that the assignees partner deserves appreciation
for their efforts during an international relocation, considering that the burden of
relocating usually falls on their shoulders and that such recognition is in relatively
short supply (less than 20 % of respondents said that they were thanked by the
company for their role in the move). Responses to this question varied from you
have got to be kidding! My husbands pay check was sufficient! and I am used
to being ignored to it was not necessary or it was impersonal but it still
made me feel good. Unfortunately, most respondents reported a general lack of
appreciation and goodwill gestures on behalf of the company. Undoubtedly, this
form of support is one of the most inexpensive components of the relocation
package, as is connecting families to each other and clarifying policy considerations,
among other things, largely because even the smallest gestures of appreciation
and/or support can lift the spirits of someone that is stressed out and overwhelmed
by the many aspects that an international relocation entails. Yet, the lack of even a
small amount of effort can leave family members feeling flat and ready to give up,
as these spouses candidly explain:
[I am] sometimes angry, sometimes sad, but all the time sorry about the companys stupidity
and believing that my husband would succeed in this post if I was not taking care of all the
rest.
[I feel] like I dont matter. My husband is just a cog in a wheel. I am a non-entity.
One area of support that we found to be especially important is awareness by all

stakeholders in the relocation process (i.e., the company, third-party vendors, other
expatriates already in the host-location, and working spouses) that often it is the
little things that count, as this spouse explains:
The company threw a party to welcome all the families that had relocated to Spain to set up
the companys new headquarters location. It was very well received by the families. It gave
the non-working members of the families (spouses and children) an opportunity to meet the
other families; to commiserate about the hassles of the move; to share info and tips about
newly found sources (where to buy appliances; where to buy certain foods or clothing). It
provided a recognition that it was not just the worker who had moved, but the whole family.
The General Manager thanked the families for having made the move. It was a good feeling.
When families do struggle, family counselling is seen as one area to which

respondents would like access. For example, while nearly 90 % of respondents
47
indicated that training/support with regards to family/marriage counseling was not

applicable to them, nearly 70 % still said that relocation policies should include the
funding of transition counseling or coaching for the family.
Organizations must also recognize that the image of Mom, Dad and the children
no longer applies universally. Children, for example, may be left behind in their
home country to continue schooling, be sent to a boarding school in a third country
so that their education is not interrupted by continuous relocations, or be away at
university, none of which diminishes a parents responsibilities to that child. Aging
grandparents also place demands on expatriate families who are responsible for
their care. Split family arrangements can be particularly onerous, largely because
expatriate benefits are typically not extended to family members that stay behind
in the home-country (Brookfield Global Relocation Services 2013), despite the
enormous stress that the absence of the assignee places on the family.
A key point here is the changing face of expatriate families. McNulty (2014)
found that there is virtually no support for single-parent non-traditional families,
with their needs being addressed on a case-by-case basis and resting largely
on the sympathy and understanding of a caring decision-maker or boss. Thus,
while most relocation support is geared towards traditional nuclear families, more
help is needed to support single-parent families, and to encourage single-parents
to consider engaging in international relocations. More research is needed to
understand the unique needs of these segments of the global talent pool. Single
parents, divorced parents, new families formed after the separation of prior families,
and couples committed to each other, yet not legally married, all have an impact on
the needs of expatriates, and underlines the need for flexible relocation packages.
As van Erp et al. (2013) suggest, the challenges of international assignments must
be examined from a more comprehensive family perspective.
A last recommendation is for more research that examines expatriate marital
tension and stress, the causes and consequences of expatriate divorce, and conversely the characteristics of high performing expatriate families, none of which
has been well addressed. Research on the needs of expatriate children, including
their perspectives on relocating and living abroad are rarely, if ever, explored but
much-needed as the expatriate family remains a formidable factor in international
assignment success.
Acknowledgement The authors would like to thank Robin Pascoe for generously sharing her
Family Matters data with us.
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Chapter 4
Another Look at Family Adjustment

Arno Haslberger, Thomas Hippler, and Chris Brewster
Abstract This chapter argues that in the international career context there is a need
to conceptualise the adjustment of the family unit holistically. We discuss what
that means and how it can be done. We note that to date the family has almost
always been conceptualised as a hindrance to or a support for the working expatriate.
However, in international assignments the family as a whole is expatriated and the
family may become part of the expatriate resources with the line between work and
family/personal life blurring. We draw on the Family Adjustment and Adaptation
Response (FAAR) literature to argue that previous conceptions of adjustment have
failed to capture the complexity of the process from the family perspective and
we use that literature to develop our understanding of the process of adjustment
of the family unit and suggest ways forward.
Keywords Expatriate families Family unit Nuclear family Adjustment
FAAR model TWA model Gender
Introduction
Around eight out of ten expatriates are accompanied by a spouse or partner, and
about half of them are accompanied by children; these figures have been fairly
stable for many years (Brookfield 2010, 2014; GMAC 2000, 2006). Research has
demonstrated the influence of the accompanying family on work-related outcomes
for the expatriate (Caligiuri et al. 1998). This, together with the fact that the
number of international assignment is still growing and is expected to grow further
A. Haslberger ()
Department for Leadership, Work and Organisations, Middlesex University Business School,
London, UK
e-mail: arno_haslberger@yahoo.com
T. Hippler
University of Essex, Colchester, UK
C. Brewster
Essex Business School, University of Reading, Reading, UK
53
54
A. Haslberger et al.
(Brookfield 2014), renders the expatriate family of great and continued interest to
researchers and practitioners alike.
Based on an assessment of our knowledge so far, this chapter argues for a
more holistic view of the expatriate family and their adjustment to the international
experience. The expatriate adjustment literature has explored gender issues, trailing
spouses, and work-family tensions, but has rarely considered the expatriate family
as a unit.
In this chapter we follow the literature in assuming that most expatriates are
employed by multi-national companies (MNCs). We also, in common with most of
that literature assume that these expatriates, and their families where they have them,
will be relocating to areas where there are other expatriates present. We also include
self-initiated expatriates, on the definition propounded by Cerdin and Selmer (2014)
that includes being educated and professional amongst the criteria for inclusion in
this group. We exclude, however, expatriate families where the expatriate is working
in up-country locations where they may be the only expatriate for hundreds of
kilometres around as for example occurs amongst many aid, charity and religious
expatriates and we also (like Cerdin and Selmer 2014) exclude expatriates who are
not amongst the professional and technical classes thus excluding a vast number
of poor expatriates at the bottom end of the social scales working as cheap labour,
as domestic staff, as courier drivers, etc. Finally, we also exclude the large number
of bi-cultural expatriates and those where a family member has the nationality of a
country that the family is moving to. We make these exclusions not because these
are unimportant expatriates or families but because, firstly, their situation is very
different from that of the more usually studied professional and technical expatriates
employed by MNCs and moving to a country they have no connection with so it
would make the chapter more complicated and less clear and, secondly, because the
research into these groups in the management literature is almost non-existent.
We briefly review that literature as it relates to our topic, outline two models that
attempt to explain family adjustment and indicate how adopting elements of both
models may help us to understand the adjustment of the expatriate family. Finally,
we discuss how such an approach might inform future research.
The Expatriate Family in the Literature

Although gender issues have been part of the expatriation literature for a long
time, attention to them remains limited. Discussion of female expatriates and their
specific problems and advantages (Coles and Fechter 2008) has developed alongside
a literature concerned with the (usually assumed to be female) trailing spouses
or partners as we shall term them, to avoid sexist and formalist assumptions (Adler
2002; Harvey 1985; Haslberger 2010; Selmer and Leung 2003; Tung 1982).
Cleveland et al. (1960) were among the first authors to cover the family
perspective in a book on living abroad and not long after that Nash (1967, 1969)
discussed the domestic side of a foreign existence. In a review of expatriate
4 Another Look at Family Adjustment
55
communities Cohen (1977) pointed out that they tend to be male-centred, that while
the husbands working life is continuous the wife bears the burden of transferring
family life, and that those women who had worked at home but had to stop
while abroad faced the most difficult situation. The literature on expatriation thus
identifies the, often, rather more difficult situation of the trailing partner compared
to that of the expatriate employee. The employee generally has an established office
environment with all the structure and support that this entails. The partner, by
contrast, usually faces an unstructured and minimally supported situation, where
they are expected to learn to adjust on their own. Of course, dealing with the partners
and children of expatriates has always been a substantial issue for practitioners the
expatriates themselves and their families; and the international HRM department of
organizations charged with easing transfers by at least providing information on
safe places for housing, on schooling and on work opportunities for partners and
in some cases with also arranging for those aspects of life and/or paying for them.
Dual career families mean that MNCs may have trouble attracting their employees
to move abroad (Brown 2008; Collings et al. 2007); partners or children increase
the expense of a foreign assignment; and the failure of partners to adjust has been
identified as a key source of expatriation problems (Takeuchi et al. 2002; Tung 1982,
1987).
We believe this literature may exaggerate the problem clearly it is easier and
less career-threatening for a mal-adjusted expatriate to insist on returning home
because my partner cannot cope than because I cannot cope. Nevertheless, this is
one of the persistent themes of the literature on trailing partners. There is a research
gap here because, to our knowledge, no literature critically separates real from
opportune reasons for pre-mature return. In-depth qualitative studies would be
suitable to identify them.
It should be noted that in almost all cases the reference is to partners and children:
it is rare that other members of the more extended family are taken on expatriate
assignment and this may in itself create a problem for expatriates and their nuclear
family from some cultures where extended families are more common. In perhaps an
increasing number of cases the partner will also have a career. Although the issues
associated with the problems created when the household has two partners with
substantial careers and dual career couples were identified early in expatriation
research, articles in the 1990s and 2000s were generally speculative or prescriptive.
There was almost no statistically viable research, although a few studies were
carried out using household biographies (Hardill 2004) or limited numbers of
interviews (Mkel et al. 2011). It seems that many partners choose to remain in
their own country and not take up the opportunity of an international assignment,
but often too one of the partners gives up their career and becomes a trailing partner
in the new country. Where both partners continue their careers (easier in regions
such as the European Union where work permits are not required between member
states) then, of course, both partners are expatriates needing to adjust to work and
private life. What the limited evidence shows is that in such cases the sharing and
support roles resulting from the crossover effects become very strong.
56
Employer Responsibility for the Family and Its Members

A question of ethics arises in the case of expatriate families: a question that does
not arise elsewhere (Haslberger 2011; Haslberger and Brewster 2008). Given that
the employment contract is between the organization and the expatriate, what
right does the organization, or the expatriate for that matter, have to attempt to
force the family to re-locate and who then has to try to adjust to that relocation?
Expatriate assignments raise many more issues than domestic assignments and
involve the HRM department more in family lives. They include issues such
as fairness in the way expatriates are treated in comparison to local employees
(Oltra et al. 2013; Toh and DeNisi 2005) or whether and to what extent the
company is responsible for the expatriate family. As the employer interferes with
expatriate family life much more than for local employees, so it also bears additional
responsibilities. Do these extend to the preventable psychological hardships that
are sometimes related to the adjustment and adaptation process? To partners who
give up a job, and to what extent? Haslberger and Brewster cite the example of
a Scandinavian MNC that, because of bad experiences in the past, introduced
completely separate pension plans for partners, who give up their own job, to ensure
a level of financial independence in retirement (Haslberger and Brewster 2008). Do
the employers responsibilities extend to the expatriates children? Identifying the
correct balance between the responsibilities of the organization and the family is
a continuing task. An appropriate level of care will lead to better results for both
families and companies (Paik et al. 2002).
The Family as a Problem or a Resource

Much of the literature assumes that the partner may be a support for the expatriate
or, perhaps more frequently, may be a problem for the expatriate and the employing
organization.
The Family as a Problem Insofar as partners and families have been covered in the
literature they have often been studied as a problem. In the early expatriate research
Hays (1971, 1974) investigated factors playing a role in the success or failure of
expatriates. To the variables commonly studied at the time he added, inter alia, the
adaptability and supportiveness of the family.
Tung was one of the first in the field with detailed studies and published a
series of influential articles (Tung 1981, 1982, 1984) identifying the family as
a critical success factor in expatriate assignments. One of her articles originated
the now widespread view that the inability of the expatriates spouse to adjust
is a major problem for multinational companies (Tung 1982). To this day this
statement plays a role in academic and professional publications on the topic.
Despite this, research on expatriate assignments did not pay much attention to
57
families (Harvey 1985). Harveys research includes the partners and childrens
perspectives in his discussion of selection and adjustment abroad. De Leon and
McPartlin (1995) studied the adjustment of expatriate teenagers in Hong Kong. The
inability of partners and children to adapt to the host countrys culture continued to
be researched as a problem (Flynn 1995; Takeuchi et al. 2002; Tung 1987). Black,
with a variety of colleagues (Black and Gregersen 1991a, b; Black and Stephens
1989; Stephens and Black 1991) looked specifically at partner adjustment and
investigated the crossover between partner and expatriate adjustment. Their model
of partner adjustment gave rise to attempts to challenge it theoretically (Forster
1992) and give the partner and family more prominence. Fukuda and Chu (1994)
added a Japanese perspective, one of the few to include respondents outside the
English-speaking world, to the research on family variables in expatriate employee
adjustment.
Partners and families obviously do face a different situation from that facing the
expatriates themselves. The expatriate goes to the new country and new assignment
with a defined role and the set of responsibilities inherent in the job, with a
ready-made social network at work, some of which may be familiar as part of
the international organization if they were assigned from elsewhere in the same
organization. They are often very busy and fully occupied for long hours at work.
More recent research has found that the expatriates partners, and children where
they have them, face a different situation and often have a harder time adjusting
(Kupka and Cathro 2007). They, like the working partner, are isolated from family
and friends, but because they do not have the stability of the work context for many
hours of their day, and because of their different roles (homemaker, schoolchild),
they are more closely bound into the new and unfamiliar environment and their
adjustment may be considerably more stressful (Albright et al. 1993). Partners will
often not have employment in the new country (Dickmann et al. 2008) and, indeed,
may be legally forbidden from having a job or may find that work permits are
impossible or very difficult to obtain. Where they do have employment in todays
society there is a small but growing number of expatriates involved in web-based
work that can be carried out from almost any country they often remain socially
isolated from a business context and more likely to live in the local environment.
Like non-working partners they are directly involved with the local environment on
a daily basis in order for them to ensure the expatriate family can continue with their
normal activities with the minimum disruption shopping, taking the children to
school and managing their sports and other out-of-school activities, and dealing with
local services. They may have important responsibilities but they are different ones
from those they had back home. For them, the foreign environment is more pressing;
in most countries and for most expatriate families they will be more affected by the
foreign culture and the need to absorb at least some of the local language than their
partners who spend much of their time in the work environment (Albright et al.
1993). Children also live in the local environment more than the expatriate does,
although in some settings international schools will reduce the contact. Inevitably,
for some families, the stress will create real problems.
58
The Family as a Resource However, there is another side to the coin. Partners and
children can also be a valuable resource for the expatriate, reminding her or him
of the larger life beyond work and assisting with integration (Black and Gregersen
1991a; Kraimer and Wayne 2004; Kraimer et al. 2001; Lauring and Selmer 2010;
Toh and DeNisi 2005). Expatriate studies have generally paid little attention to
the family as a resource, i.e. its cohesion, adaptability, organization and structure,
and its communication skills, although there are some exceptions (Caligiuri et al.
1998; Nash 1969; Shaffer et al. 2000). However, there is considerable evidence that
personal resources are strongly relevant to adjustment outcomes (see: Anderzn and
Arnetz 1997; Aycan 1997; Black 1990; Caligiuri 2000a, b; Forster 1992; Glanz et al.
2001; Harrison et al. 1996; Holopainen and Bjrkman 2005; Shaffer et al. 1999;
Van Vianen et al. 2004; Waxin 2004; Yamazaki and Kayes 2004) and the personal
resources of the expatriate feature prominently in the literature on selection criteria
(even if these are often not reflected in the actual decision process see: Harris
and Brewster 1999). Some companies make use of psychological instruments to
assess such personal characteristics (Anderson 2005; Sparrow 1999). The power of
the family is evidenced by numerous anecdotal examples of expatriates claiming
that the family keeps me sane if I was going back to a hotel room or an empty
apartment I would never survive out here. It is likely therefore that the family is a
powerful resource assisting with the process of adjustment.
Families can also help the expatriate to integrate into the wider community. In the
traditional colonial expatriate model the partner was often expected to do much
business entertaining and to re-enforce expatriate communities (Hickman 2000;
Hughes 1999). One of the authors well remembers someone being introduced to
him as the companys senior expat wife in the territory. Presumably operating
on the principle that as the company had brought both the expatriate and his wife
to the country and was paying them a considerable amount of money, the partner
was expected to maintain the network of expatriates there, to host meetings and
dinners with other expatriate partners, local businesspeople and civic dignitaries and
to attend formal functions as a company representative. Those days may perhaps
have gone but partners still have a key role to play in integrating the expatriate
into the local community. They are much more likely to meet locals in their dayto-day activities and to integrate with host country nationals (HCNs) in their daily
activities. Many school gate acquaintances have become good friends helping the
partner and their children, and through them the expatriate, to integrate into the local
community.
Interaction with HCNs is one of the best ways to obtain knowledge about the
local environment, particularly in the early stages of relocation. Preparation, books
about the country and the world-wide web will provide some information, but
much of it is hard to come by without local contacts. In Vietnam for example
the former sources direct visitors to restaurants where English is spoken. But the
best food comes from restaurants where only Vietnamese is spoken or even from
the roadside vendors. A similar story applies in Malaysia (Abdullah 1992). The
expatriates family has advantages here. In societies with high power distance it
59
may be hard for the expatriate to be seen as other than an authority figure by the
people he or she comes into contact with. But their partners interact with people
in shops, restaurants, at school and at the sports club, with no obvious hierarchical
distinction. Hence, they may find it easier to make friendships. In societies high
on the humane orientation the collective tends to encourage behaviours that are
altruistic and involve caring for others (Javidan and House 2001). This may be
applied to the expatriates family too: There are a number of aspects of life from
getting the newspaper delivered to local transport and parking that will be much
easier with advice from someone, or following the example of someone, who knows
the local culture well. The expatriates family is more likely than the expatriate to
generate such connections. This is more common for the expatriates partner and
children because not only are they in closer contact with the local environment but
they may gain credibility by having something to offer: expatriate spouses may not
be able to take up employment in many countries but they can get involved in joint
child-care or charitable activities. Their children can act as translators or sports
coaches. All these activities build social capital (Lin et al. 2001) and enhance the
chances of acceptance into the local community.
Host country social support also has an impact on affect, as it can provide
emotional support, and other forms of help that could make a difference to the
feelings of a newly relocated family making them feel accepted, which social
identity theory tells us is important for emotional well-being (Tajfel and Turner
1985; Wang 2002). Relationships with host country nationals reduce the gap
between the home and host culture and create a climate of mutual respect and
understanding (Bell and Harrison 1996). It is through such interaction that families,
and through them the expatriate, begin to appreciate and become sensitized to
the local culture and to be able to behave more appropriately and effectively
(Shaffer and Harrison 2001). The stronger the relationship, presumably, the better
the adjustment, as was noted many years ago (Furnham and Bochner 1986).
Level of Analysis Viewing the Family as a Unit

We believe it may be time to move beyond seeing the family solely as a problem
or a resource, being detrimental or beneficial to the individual expatriates success.
Attempts have been made to establish the concept of the adjustment of the family
unit as a research topic in its own right (Haslberger and Brewster 2008).
The level of analysis in adjustment studies, even those focussing on the family, is
normally the individual (see, for example, Lazarova et al. 2010). Some exceptions
notwithstanding (Haslberger and Brewster 2008; Shaffer and Harrison 2001; Shaffer
et al. 2001; Takeuchi et al. 2002), most adjustment research is focused on individual
expatriates rather than on partners or family units (Takeuchi 2010). In this chapter
we look at the aggregate level of the family, i.e. we address specifically the issue of
the adjustment of expatriates as a family unit.
60
Towards an Integrated Model of Family Adjustment

Our overview shows that expatriate family studies have yielded substantial yet
fragmented insights into various elements of family adjustment abroad. But there
is little available that provides a general theory of expatriate family adjustment.
In order to show how this gap could be filled we integrate thinking from family
studies on the one hand (the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR)
model; Patterson 1988) and from work transitions on the other (the Theory of Work
Adjustment (TWA); Dawis and Lofquist 1984). Both models embrace an environmental fit approach attending to family or individual resources and environmental
demands. They have been picked up by the expatriate literature (Ady 1995; Caligiuri
et al. 1998; Haslberger and Brewster 2008; Haslberger et al. 2013, 2014; Newman
et al. 1978) but have not made much impact so far. Moving abroad places additional
pressures on families. The literature about expatriate assignments is replete with
lists of the variables that constitute demands. An early attempt to look at the family
as a system that adjusts to lifes demands was the ABCX model. It stated that a
stressor (A) interacts with the familys abilities to meet it (B) and with the familys
attribution of meaning to the stressor (C) to produce a crisis (X). Scholars later
built on this concept to create the FAAR model (Patterson 1988), which conceives
adjustment as involving two levels of transaction: (a) between family members
and the family unit, and (b) between a family unit and the community (Patterson
2002, p. 352). The FAAR model looks only at the process of how family capabilities
meet the family members and the communitys needs and requirements. It does not
consider the TWA models second focus of attention: how the family members
and the communitys capabilities and supplies meet the familys needs. In turn,
the FAAR model adds to the TWA by focusing on the aggregate level of family
adjustment: the familys upwards and downwards transactions with the environment
and with individual family members, and the collective generation of meaning in
the family unit. We believe that ideas from the FAAR and the TWA models taken
together can further our understanding of the adjustment of expatriate families.
FAAR Model
The FAAR model applies an environmental fit approach by examining the outcomes
of a balancing process between demands on the family and its capabilities to cope
with the demands. There are three types of demands: stressors, strains or hassles.
The meanings the family attaches to its current and general situation mediates
and moderates the balancing process. Patterson (1988, 2002) makes a distinction
between adaptation and adjustment, where the former involves a crisis because of a
shortfall in capabilities and a resulting major change whereas the latter denotes the
meeting of daily challenges with the existing capabilities of the family. To be in line
with the expatriation literature we do not make this distinction here and speak only
61
of adjustment. This is also because in expatriate adjustment the acquisition of new

capabilities such as language skills and cultural knowledge are a given and because
it would complicate the discussion and make our chapter overly long. That said a
further development of our model might benefit from the FAAR models distinction.
Stressors are discrete events of change; strains are unresolved, insidious
tensions; and daily hassles are minor disruptions of daily life (Patterson 2002,
p. 350). The familys move to another country constitutes the overall stressor in
expatriation. It can be broken down into many discrete events especially during the
preparation and execution of the move and the period of settling in abroad. Strain
often results from an unresolved stressor. As such, the overall stressor of the move
abroad will lead to at least some strain. Any of the specific stressors related to the
international move may, over time, lead to strain. For example, finding a school for
accompanying children is stressful. If the new school situation is difficult it may lead
to strain and perhaps transfer to another school. Daily hassles are bound to change
with any move, including one abroad. The commute to work may become longer
or shorter, store locations and opening hours more or less convenient, etc. Other
potential daily hassles as measured by the Hassles and Uplifts Scale (DeLongis et al.
1988) include items such as time spent with the family, amount of free time, wellbeing of a family member, family-related obligations, fellow workers, supervisor or
employer, work load, deadlines on the job, medical care, the weather and physical
environment, the neighbourhood (e.g., neighbours, physical setting), etc.
The capabilities of the family consist of what it possesses and of what it does, i.e.
the combined material and psychosocial resources of its members and its (coping)
behaviours. Both demands and capabilities can emerge from three different levels
of the ecosystem: (a) individual family members, (b) a family unit, and (c) from
various community contexts (Patterson 2002, p. 350).
Situational meanings are tied to particular occasions and interaction sequences.
They have a shorter time frame than meanings attributed to the family entity and
its position in and relation to the community. The latter define how the family sees
itself in the host environment. The meanings in FAAR link to the correspondences
in the TWA as we will show in the next section.
TWA Model
The TWA model is rooted in the person-environment (P-E) fit concept. The essential
tenets of the theory can be summarized briefly as follows:
The environment and the individual must continue to meet each others requirements for the interaction to be maintained. The degree to which the requirements
of both are met may be called correspondence.
: : : adjustment is indicated by the satisfaction of the individual with the : : :
environment and by the satisfaction of the : : : environment with the individual,
by the individuals satisfactoriness. (Dawis and Lofquist 1984, p. 9 emphases
in the original)
62
It is an underlying assumption of the TWA that each individual seeks to

achieve and maintain correspondence with the environment (Dawis and Lofquist
1984, p. 54 emphasis in the original). Correspondence is a relationship in which
the individual and the environment are corresponsive (i.e., mutually responsive)
(Dawis and Lofquist 1984, p. 54). Adjustment is the continuous and dynamic
process by which the individual seeks to achieve and maintain correspondence with
the : : : environment (Dawis and Lofquist 1984, p. 55 emphasis in the original). As
long as an individual meets the requirements of the environment, i.e. is satisfactory,
and the environment supplies an individuals needs, i.e. the individual is satisfied,
they continue to interact. Satisfaction and satisfactoriness are outcomes of the
adjustment process and go up and down over time. Dawis and Lofquist claim and
through their later work demonstrate that their theory of work adjustment may be
useful as a general theory of behavior (Dawis and Lofquist 1984, p. 145) and of
adjustment (Lofquist and Dawis 1991).
The FAAR model and the TWA both make unique contributions to the understanding of expatriate adjustment at the family level. We believe that their constructs
are similar enough to allow their integration into one model of family adjustment
that is more comprehensive than either model on its own without becoming overly
complicated or lacking parsimony.
Outline of an Integration of the Two Models

As demands and capabilities reside in individual family members, the family
unit itself and in the various community contexts, there are various types of
correspondence between demands and resources determining the satisfaction of the
family with itself, with individual family members, and with different community
contexts as well as the satisfactoriness of the family in the eyes of its members and
of the various communities.
Adjustment in the FAAR model is the familys balancing of demands placed on it
and its capabilities to cope with them. In TWAs terms this is the correspondence of
the familys capabilities with environmental demands, leading to the perception of a
certain level of satisfactoriness. This perception is an active process of interpretation
that could also be described as a process of creating meaning. The FAAR model
defines meaning broadly. In order to integrate the two models we suggest restricting
the attention to meaning to satisfactoriness (and satisfaction; see below). The FAAR
model distinguishes three levels of analysis: individual family members, the family
unit, and the various community contexts. Figure 4.1 presents two of the three
types of satisfactoriness in the top half by showing the correspondence of family
capabilities with individual family members and various communities needs and
requirements. The third, the satisfactoriness of the family in its own eyes, may also
be conceived as the satisfaction of the family with itself. The bottom branch in
Fig. 4.1 represents this.
63
Satisfactoriness
(to members &
community
Correspondence
Needs/
Requirements
Capabilities
Correspondence
FAMILY
Individual
family
members
Needs/
Demands
Community
contexts
Adjustment
Capabilities/
Supplies
Correspondence
Satisfaction
(with members &
community)
Satisfaction
(of family unit
with itself)
Fig. 4.1 The Family-Environment-Correspondence Model
The FAAR model does not pay explicit attention to the satisfaction of the
family unit with its various community environments and with its individual family
members. The definition of meaning in the FAAR model could allow it to account
for this. We prefer the more explicit statement in the TWA, which looks at the correspondence of environmental supplies with the needs of an adjusting individual or
in our case a family and its resulting satisfaction with the environment. Analogous
to the different types of satisfactoriness there is the satisfaction of the family unit
with its individual members and with the various community contexts. This is
represented just below the center of Fig. 4.1 as the correspondence of members
and communities capabilities and supplies with the familys needs and the resulting
satisfaction with them.
To summarize, the adjustment of an expatriate family as conceived here is the
composite result of correspondences between supplies and demands at three levels:
individual family members, family unit, and various community contexts. There
are nine types of combinations possible in principle: needs of the family met by
itself, its members and its community; likewise the needs of family members and
of communities met by each of the other three. Since our focus is on the family,
we can exclude the needs of individuals met by communities, the requirements
of communities met by individuals and the self-referenced correspondence for the
individual and the community. Further, the self-referenced correspondence of family
capabilities with family needs is actually one and the same and may be called
satisfactoriness or satisfaction. We opted for the latter. This leaves five real types
64
of correspondences and, hence, two types of satisfactoriness and three types of

satisfaction: the familys satisfactoriness in the eyes of its members and of its
communities, and the familys satisfaction with itself, with its members and with
its communities.
Discussion
As the overview at the beginning demonstrates, expatriate family studies have
surged in recent years. In emerging fields there is often a patchwork of approaches
and insights that is only loosely connected. With this paper we offer an attempt
to rectify the situation by showing how the FAAR model and the TWA could be
integrated to provide a more comprehensive view of expatriate family adjustment.
Currently, the combination is at an abstract level and needs to be developed in detail
to serve as a theory of family adjustment. Our chapter charts the way for such a
project.
The challenge will be to fill in the variables and provide theoretical rationales for
their relations: on the demand side, what are the relevant needs of the family and
of individual family members? What are the requirements of various community
contexts and what communities need to be included? On the supply side, what
are the capabilities of the family and of individual family members? What are the
supplies available in the various community contexts?
Meaning in the FAAR model is a mediating and moderating variable in the
balancing process between demands and resources the family engages in when
adjusting to the host environment. In a first step, we need to theorize how meaning
defined as satisfaction and as satisfactoriness relates to adjustment. The TWA equals
adjustment to tenure, which is fine as an indicator for work adjustment. In expatriate
adjustment tenure or extent of stay is a problematic variable since it is rarely
useful or exact (see, for example, Harzing 1995; Harzing and Christensen 2004).
Therefore, in a second step, we will have to assess whether various aspects of
meaning should be included to complete the picture.
There are other complex dynamics that have to be considered in family adjustment. For example, two countervailing trends are present in expatriate families: on
the supporting side, the greater resources that a family possesses compared to single
individuals can facilitate an accelerated changing of the reference scheme. On the
opposing side, the family often constitutes a miniature environmental bubble of
people with the same cultural background so that for conversations within the
family the home reference may suffice and the family as a unit resists a change
in reference frame, slowing down adjustment. Whether one or the other prevails
probably depends on the particular characteristics of each expatriate family and
its members such as their tolerance, flexibility, openness to experience and
cohesiveness. Both tendencies can have a stabilizing effect on the family system,
even if the last characteristic may hinder adjustment.
65
Additional theoretical challenges come from the internal dynamics of family

adjustment. There is crossover among family members such that one family
members good or poor adjustment may, or perhaps, will influence other family
members in such a way that overall family adjustment may benefit or suffer.
The process of sense-making and collective attribution of meaning to each family
members adjustment and its role for family adjustment will be important in this
context. Crossover may be combined with spillover between domains, e.g. the work
or school adjustment of one family member influencing their adjustment in the
home sphere and/or the adjustment of other family members in the home or other
domains. Coping behaviours within the family mediate the crossover process within
it (Westman 2001). These may be strategies focused on dealing with the problems
or they may be emotion-focused, such as outbursts of anger. However, there is an
absence of research into expatriate family coping strategies.
In general, families and individual members can cope with demands either by
reducing them or managing their effects in order to restore a balance. Patterson
(1988) lists five ways families do this and these can be applied to expatriate families
too. First, the family can take direct action to reduce demands in number and/or
intensity by, for example, giving up a social activity. Second, they could take direct
action to preserve existing resources. They could, for example, ensure that they
allocate family time each day and try as far as possible to maintain that every day.
Third, they might attempt to obtain additional resources a Chinese family known
to one of the authors paid for one of the grandmothers to come out to stay with
them to share in home-making and child-care responsibilities. Fourth, families may
manage the tension that comes from demands, e.g. by playing or joking together.
Finally, families may reappraise the situation to change its meaning, agreeing, for
instance, that the nuclear family is more important than the extended family used to
be to them.
Since community resources tend to be geographically stationary, families that
move from one country to another must cope with less, particularly in the short term.
In time they can find new networks. The easiest resource to replace is instrumental
support and informational support, help with the move, with fitting into work,
residency permits, etc. Emotional support can be found in such places as religious
bodies, sports and social clubs and friendships. In many countries now there are
associations for expatriates, for their partners or for their families. These networks
will take a longer time to develop and to be effective. Social support variables were a
common feature of earlier expatriate studies (Anderzn and Arnetz 1997; BhaskarShrinivas et al. 2005; Forster 1992; Kraimer et al. 2001; Shaffer et al. 1999). The
Internet is increasingly providing a new form of emotional support, allowing family
members to retain extensive contacts with the wider family and other people from
their home locale.
Although an in-depth discussion would go beyond the scope of this chapter,
it is worth noting the impact of gender on family adjustment.1 Lazarova et al.
1
We would like to thank one of our reviewers for suggesting that we address the gendered nature
of family adjustment.
66
(2010) refer to a body of literature that identifies important differences in the

experiences of male and female expatriates at the individual level, including their
adjustment. The issue of the expatriates gender may be most pertinent in societies
with more traditional gender role expectations (Adler 1984; Taylor and Napier
1996). These differences in expectations at the individual level may be mirrored
at the family level. Expectations of and resources offered to a female-led expatriate
family (one where the woman is the gainfully employed expatriate and the man is
the trailing and frequently, because of visa restrictions, unemployed spouse
or partner) might well be different from the demands and supplies a male-led
expatriate family meets. Only about two out of ten expatriates are women; this is
again a figure that has been stable for many years (Brookfield 2010, 2014; GMAC
2000, 2006). Not all of these female expatriates will be accompanied by a family.
Small numbers notwithstanding, where we do encounter the non-traditional form
of a female-led expatriate family, the gendered nature of norms and expectations
of the behaviour of males and females, not only in traditional societies, is likely
to have a considerable influence on the experiences of the expatriate family and
their adjustment. The gendered nature of role expectations will thus have to be
taken into account when working towards specific propositions involving the familyenvironment relationship that is family adjustment.
Conclusion
Our discussion illustrates that much remains to be done to arrive at a fully-developed
and suitable theory of expatriate family adjustment. This chapter suggests a starting
point. Its main contribution is the high-level integration of the FAAR model and the
TWA, which leads to extensions to the perspectives of both. Future development
work has to fill in the details on the variables in play and their relationships. We
need to ascertain the relevant needs and capabilities of the family as a whole and
individual family members. We have to identify the relevant community contexts
and determine the requirements of these, as well as the supplies that are available
in them. We need to develop the rationale for the relationships between relevant
supplies and demands and outcome variables of interest. Finally, we have to
identify the boundary conditions of our integrated model that arise, for example,
from cultural differences in a meaningful delimitation and understanding of the
family construct. If we succeed in this, a more comprehensive and conceptually
sound theory of expatriate family adjustment will be available to guide empirical
researchers in their attempts to further our understanding of this important field.
67
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Chapter 5
What Is a Better Predictor of Work-Family

Conflict in India? Gender or Gender Role
Ideology
Ujvala Rajadhyaksha and Sofiya Velgach
Abstract This study investigated the relationship between gender, gender role
ideology (GRI) and work-family conflict (WF conflict), both work-to-family (WFC)
and family-to-work (FWC) conflict, on a sample of a total of 405 working men and
women from two cities Mumbai and Bengaluru in India. Hypotheses embedded
within the cultural and contextual reality of India and supported by gender role
theory were tested using moderated regression analyses for the dependent variables
of WFC and FWC. Although some significant differences in conflict of men and
women were observed, the results broadly did not support gender role explanations
for conflict. There was no significant difference in the levels of WFC between
men and women, but FWC was significantly higher for women instead of men
as hypothesized. As regards gender role ideology, traditionals experienced more
of WFC and FWC than egalitarians. With regard to interaction effects, women
traditionals experienced higher FWC than women and men egalitarians and men
traditionals. The results of the study are discussed with reference to the Indian
context.
Keywords Gender Gender role ideology Work-family conflict India
U. Rajadhyaksha ()
Department of Business Administration and Economics, Saint Marys College,
Notre Dame, IN 46556-5006, USA
e-mail: urajadhy@saintmarys.edu
S. Velgach
Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago, IL 60616, USA
Deputy Director, Navy Selection and Classification Division, U.S. Navy,
Washington, DC, USA
e-mail: sofiya.velgach@navy.mil
71
72
U. Rajadhyaksha and S. Velgach
Literature Review
Introduction
The last three decades have seen an explosion of research on work and family issues.
Much of the impetus for this research has come from changing demographics and
the changing structure of the family with more women entering the workforce (e.g.
The 2001 National Work-Life Conflict Study, Public Health Agency of Canada).
The resulting redistribution of work and family roles has created new tensions and
conflicts for men and women. Mounting evidence of negative outcomes for the
individual, organization and society from the difficulty of balancing work and family
roles, has further fuelled this research trend.
Work-family research has identified numerous mechanisms linking work and
family domains such as spillover, compensation, segmentation, resource drain,
congruence and conflict (e.g. see Edwards and Rothbard 2000). However, conflict
continues to be a dominant paradigm for most work-family research (Parasuraman
and Greenhaus 2002) even though more recently, other linkages such as facilitation (e.g. Grzywacz and Marks 2000; Hill 2005) and work-family enrichment
(Greenhaus and Powell 2006) have joined the list. This could be because work and
family tend to work as greedy institutions wherein an individuals fixed or scarce
resources of time and energy result in a zero-sum game making conflict inevitable
(Hill 2005).
Research on work-family conflict has examined antecedents and outcomes of
conflict from both the work and family domains (Frone et al. 1992a). Typical
antecedents have included work and family demands and work and family stressors
(e.g. Luk and Shaffer 2005; Voydanoff 2005). Typical outcomes have included work,
life and family satisfaction and health outcomes and well-being (e.g. Bruck et al.
2002; Hill 2005; Parasurman and Simmers 2001). Significant within and crossdomain relationships have been established in the research, i.e. work demands and
work stressors have been found to contribute to conflict within the same domain of
work as well as cross domains and create conflict in the family domain. Similarly,
family demands and family stressors have been found to contribute to conflict within
the same domain of family as well as cross domains and create conflict in the work
domain (e.g. Ford et al. 2007).
It is interesting to note that although the boost to work and family research
has come from the increasing presence of women in the workforce, few studies
have specifically focused on work-family and gender (Parasuraman and Greenhaus
2002). Even when gender has been included as a variable, its treatment has been
atheoretical gender (biological sex) has often been used as a proxy for different
aspects of gender, and studies have focused on looking at mean differences in
levels of conflict rather than relationships among variables (Korabik et al. 2008).
Consequently, no clear pattern has emerged in terms of the relative importance of
work or family domain predictors for men and womens work-family conflict (Eby
et al. 2005).
5 What Is a Better Predictor of Work-Family Conflict in India? Gender. . .
73
The majority of studies on WFC have been conducted in the context of Anglo
English speaking countries (Casper et al. 2007). Even when cross-cultural tests of
the work-family interface have been conducted (e.g. Hill et al. 2004; Joplin et al.
2003) research has tended to overlook the influence of historical context and culture
(Korabik et al. 2008). Few of the hypotheses tested have been contextually based.
In this paper we attempt to go beyond the existing caveats in work-family conflict
literature by examining for the interacting role of gender and gender role ideology on
WF conflict in the culturally complex milieu of a developing country such as India.
India makes for an interesting context within which to locate a study on work and
family not just because of its rising importance as a potential economic force in the
years to come (The Goldman Sachs Group 2003), but also because the presence of
an active womens movement within a traditionally gender inegalitarian culture, has
created interesting cross-currents of progress and apathy in the country (Krishnaraj
2003). Examining the interaction of gender and gender role ideology allows us to go
beyond the assumption of biopsychological equivalence (Korabik et al. 2008) that
is, it allows for the possibility of both men and women having either traditional or
egalitarian attitudes something that is very likely to occur in a transitional society
such as India.
The Indian Context

India is the worlds largest democracy, the seventh largest country in terms of size
and the second most populous country in the world (CIA The World Factbook
India). India has an old civilization that dates back more than 3,000 years. The
country was largely under the rule of Hindu kings until the eleventh to twelfth
century AD, after which it was dominated by Mughal rulers who arrived from
Central Asia. The sixteenth century onwards saw the country under British colonial
rule. As a modern nation state, India is relatively young, having attained Independence in the year 1947 (Thapar 1990). On account of Indias long and chequered
history involving foreign rulers, Indias social fabric presents religious, cultural
and linguistic diversity of a high order. India is a secular state and has no official
state religion. However, the Hindu population that constitutes a majority at 80 %
dominate much of Indias social, cultural, economic and political climate.
While India is fast emerging as an economic power to contend with, for
many years, Indias economy was closed to foreign competition. India undertook
economic reform and liberalization only in the early 1990s. Since then many
socio-economic changes have occurred in the country such as the rise of Indias
burgeoning urban middle class, great strides in fields such as information technology, and a large, skilled workforce that makes it a popular choice for international
companies seeking to outsource work (e.g. Friedman 2005). Despite these advances,
India has to tackle huge social, economic and environmental problems. A poverty
rate of around 25 % plagues the country keeping close to 250 million people
earning less than a dollar a day (World Bank 2008). Communal, caste and regional
74
tensions continue to haunt Indian politics, sometimes threatening its long-standing

democratic and secular ethos.
Indian society has traditionally been hierarchically ordered through the caste
system even though in more recent times, caste is emerging as more of an
identity group (Gupta 2004). Upper castes have enjoyed more privileges than
lower caste groups (Sharma 2003) supporting the notion that India has a high
power distance culture (Hofstede 2001). Family is the basic unit of Indias social
order. Traditionally, families in India, especially Hindu families, have been joint or
extended in composition, although nuclear families are becoming more common in
urban areas (Roy 2000). Families in India are usually indulgent towards children
and the aged. They are patriarchal nature with the eldest male member being the
head of the household. Women are encouraged to bear (male) children to carry
the lineage forward and also because Hindu religion requires that funeral rites be
performed by the eldest son of the family in order for the soul of the deceased person
to attain salvation (Kakar 1978). Marriages in India tend to be arranged for the
young by elders in the family or kinship group (Uberoi 2005). Partners are usually
found from within the same caste or religion or social class/status group, making
Indias culture high on the dimension of in-group collectivism (Chhokar et al. 2007).
Divorce although increasing, is largely uncommon and generally frowned upon by
society.
Status of women in India has seen many changes over its long history (Pruthi
et al. 2003). While in ancient India women enjoyed many freedoms, in its more
recent history, women have been relegated to a lower status than males in practically
all spheres of life. Hindu widows have especially been relegated to a low status
in society. This has led to a highly gender inegalitarian culture in the country
(Chhokar et al. 2007). Indias sex ratio is heavily skewed in favor of men (940
females for 1,000 males, 2011 Census Survey of India). Working women form
about 32 % of the working population. Most of these working women are employed
in the unorganized work force. Women form just 2.8 % of the organized sector
workforce (2001 Census Survey of India, Government of India). Although things
are changing in some areas due to the forces of modernization and industrialization
(Pruthi et al. 2003) and due to the efforts of the womens movement in the country,
this change has been slow (Krishnaraj 2003). Largely, the status quo appears to be
maintained through the endorsement of and internalization of Hindu cultural beliefs
of masculinity and caste purity, caste superiority and chastity. Because women are
believed to embody the purity of the caste, men are expected to control the sexual
behavior of women (Dube 2001; Parish 1996) and the valor of an ideal man resides
in his ability to protect and honor the chaste behavior of women in his family
(Dube 2001). Such an attitude towards womens roles coupled with the institution
of endogamous marriage makes it difficult for women and men to promote ideas
of gender egalitarianism within Indian society. Overall, Indian society presents a
complex multitude of tradition and modernity, contrasts and contradictions, that
can be baffling and challenging to comprehend, particularly when viewed from a
Western lens (e.g. Musselman 2008).
75
Work and Family Issues in India

The Indian context presents a diversity of work and family issues across caste, class
and socio-economic status. Research on work and family in India has followed two
separate and disconnected paths. One is the route charted out by womens studies
centers with a focus on under-privileged women that looks at structures of patriarchy
and their contribution to the sub-ordination of women at work and home. The other
path of psychosocial research, conducted largely from a role theory perspective,
has examined work family relations within urban settings (Rajadhyaksha and Smita
2004).
Most studies on work-family role conflict in India have been conducted within
the second line of research mentioned above. These studies have indicated that
the division of work and family roles along traditional lines continues to exist
for working men and women even in dual career and dual earner families (e.g.
Sekaran 1984; Ramu 1989). Women bear a dual burden across different socioeconomic classes, which cause considerable stress and strain (e.g. Khanna 1992;
Mukhopadhyay 1996). In the case of managerial and professional dual career
couples who are presumably matched in terms of their career involvement, no
significant difference in levels of overall (global) work-family conflict have been
found though there are differences in the sources of conflict and the kinds of workfamily conflict experienced by men and women. Women report experiencing greater
conflict between their roles as homemakers and their job role and energy-based
conflict (conflict arising due to shortage of energy resources when work interferes
with family), particularly in the middle stage of the family life cycle and career. Men
experience greater conflict between their roles as spouse and their job role especially
during the early stage of the career and family life cycle (Rajadhyaksha 2001).
Support for decreasing work-family conflict within the Indian context comes
primarily from non-institutional sources that include family members such as
spouse, parents and parents-in-law, paid help, friends and neighbours. The nature
of this support tends to be informal, ad hoc, contingent and bound in a web
of reciprocal relationships of dependence and counter-dependence. There is low
institutional and organizational support for balancing work and family within the
Indian context. Institutional support takes the form of governmental policies that
are progressive on paper (e.g. Factories Act of 1948; Maternity Benefits Act of
1961 and laws to prevent sexual harassment at work) but poorly implemented by
organizations that often circumvent the law (Rajadhyaksha 2004).
Work-Family Conflict (WF Conflict)

Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) define work-family role conflict as arising from
simultaneous pressures from both work and family that are mutually incompatible
in some respect (p. 77). The conflict approach is based on the assumption that time
76
and energy is fixed and scarce in supply. Participation in one role necessarily reduces
resources available for participation in the other role, thus resulting in an experience
of conflict.
Although WF conflict was originally conceptualized as a one-dimensional, bidirectional construct referring to both the influence of work on family and family
on work, for a long time it was operationalized as a uni-directional construct
focusing mainly on works interference with family (e.g. Holahan and Gilbert 1979;
Kopelman et al. 1983). Holahan and Gilbert (1979) measured conflict between
the job role and different types of home roles such as job-parent conflict, jobspouse conflict and job-homemaker conflict. Greenhaus and Beutell (1985) were
among the first to suggest three types of conflict based on the processes by which
interference between domains can occur: time-based conflict, strain-based conflict
and behaviour-based conflict. According to them, this conflict could occur in both
directions from work to family as well as from family to work. Frone et al.
(1992a) and Gutek et al. (1991) constructed the first widely used measure of conflict
that measured separately work-interfering-with-family and family-interfering-withwork. Carlson et al. (2000) further refined the measurement of WF conflict using
Greenhaus and Beutells (1985) conceptualization, into time-based, strain-based
and behaviour-based conflict. In this study we use Carlson et al.s (2000) measure
of work-to-family (WFC) and family-to-work (FWC) conflict.
Gender and WF Conflict

In the literature we find two competing theories that attempt to explain the
relationship between gender and WF conflict. One theory is the rational viewpoint
(Gutek et al. 1991), which posits that the more the hours one spends in a domain,
the more potential there is for conflict to occur. This theory predicts that men should
experience more work-to-family (WFC) conflict than women because they spend
more time at work, whereas women should experience more family-to-work conflict
(FWC) than men because they spend more time in the home. A competing theory
is the gender role theory first highlighted by Pleck (1977). It postulates that family
demands will more likely affect work roles for women, whereas work demands will
more likely spill over in to family roles for men. This gender asymmetrical impact
of work and family roles is due to different levels of importance given to these roles
by men and women, which affects their perceptions of WFC and FWC in such a
way that additional hours spent in ones prescribed gender role domain (family for
women and work for men) are not seen as an imposition, as much as, additional
hours spent in the domain associated with the other gender. According to the gender
role perspective, women should report higher levels of WFC than men even when
they spend the same total number of hours in paid work, and men should report
higher levels of FWC than women even when they devote the same total number of
hours to family activities.
77
Research on gender differences in WF conflict has produced extremely contradictory findings (Voydanoff 2002). Some studies have found that men experience more
overall WF conflict than women (e.g. Duxbury and Higgins 1991; Yang et al. 2000),
while others have found the opposite to be true, i.e. women experience more overall
WF conflict than men (e.g. Carlson et al. 2000). Some study results have supported
the rational viewpoint for instance, Fu and Shaffer (2001) found that women
experienced greater levels of FWC, but men experienced greater levels of WFC.
On the other hand, studies by Gutek et al. (1991) and McElwain et al. (2005) quoted
in Korabik et al. (2008) supported the gender role theory in that women experienced
more WFC than men, even when working identical hours. However they found no
gender differences in FWC. Other studies have provided mixed support for both
the rational and gender role theories. For example, Eagle et al. (1997) found that
men experienced more strain-based FWC than women, thereby supporting gender
role theory, though there were no gender differences in time-based FWC. At the
same time they found that men experienced more time- and strain-based WFC than
women, thereby supporting the rational viewpoint. In a similar manner, although
with the opposite gender, Duxbury et al. (1994) found that women reported both
more WFC and more FWC than men (thereby providing mixed support for both
theories). On the whole, however, a meta-analysis of 61 published studies has found
that there were no overall mean gender differences in either WFC or FWC (Byron
2005).
Given that the Indian context is characterized by high gender inegalitarianism
(Chhokar et al. 2007) and there are strong forces within the family (Kakar 1978)
and outside within the nation (Banerjee 2005) that act to prescribe and maintain
traditional gender roles for men and women, we rely on the gender role theory to
hypothesize that:
H1: Women will experience higher WFC than men in the Indian context.
H2: Men will experience higher FWC than women in the Indian context.
Most studies on gender and work-family conflict have examined for mean
differences in overall levels of conflict between men and women. Relatively few
studies have examined gender as a moderator of WF conflict. This is unfortunate as
it limits our understanding of how gender differentially impacts the manner in which
the antecedents and outcomes of WF conflict are related. As in the case of research
on mean gender differences, the results of investigations of gender as a moderating
variable have also been mixed. For instance, in a study of WF conflict of military
personnel, Huffman et al. (2003) quoted in Korabik et al. (2008) found that time
demands, as measured by the number of hours worked, were more strongly related
to WF conflict for men than for women, but this gender difference disappeared when
time demands were measured via perceptions of workload. McElwain et al. (2005)
on the other hand found that there were no significant differences in the relationship
between WFC and work-time demands but gender moderated the relationship
between family demands and FWC. Specifically, women were more likely than men
to experience high levels of FWC when they had high family demands. Mens levels
of FWC, however, were not dependent on the amount of family demands they had.
78
Gender Role Ideology (GRI) and Work-Family Conflict

One of the drawbacks of treating gender as a biological variable as has been
done in most studies on gender and WF conflict is that it does not consider the
possibility that there may be greater within-sex variation rather than across-sex
variation in gender roles. Gender is actually a multidimensional phenomenon (Bem
1981). Korabik et al. (2008) suggest that rather than considering only demographic
gender, research should consider intrapsychic aspects of gender that influence not
only individuals identities, but also their behaviors, the roles they choose to enact
and how they choose to enact them. One such gender role variable is gender role
ideology.
Gender-role ideology (GRI) refers to an individuals attitudes and beliefs about
the proper roles of men and women. Typically, GRI is conceptualized as falling on a
unidimensional continuum ranging from traditional to nontraditional or egalitarian
(Gibbons et al. 1997). Individuals with a traditional GRI believe that women should
give priority to family responsibilities and men to work responsibilities (Gutek et al.
1991). By contrast, nontraditional or egalitarian individuals believe in a more equal
role distribution for men and women. The conceptualization of GRI does not make
the assumption of biopsychological equivalence, i.e. both men and women can have
either traditional or egalitarian attitudes.
Empirical examinations of the relationship between GRI and WF conflict have
produced mixed results. No significant differences between those with traditional
and egalitarian GRI on either WFC or FWC were found by Chappell et al. (2005)
and Drach-Zahavy and Somech (2004). On the other hand, Ayman et al. (2005)
looked at time- and strain-based dimensions of WF conflict and found significant
negative relationships between GRI and strain-based WFC, time-based WFC, and
time-based FWC, indicating that egalitarian individuals experienced lower WF
conflict than traditional individuals on these dimensions.
Theoretically speaking, the relationship between GRI and WF conflict can be
said to be governed by the scarcity hypothesis embodied in the role conflict theory
(Kahn et al. 1964). Role conflict occurs due to the simultaneous occurrence of
two (or more) sets of pressures such that compliance with one makes compliance
with the other more difficult. Those with a more egalitarian GRI are likely to
invest equally in both work and family roles. Their multiple role commitments may
create difficulty in meeting the simultaneous demands of work and family domains
creating stress associated with work-family conflict (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985;
Kopelman et al. 1983). Traditionals on the other hand are more likely to invest
relatively more in (one) the gender appropriate role. This will keep their multiple
role commitments at a minimum thus creating lesser stress and WF conflict for
them.
The Indian cultural context also provides sufficient reason to expect that egalitarians will experience more WF conflict than traditionals. Since Indias gender
inegalitarian culture encourages and supports a traditional division of labour,
egalitarians tend to be in a minority in the India. Within Indias highly in-group
79
collectivist culture, egalitarians can get easily labeled as deviant and pressure is
usually brought to bear on them by society to get them to conform to traditional
gender roles. Such pressure to adhere to appropriate gender role behaviour can
create dissonance and greater stress and conflict for egalitarians within the Indian
context. Based on this reasoning we can hypothesize that:
H3: Egalitarians will experience higher WFC than traditionals in the Indian
context.
H4: Egalitarians will experience higher FWC than traditionals in the Indian
context.
Gender, Gender Role Ideology and WF Conflict

Since gender role attitudes act as precursors to behavior, knowing a persons GRI
can be more important in predicting how much WF conflict they will experience
than merely knowing their gender (biological sex). Since traditionals tend to over
invest in the gender appropriate role, according to the rational hypothesis (Gutek
et al. 1991), women traditionals who are in paid employment are more likely to
experience more FWC than women egalitarians who do paid work. This is because
their traditional attitudes dictate that they should be putting most of their efforts into
their role as a homemaker. The more hours they spend in the family domain, the
more potential there is for domain-specific conflict (FWC) to occur. Similarly, men
traditionals are more likely to experience more WFC than male egalitarians.
Alternatively, according to the gender role hypothesis (Pleck 1977), the greater
importance attached by women traditionals to the family roles, could alter their
perceptions of WFC and FWC such that additional hours spent at home may
not be seen as an imposition as much as additional hours spent in the domain
associated with the other gender (viz. work). According to this perspective, women
traditionals should report higher levels of WFC than women egalitarians even
when they spend the same total number of hours in paid work. Similarly, men
traditionals should report higher levels of FWC than men egalitarians even when
they devote the same total number of hours to family activities.
Given Indias gender inegalitarian culture that encourages a traditional division
of work and family roles, we prefer to go by the gender role hypothesis to
make predictions about the relationship between gender, GRI and WF conflict. We
hypothesize that:
H5: Women traditionals will experience higher WFC than women egalitarians in
the Indian context, and
H6: Men traditionals will experience higher FWC than men egalitarians in the
Indian context.
Further, given H1, we hypothesize:
80
H7: Women traditionals will experience higher WFC than men traditionals and
men egalitarians in the Indian context,
and given H2, we hypothesize:
H8: Men traditionals will experience higher FWC than women traditionals and
women egalitarians in the Indian context
Method
Participants and Data Collection
A sample of employees from Indian educational, healthcare, manufacturing, and
finance industries was asked to participate in the study and complete a survey
on work-family conflict. This data set was collected in India as part of larger
international study on work family conflict. Data was collected using a purposive
sampling approach. The aid of a well known market research agency in India was
solicited to identify and survey participants.
Data was collected from two cities: Mumbai, (N D 204) and Bengaluru
(N D 201), comprising a total sample of 405 participants. Trained employees of the
agency administered paper/pencil questionnaires to the participants. Participants
were married, regular employees working for organizations, and having at least
one dependent child still living at home with them. 24 % of responses came from
the healthcare sector, 23 % percent came from the educational sector, 26 % from
the manufacturing sector, and 25 % from the finance sector, and finally 2 % from
other industries. Females comprised 48 % of the sample. On average, both male and
female participants were 35 years of age and had 17 years of education. Majority
(81 %) of the sample were Hindu. Finally, 64 % of the participants were nonmanagers and 36 % were managers. Since this study is concentrating on evaluating
gender differences in the experience of work-family conflict descriptive sample
frequencies by gender (not broken down here) are provided in Table 5.1.
Measures
This research is part of a larger international study on work family conflict.
Measures used for this study are described below. See Korabik et al. (2003) Project
3535.1
We acknowledge the contribution of the Multi-National Work-Family (Project 3535) research

team to the theoretical and empirical conceptualization of this research. The team consists of: Dr.
Zeynep Aycan, Dr. Roya Ayman, Dr. Anne Bardoel, Dr. Tripti Desai, Dr. Anat Drach-Zahavy, Dr.

Table 5.1 Sample
description by gender
City
Mumbai
Bangalore
Ethnicity
Hindu
Other
Schedule
Part time
Full time
Industry
Manufacturing
Education
Healthcare
Finance
Other
Position
Manger
Non-manager
81
Females (%)
Males (%)
100 (51 %)
95 (49 %)
102 (49 %)
106 (51 %)
162 (85 %)
29 (15 %)
167 (80 %)
41 (20 %)
32 (16 %)
163 (84 %)
10 (5 %)
197 (95 %)
54 (28 %)
41 (21 %)
49 (25 %)
47 (24 %)
4 (2 %)
51 (24 %)
53 (26 %)
47 (23 %)
53 (26 %)
3 (1 %)
70 (36 %)
125 (64 %)
74 (36 %)
134 (64 %)
Work-Family Conflict
Carlson et al. (2000) established measure was used to assess work-family conflict.
Their measure allows us to capture both work to family conflict (WFC) and family
to work conflict (FWC) conflict. Responses were measured on a 6-point Likert-type
format ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Six items were used for
WFC. An example item is, My work keeps me from my family more than I would
like. Six items were used for FWC. An example item is, The time I spend on
family responsibilities often interferes with my work.
Current sample reliabilities were within acceptable range (WFC: D .77, FWC:
D .84).
Gender Role Ideology

GRI was measured by a combination of measures. The total scales consisted
of 14 items. Project 3535 researchers combined items from two measures and
added additional items which were based on the focus groups reflecting the emic
concerns in various countries. Five items came from Treas and Widmer (2000) scale.
An example item is, A child is likely to suffer if his or her mother works. Second
Leslie B. Hammer, Dr. Ting-Pang Huang, Dr. Karen Korabik, Dr. Donna S. Lero, Dr. Artiwati
Mawardi, Dr. Steven Poelmans, Dr. Ujvala Rajadhyaksha, Dr. Anit Somech, and Dr. Li Zhang.
82
set of items came from General Social Survey (Mason and Bumpass 1975). An
example item is, It is more important for a wife to help her husbands career than
to have a career herself. The third set of items was created for the purposes of
the larger ongoing international cross-cultural work family research. An example
item from this source is, Women are expected to change their behavior after
they are married and have children. High score on all the measures indicates an
egalitarian/non-traditional GRI. The participants responded to items by using a
Likert-type 6-point scale ranging from Strongly Agrees to Strongly Disagrees.
Since GRI measure was constructed using three separate sources, Principal
Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to ensure that when combined, the three
measures included only one-component. Prior to performing the PCA the suitability
of data for factor analysis was assessed and confirmed through inspection of the
correlation matrix, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value and the Barletts Test of Sphericity.
Factor loadings varied from .27 to .70. Factor Analysis revealed the presence of one
component. Several criteria were used to verify the one component answer such
as the Kaiser Criterion, the Scree Plot and reliability measure. Even though, factor
analysis revealed a one factor solution, three items had loading less than .4, therefore
these items were not included in the remaining use of GRI. Final GRI measures
included 11 items. Reliability for the eleven item GRI measure in this study was
D .83.
Gender
Gender was measured using a one-item scale asking for the participants gender.
Code for females was D 0 and males was D 1.
Control Variables
In order to figure out which variables needed to be controlled for, we compared
means on demographic and other relevant variables across gender. We found
significant gender differences in job schedule with more women working parttime than men (F D 14.85, p D 0.000), as well as differences in work hours and
family hours (compromising of hours spent on child care, elder care and housework)
with women working fewer work hours (t D 1.88, p D .06) and more family hours
(t D 3.44, p D .001). Since previous studies reviewed above (e.g. Gutek et al. 1991;
Huffman et al. 2003; McElwain et al. 2005) suggest that the relationship between
gender and WF conflict can yield different mixed results depending on whether
hours at work and at home are controlled for, work hours (HRS_W) and family
hours (HRS_F) and job schedule were used as control variables.
83
Analyses Procedure
In order to examine the impact of GRI and gender on work-family conflict, this study
tested hypotheses H1 through H8 using hierarchical moderator regression analyses.
Two separate regression were run for each of the dimensions of WF conflict (WFC
and FWC) as the dependent variable. Control variables of work hours and family
hours were added in step one. Gender was added in step two, GRI in step three,
and job schedule at the fourth step, the interaction between GRI and gender scores
were entered. Steps two and three tested the main effect relationships of gender and
GRI, and allowing us to ascertain whether hypotheses H1 to H4 were supported.
The fourth step examined if there was a moderating relationship between GRI and
gender in predicting each specific WF conflict measure, allowing us to ascertain
whether hypotheses H5 to H8 were supported. In keeping with Aiken and Wests
(1991) recommendation, in order to control for multicollinearity in the moderator
regressions, all continuous predictor variables were mean-centered before using
interaction terms in order to avoid computational difficulties.
Results
Table 5.2 gives the correlation matrix and descriptive statistics of the variables
in the study. The range of responses to work-family conflict measures ranged
from a minimum score of one to the maximum score of six. The scores on GRI
ranged from 1.64 to 5.50. This implies that overall respondents used the entire
spectrum of response options. However, when looking at gender differences in GRI
values, women (M D 3.11) tended to be more egalitarian then men (M D 2.99),
t (369.19) D 2.09, p D .04. All correlations were generally low to moderate in
strength. However WFC and FWC were strongly and positively related to each other
(r D 0.785, p 0.01).
High positive correlation between WFC and FWC in this study suggests that
the Carlson et al. (2000) measure of WF conflict has high internal consistency.
Nevertheless we decided to ascertain a two dimensional model of the WF conflict
scale for our study data by conducting factor analysis. Our results indicated that
except for one item that had an eigenvalue of .34, all other items had eigenvalues
exceeding .4. We got a two factor solution with the first factor explaining 45 % of the
variance and the second factor explaining 10 % of the variance (fairly substantial)
while none of the remaining factors explaining more than 5 % of variance at a
time. Scree plot also showed significant support for a two factor solution. Our
results are largely in line with results for WFC scales used in other studies. For
example, Anafarta (2011) used SEM and found support for a two-dimensional
84
Table 5.2 Correlations and descriptive statistics of variables

WFC
FWC
GRI
HRS_W
HRS_F
JOB_SCH.
GENDER
MEAN
STD. DEV.
RELIABILITY
WFC
1
.786**
.316**
0.037
.134*
0.057
0.071
3.89
.86
0.77
FWC
GRI
HRS_W
HRS_F
JOB _SCH. GENDER
1
.298**
0.013
.234**
0.075
.139**
3.69
1.00
0.84
1
0.006
0.039
0.033
.119*
3.21
.47
0.83
1
.151**
0.045
.132**
49.82
11.74
1
.111*
.179**
52.48
28.51
1
.189**
1.90
.31
1
0.50
0.50
**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)
N ranged from 350 to 405 cases per variable. Differences are due to missing values
model rather than one-dimensional model of WF conflict. Our results also support
Carlson and Kacmar (2000) finding based on a structural model that positive and
significant paths exist between WFC and FWC. Although WFC and FWC are
different constructs, they affect each other (Frone et al. 1992a). Many studies have
reported a significant positive relationship between WFC and FWC for example,
Higgins et al. (1992) .28; Frone et al. (1992b) .33; Kinnunnen and Mauno (1998)
.38 and Boyar et al. (2003) .36.
Results of hierarchical regression analysis are found in Table 5.3. With regard to
WFC, step 1 nor step 2 was significant. Gender did not significantly impact WFC,
although family hours significantly positively impacted WFC in step 2 ( D .133,
p 0.05). Therefore H1 was not supported. Step 3 was significantly different
from Step 2 ( R2 D .069, F D 6.71, p 0.001). Family hours once again significantly positively impacted WFC ( D .137, p 0.05) and so did GRI ( D .264,
p 0.001). However the impact of GRI was not in the expected direction. Those
with a more traditional GRI experienced significantly more WFC than those with
less traditional or more egalitarian GRI. Therefore H3 was not supported. Step 4
was significantly different from step 3 ( R2 D .001, F D 5.63, p 0.001). However
the interaction term of gender and GRI was not significant, thereby not supporting
H5 and H7. Family hours and GRI continued to be significant predictors of WFC in
step 4 with higher levels of family hours increasing WFC ( D .140, p 0.05) and
more traditional GRI increasing WFC ( D .290, p 0.001).
With regard to FWC, step 1 was significant (F D 8.00, p 0.001) with family
hours significantly positively increasing FWC ( D .256, p 0.001). Step 2 was
significantly different from step 1 ( R2 D .016, F D 7.50, p 0.001). Gender was
significantly related to FWC ( D .130, p 0.05) though not in the expected
direction. Women experienced more FWC than men in the Indian context. Therefore
H2 was not supported. Family hours continued to increase FWC in step 2 ( D .236,
JOB SCHEDULE
HRS_W
HRS_F
GENDER
JOB SCHEDULE
HRS_W
HRS_F
GENDER
GRI
JOB SCHEDULE
HRS_W
HRS_F
GENDER
GRI
GENDER X GRI
*p 0.05 level (two-tailed)

**p 0.01 level (two-tailed)
N D 336
Variables
JOB SCHEDULE
HRS_W
HRS_F
Step
1
WFC
B
S.E.
.061
.148
.022
.001
.004
.018
.007
.003
.141
R2 D .021, F D 2.34
.035
.151
.013
.002
.004
.021
.006
.003
.133*
.085
.098
.049
R2 D .023, R2 D .002, F D 1.94
.060
.146
.022
.001
.004
.015
.006
.003
.137*
.119
.095
.069
.512
.102
.264**
R2 D .092, R2 D .069, F D 6.71**
.069
.147
.025
.001
.004
.013
.007
.003
.140*
.114
.096
.065
.561
.134
.290**
.120
.210
.040
R2 D .093, R2 D .001, F D 5.63**
Table 5.3 Summary of hierarchical moderator regression analyses for WFC and FWC
FWC
B
S.E.
.087
.167
.028
.005
.005
.062
.014
.003
.256**
R2 D .067, F D 8.00**
.007
.169
.002
.006
.005
.071
.013
.003
.236**
.260
.110
.130*
R2 D .083, R2 D .016, F D 7.50**
.041
.163
.013
.006
.005
.066
.013
.003
.240**
.293
.106
.146**
.586
.113
.263**
R2 D .152, R2 D .069, F D 11.83**
.081
.163
.026
.005
.005
.061
.014
.003
.250**
.268
.106
.134*
.793
.148
.356**
.500
.232
.144*
R2 D .163, R2 D .011, F D 10.74**

85
86
p 0.001). Step 3 was significantly different from step 2 ( R2 D .069, F D 11.83,

p 0.001). GRI was significantly related to FWC though not in the expected
direction ( D .263, p 0.001). Those with a more traditional GRI experienced
significantly more FWC than those with less traditional or more egalitarian GRI.
Therefore H4 was not supported. Family hours was significantly positively related to
FWC ( D .240, p 0.001) and gender was significantly negatively related to FWC
in step 3 ( D .146, p 0.001). Step 4 was significantly different from step 3 (
R2 D .011, F D 10.74, p 0.001). The coefficient for the interaction term of gender
and GRI was significant ( D .144, p 0.05), as were the coefficients for family
hours ( D .250, p 0.001), gender ( D .134, p 0.05) and GRI ( D .356,
p 0.001). As in the previous step, higher family hours increased FWC, women
and traditionals experienced more FWC than men and egalitarians respectively.
In order to understand the interaction between GRI and gender in predicting
FWC a graph between GRI and FWC conflict by gender was developed. Men
traditionals tended to experience lesser FWC conflict than women traditionals,
but more FWC than women egalitarians. There H8 was partially supported.
Men traditionals (M D 3.76) experienced more FWC than men egalitarians
(M D 3.28), t (201.67) D 3.42, p D .00. Therefore H6 was supported. Finally, men
egalitarians tended to experience FWC at similar or higher trends than women
egalitarians. See Graph 5.1.
6.00
GENDER
Female
5.00
Male
FIW
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
1.00
Traditional
2.00
3.00
4.00
5.00
GRI
Fig. 5.1 Relationship between GRI and FWC conflict by gender
6.00
Egalitarian
87
Discussion and Conclusions

Discussion
In this paper we examined the relationship between gender, gender role ideology
and work-family conflict (both WFC and FWC) on a sample of working men
and women from India. We hypothesized relationships among the three variables
by relying predominantly on the gender role explanation for work and family
roles and attempted to embed our hypotheses within the cultural and contextual
reality of India. Hypotheses were tested using moderated regression analyses for
the dependent variables of WFC and FWC. Although some significant differences in
WF conflict of men and women were observed, results did not unanimously support
gender role theory based explanations for conflict within the Indian context.
According to Pleck (1977) women are more likely to experience interference
from work to family and men are more likely to experience interference from
family to work, because their gender identity (a self concept) would cause them to
identify more with the family domain (for women) and the work domain (for men)
respectively. Based on this explanation for the Indian scenario we hypothesized
that women would experience more WFC than men (H1) and that men would
report more FWC than women (H2). However results indicated that there were
no significant differences in WFC between men and women, and FWC was
significantly higher for women instead of for men. These results echo the mixed
results for gender differences in WF conflict seen in previous studies (e.g. Duxbury
et al. 1994; Fu and Shafer 2001). It is possible that since this was a sample of
working women, their gender identity was not as strongly traditional as can be
expected from non-working women in India. Hence the interference of work in to
family reported by them was not significantly different from that reported by men
in the sample. As a matter of fact, we found women in the sample were significantly
more egalitarian in their gender role ideology than men.
With regard to the relationship between GRI and WF conflict, we had expected
based on the scarcity hypothesis that egalitarians would experience more of both
forms of WF conflict WFC (H3) and FWC (H4) than traditionals. Such an
expectation appeared to fit in with the cultural context of India where egalitarian
minded people tend to be viewed as the exception rather than the norm. Results
supported neither H3 nor H4. Rather, traditionals were found to experience more
of both WFC and FWC than egalitarians. These results can be better explained
by the rational theory (Gutek et al. 1991) as opposed to the gender role theory
(Pleck 1977). Since traditionals tend to over-invest in the gender appropriate role,
they possibly create more stress and conflict for themselves as a result. In contrast,
egalitarians may be better able to negotiate for help and support to balance their
work and family commitments. Further, given the kind of socio-economic changes
fuelled by rapid economic growth that India has been seeing over the last decade,
it is possible that egalitarians are not met with as much resistance as previously
thought, especially in the urban areas from where data was collected. Hence conflict
levels for them may be low.
88
A persistent and significant result in our analyses was the positive relationship
between family hours and both forms of WF conflict. India is a country where
family in many ways still constitutes the basic unit of society. The absence of
institutional support for balancing work and family demands, such as quality
assisted-living facilities and day care facilities, could increase family demands on
all working persons, male and female, thereby increasing their conflict. However
given that much of the support for balancing work and family demands comes
from female family members it is likely that working women in India experience
a dual burden requiring them to put in longer hours to meet the expectations of the
family role (Desai 1996). This explains to some extent the higher levels of FWC
for women compared to men observed in our study. As a matter of fact women in
our sample spent significantly more hours per week on childcare (M D 22.40) than
men (M D 20.11), also significantly more hours on elder care (M D 17.03) than men
(M D 15.60) and significantly more hours on household chores (M D 16.49) than
men (M D 13.61).
With regard to the interaction effect of gender and GRI, we had expected based
on the gender role hypothesis that women traditionals would have higher levels of
WFC than women egalitarians (H5). However this hypothesis was not supported.
This could be because the sample was biased in favor of women egalitarians
since the participants were working women. Because women as a group did not
report higher levels of WFC than men as a group, women traditionals did not
experience higher WFC than men traditionals and men egalitarians, i.e. since
H1 was not supported, H7 was not supported either. H6 (Men traditionals will
experience higher FWC than men egalitarians in the Indian context) was the only
hypothesis based on the gender role theory that was supported in this study. H8 was
only partially supported as men traditionals experienced more FWC than women
egalitarians but not women traditionals.
The results of the study suggest that developing an egalitarian gender role attitude
comes with the advantage of reducing WF conflict more for women than for men.
Since within the Indian context men are placed in the position of being keepers of
gender role norms and sexual mores within the family and society, once a woman
decides to step out of her traditional role of being a good wife, sister or mother,
she could be left curiously unencumbered to negotiate more effectively for worklife balance as compared to men. Being traditional on the other hand is less
problematic if you are a working man than a working woman, since your levels
of WF conflict tend to be lesser than that for traditional minded women and at
least the same if not less than the WF conflict for egalitarian minded women. The
most disadvantaged group, if one would like to call them that, appears to be that
of women traditionals not only do they experience similar levels of WFC as the
other groups, but they report more FWC than women and men egalitarians and
men traditionals.
89
Conclusions and Implications for Research and Practice

From the results of the study we can conclude that the variable of gender and
gender role theory might be limited in their ability to predict WF conflict within the
Indian context. Rather than using physical gender alone, in transitional economies
WF conflict could be better predicted by including GRI. This is because gender
roles are in flux in urban centers of India and may be changing at different rates
for men and women. Working status tends to create more egalitarian GRI and
working women seem to lean towards a more egalitarian GRI relative to working
men. Higher FWC and higher mean levels of childcare hours, elder care hours and
housework hours for women coupled with the persistent positive impact of family
hours on conflict in our study, suggest that men may be taking on family roles
at a slower rate than women may be embracing a work identity. This clearly has
implications for work-life interventions that would be appropriate for the Indian
context interventions would need to include more institutional rather than family
based support for family demands such as childcare centers, elder care centers,
assisted living and hospice care. However more importantly interventions would
also need to focus on changing traditional gender role attitudes through education,
training and empowerment programs for both men and women.
Research on international mobility has shown that while career support is
critical for encouraging women to accept international assignments there are no
significant gender differences on family-supportive international mobility policies
and practices (Haines and Saba 1999). Such results of no gender differences may
change significantly if GRI were factored in to research studies. Future research on
the use of and effectiveness of family-friendly practices in international assignments
should include GRI along with gender in order to ascertain how best to target such
measures to men and women with different attitudes to work and family roles. It
is possible that egalitarian women and men would be more open to effectively
utilizing family-supportive organizational practices, and therefore be less likely
to turn down or fail in international assignments because of a perceived negative
impact on family. On the other hand, traditional men and women may be most
likely to need and benefit from, yet at the same time be less likely to use family
friendly benefits offered by organizations during international assignments. Predeparture training may additionally require to focus on assessing and changing
traditional attitudes to work and family roles of international assignees and spouses.
This could be truer for managers moving from more gender in-egalitarian cultures
to less gender in-egalitarian cultures such as for instance Indian ICT professionals
moving to developed countries such as Japan and the United States (e.g. Agullo and
Egawa 2009).
90
Limitations
This paper uses only summary measures of WF conflict, i.e. WFC and FWC.
Given that in previous research, gender differences in WF conflict were observed
more acutely if different dimensions of conflict such as time-based and strain-based
conflict were used, future research should aim to use the complete dimensionalized
measure of WF conflict. A fuller exploration of the impact of gender on WF conflict
should ideally involve the examination of gender as a moderator between different
antecedents and outcomes of conflict based on a more complex model. The current
paper is somewhat simplistic and the authors intend to investigate a more expanded
model of WF conflict in the future.
Data for this study was gathered only from urban centers in India. If the aim is
to explore more truly for within- and between- gender differences in WF conflict,
researchers should try to gather data from non-urban areas as well. This can be
challenging in India as it would require the use of newer methods and psychometric
scales in many languages. However a genuine commitment to understanding the
Indian context may require future researchers to undertake this challenge.
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Chapter 6
Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples

in International Context
Agnieszka Kierner
Abstract The relocation of dual-career couples, couples in which both partners

are employed and psychologically committed to their work, create a great deal of
stress and conflict. It is argued that the issues associated with this phenomena are
expected to be one of the most challenging ones for international human resource
managers worldwide. The chapter provides a comprehensive literature review on
expatriate dual-career couples, summarizing research concerning growth of this
phenomena, willingness of expatriates to relocate, their adjustment in the new place
and repatriation from both theoretical and practical perspectives. In addition to
reviewing the current level of understanding of the issue from the expatriate point
of view, the chapter discusses the roles of partners and corporate support practices
that multinational companies could provide in order to increase the success of dualcareer expatriates. Finally, the chapter identifies research gaps, offers a framework
for future research and the application of knowledge into practice in this field of
study.
Keywords Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples Expatriation Repatriation
Willingness Adjustment
Introduction
Issues associated with dual-income and dual-career couples are among the important
challenges facing companies that aspire to have an internationally mobile workforce
(Ravasi et al. 2013; Selmer and Leung 2003; Shaffer et al. 2012). It is estimated that
as many as 70 % of all expatriate couples are dual-income couples and that dualcareer issues affect 25 % of the total number of expatriate couples (Brookfield 2013;
Permits Foundation 2008; Copeland 2004). Unfortunately, to date neither the size
nor significance of the issue have prompted the expected increases in the quantity
or quality of research on this phenomenon (Lauring and Selmer 2010; Harvey
A. Kierner ()
Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland
e-mail: Kierner.a@gmail.com
95
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A. Kierner
et al. 2009a; Mkel et al. 2011). Researchers still rarely distinguish accurately
between dual-career and dual-income couples (Hughes 2013), and it is difficult to
find dedicated literature or advanced, contemporary research on some aspects of the
issue.
The above facts are surprising because dual-income and dual-career couples
face many unique challenges. These challenges include stereotyping this group
as being less mobile than others (Moore 2002), issues with being selected for
international assignment (Collings et al. 2011), willingness deliberations, including
fear of being asked to relocate when that is not feasible because of a spouses career
(Kraimer and Wayne 2004), certain adjustment issues (Braseby 2010), disruption of
family finances connected with the loss of one income (Harvey 1998), discontinuity
marring a spouses career (Riusala and Suutari 2000) and consequences relating to
families becoming dysfunctional (Andreason 2008). In addition to those issues that
are a direct consequence of dual-income and dual-career situations, international
working couples must address the multitude of individual and family challenges
associated with international careers.
Multinational organizations may benefit from understanding this topic, as it
is in their interests to select appropriate talent for international assignments and
becausegiven the significant presence of dual-income and dual-career couples
in their workforcethey must address multiple problems such as higher refusal
rates for positions involving international relocation (Harvey 1997), assignment
failures, which are argued to be higher among the group of dual-income and dualcareer couples (Andreason 2008) and, last but not least, the challenges inherent in
repatriation (Snchez Vidal et al. 2008; Harvey and Buckley 1998).
In light of these facts, the aim of this chapter is to review the existing research
and literature on dual-income and dual-career organizational expatriates, starting
with the issues preceding assignment, and then examining adjustment in the new
country, and finishing with the process of the return of dual-income and dual-career
couples to their home country. The new research streams the study identifies, the
research gaps that emerge, and the associated suggested future research agenda are
presented at the end of the chapter.
Taxonomy: Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples

Analysis of the available literature and research including references to couples
with both partners workingbe that in domestic or international contextsreveals
approaches to the definition of these phenomena evolving together with progress
in science and developments in the approach to work and careers. The discussion
on the taxonomy of working duos started in the 1960s, and it was Rapoport and
Rapoport (1969) who first coined the term dual-career couple (DCC) and defined it
as a couple where both partners pursue careers and are married. If the couple had
children, they were called dual-career families. Two years later the same authors
added a new term, dual-work families, to distinguish them from dual-career families,
6 Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples in International Context
97
whobeing highly committed to work, with expectations of advancement and the

belief that their occupations were importantwere an elite subset of dual-work
families (Rapoport and Rapoport 1976). The discussion continued in the 1980s
with Hiller and Dyehouse (1987) proposing the use of the term dual-earner couple,
a more generic phrase covering both those heavily involved in their professions
and those less involved. Literature has since explored various characteristics of
DCCs looking at their engagement in continual professional employment (Bradbury
1994), psychological commitment to their work (Bruce and Reed 1991; Burke
and Greenglass 1987; Falkenberg and Monachello 1988); and their desire for
personal growth (Bruce and Reed 1991). Dual-career couples have also been further
defined as those partnerships in which the partners have invested heavily in their
careers because those careers offer their main source of self-fulfilment (Bird and
Schnurman-Crook 2005).
The first discussions on dual-income and dual-career couples in the international
relocation context appeared in the 1990s and focused on couples with an intense
emotional engagement with their work. These studies followed earlier research
and adopted the term dual-career couple, standardizing the definition to those
duos in which both partners are employed and psychologically committed to their
work (Harvey 1997; Harvey and Buckley 1998; Parasuraman and Greenhaus 2002;
Challiol and Mignonac 2005).
Most recent literature reflects the changing attitudes towards work, where work
plays a less central role in the lives of the younger generation and becomes just
a way to secure a reasonable quality of life (e.g., Hughes 2013). Authors often,
however, continue to misuse the term dual-career couple, while scrutiny of the
demographic composition of respondents suggests that many of those described
as such should strictly be categorized as dual-income couples (DICs). It has been
argued that depending on the definition adopted, dual-career couples form only
a small subset of the dual-income couple group (Hughes 2013) who are easier
to find and research, but labelling this entire group dual-career seems ill advised.
Since selected expatriation challenges do depend on the level of engagement of the
partners with their careers, henceforth in this chapter, both terms will be used. Doing
so makes it possible to distinguish issues common to all dual-income couples, from
those particularly apposite to dual-career couples who are more psychologically
committed to work.
Pre-departure Decision Making

Having a pool of internationally experienced managers is critical to the competitive sustainability of many organizations (Permits 2012), but the significant
phenomena of dual-income and dual-career couples influences the availability of
qualified international assignees in at least two ways. First, from the organizational
perspective, the stereotype that depicts dual-income and dual-career couples as
unwilling to accept assignments, or as liable to cause a failure in the assignment
98
A. Kierner
project can cause some organizations to overlook members of DCCs for assignments
requiring international relocation (Collings et al. 2011; Moore 2002). Second, from
an individual perspective, the reluctance of the partners in dual-income or dualcareer couples to relocate may lead them to reject relocation packages when they
are offered (Harvey et al. 2009a).
This is unfortunate not only for multinational corporations, but also for dualcareer couples themselves, as in an economy where international experience is
presented as an essential requirement of career progression (Baruch and Altman
2002), being permanently deprived of this important development opportunity may
limit the advancement of these highly career-oriented individuals. Since they have to
take into account the careers of both partners, each international opportunity needs
to be weighed in the context of the benefits and drawbacks that each partner would
have to accept, and it can rarely be guaranteed that this balancing act will ultimately
lead to the assignment being accepted (Harvey et al. 2009a). The effects of these
balancing acts are visible in many interviews with human resources managers
that reveal the significant and growing impact of spouses careers on candidates
decisions (Dickman et al. 2008). Candidates for assignment consistently confirm
that the impact of an international assignment on their spouses career is a key factor
in their willingness to accept an assignment (Dickman et al. 2008; Brett and Stroh
1995; Permits Foundation 2012).
Empirical research consistently reveals the significance of gender in expatriation
decisions, and role theory suggests that men and women are socialized differently
for relocation (Tharenou 2008). Male candidates are far more likely to accept
international opportunities before consulting their spouse, while women will engage
their male partner in decision making far more often (McNulty 2005; Dupuis
et al. 2008). Additionally, family barriers, including consideration of the adjustment
required of children, significantly reduce the willingness of women in dual-income
and dual-career couple situations to undertake international assignments (Dupuis
et al. 2008; Linehan and Sculion 2002; Cole 2012).
This increased resistance means that women need to be presented with even
more attractive opportunities before they will raise the issue of relocation at home
(Hall and Chandler 2005), and they need to believe that the assignment will in fact
be a great opportunity for the family and their male dual-career partner (Hall and
Chandler 2005; Tharenou 2008). Women do however often support their husbands
relocation decisions, finding in them something for themselves and everyone in the
family (Vance and McNulty 2014).
The important role of the spouse in the dual-income or dual-career couple
relocation decision has spurred a growth in research on partner and family related
antecedents. That research has produced a number of proposals encompassing areas
such as the personal characteristics of the spouse, the family unit situation, the
timing of the assignment, and the impact of location (e.g., Konopaske et al. 2005;
Dickman et al. 2008; Vance and McNulty 2014).
The personal traits of the spouse have been argued to significantly influence the
decision. Attributes such as entrepreneurship (Chew and Zhu 2002), adventurousness (Konopaske et al. 2005), education (Branden 2013), or a personal interest in
99
working abroad (Tharenou 2008) have all been shown to have a positive impact
on the spouses willingness to accept an international assignment. Timing plays a
similarly important role for at least two reasons: the spouse might be at a stage of
their career that can tolerate some disruption (Moore 2002), and the life stage of the
family may also be more or less conducive to relocation at the relevant time (Harvey
et al. 2009a). In that context, Groeneveld (2008) found that dual-income and dualcareer families with very young children (of less than 5-years old) were more willing
to accept assignments. It has subsequently been recommended that dual-income and
career couples are informed about assignments and given a chance to self-select
themselves when the time is right for the couple (Harvey et al. 2009a).
Furthermore, specifically in families where responsibilities are shared equally
(Jrges 2006), the health of the relationship (Dupuis et al. 2008), indicated by the
extent to which an assignee can count on the assistance of a supportive spouse
(Dickman et al. 2008) has been argued to play a major role in the willingness
to consider an assignment. The international heritage of the family has also been
suggested to be influential and the success of previous international assignments
has been shown to increase the likelihood of accepting the next one (Groeneveld
2008).
Finally, the destination involved in the relocation and the related likelihood of
enjoying a good quality of life have also been shown to affect assignment decision
making (Pierce and Delahaye 1996). Particularly in the case of dual-career couples,
the critical considerations tend to be related to the likelihood of the partner finding
a job in the location. In this context, it has been suggested that the range of
employment opportunities available matters (Geddie 2013), and urban locations
with a good number of internationally oriented jobs seem to attract more dual-career
couples (McKinnish 2008; Compton and Pollack 2004).
The rate of refusal of assignments among dual-income and dual-career couples
has been shown to be significant (Swaak 1995; Riusala and Suutari 2000). Research
among international human resources managers and candidates who have turned
down international job placements highlights three main reasons for an assignment
being rejected: compensation, in the sense of losing one family income stream
(Harvey 1993), strong bonds with relatives at home (Dickman et al. 2008; Richardson and Mallon 2005), and career considerations (Dickman et al. 2008; Brookfield
2013). Furthermore studies of the career consequences of international relocations
(e.g., Kraimer et al. 2012; Suutari and Brewster 2003) highlight that expatriate
assignments do not always deliver the promised career progress, as employees who
are out of sight of the decision-makers at headquarters often also end up being out of
mind (Harvey 1996). Assuming candidates for assignment are aware of this effect,
it would influence their willingness to accept an international assignment. Finally,
it has also been argued that the level of corporate support in the form of relocation
services offered by the employer matters, and if the assignee and spouse perceive
that support to be important, and that being offered by the employer to be adequate,
they will be more willing to accept the assignment (Groeneveld 2008).
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Policies and Practices of Corporate Support Before Departure

Most international corporations have developed policies to manage assignment
placement and family relocation, aware that doing so can boost the acceptance levels
of international assignments (Brookfield 2013). The most common corporate support practices include assistance in obtaining work permits, arranging the transfer
of household goods, policy briefings, tax consultation, and pre-assignment trips to
help familiarise the couple with both the cultural and working environment.
The pre-assignment trip in particular facilitates self-selection on the part of the
couple, providing them with the best possible insight into the consequences of the
move in relation to their current family situation (Caligiuri and Phillips 2003),
and making the relocation decision a more conscious one (Harvey et al. 2009b).
It is also recommended that self-selection is supported by adequate briefing and
mentoring from recent repatriates (Harvey and Wiese 1998). Such mentoring and
network building needs to be extended to the spouse, who should be introduced to
recently repatriated spouses, preferably with experience of similar situations. The
ideal would be a mentor who is also career engaged and recently returned from
the same region that the dual-income or dual-career spouse is considering working
in (Konopaske et al. 2005). Finally, clarity on the timing of the assignment and a
guarantee of repatriation upon request by the partner has been reported to be an
important condition affecting the acceptance of an assignment by a DIC or DCC
(Konopaske et al. 2005).
Services offered less frequently, typically due to either their costs or organizational complexity include assistance with selling homes or terminating leases
on homes and cars, and a range of medical, security, language, and host culture
training (Cartus 2007). In the specific case of dual-income and dual-career couples,
foreign service premiums and assistance for the spouse have been found to be among
the most valued corporate practices (Konopaske and Werner 2005). Firms might
be advised to go further still to support key staff and offer compensation for the
spouses loss of income while looking for a new job in the host location, or provide
office facilities to allow the partner to be self-employed, or even help with financing
volunteer activities (Punnett 1997).
Overall, pre-departure decision making in dual-career couple situations has
been described relatively well in the scientific literature, especially from the
perspective of the impact the spouse can have, although the area lacks proper
theory development and reports on the effectiveness of support tools. Both could be
redressed and validated as it comes to their relative impact by reference to a diverse
population of expatriates and their dual-income and dual-career spouses. The next
phase of the international assignment cycle concerns the fate of the relocated family
in the new location and will be described in the section below on the adjustment of
the expatriate, his/her family, and most importantly the dual-income or dual-career
spouse.
101
Adjustment
Adjustment has been defined in research as the degree of a persons psychological
comfort with various aspects of a new setting, and further explained in the
context of multiple facets like general, work, and interaction adjustment (Black and
Gregersen 1991). This axiomatic definition is the most commonly used, although
it has attracted some criticism recently, particularly because of the limitations of
the dimension used and new developments in research on expatriate life suggesting
the subject merits broader consideration (Lazarova and Thomas 2012). An alternative model was developed by Searle and Ward (1990), who suggested examining the
psychological and sociocultural aspects of adjustment. Finally, a recent tendency is
to reconceptualise adjustment into two areas of work and non-work adjustment,
and in each of these to look for cognitive (cognitive certainty and strength of
knowledge), affective (affective state and correctness of display) and behavioural
(effectiveness and adequacy of behaviour) aspects, suggesting that each of these
areas may be used as unique dimensions to describe different stage of work and
no-work adjustment (Haslberger et al. 2013).
Expatriate adjustment literature is rich due to adjustment phase being central
to expatriate life and its implied relationship with expatriate performance (Lazarova
and Thomas 2012). The performance of expatriate workers is however also mediated
by a number of other factors such as personal and work resources or partner
and family adjustment (Lazarova et al. 2010). Furthermore, research on expatriate adjustment addresses assignee topics including work adjustment (e.g., Black
et al. 1992), sociocultural adjustment (e.g., Shaffer and Harrison 2001) and also
adjustment within a couples relationship (e.g., Van et al. 2011). Prior research has
reported that the need for adjustment creates a great deal of additional stress for
a dual-income or dual-career couple (e.g., Harvey 1997; Andreason and Kinneer
2005; Haslberger and Brewster 2008; Church 1982).
Adjustment among assignees and their partners seems to be closely interrelated
among dual-income and dual-career couples. Research evidence supports not only
the notion of spillover effects, when one dimension of expatriate adjustment affects
another, but also of a crossover effect where deficiencies in the adjustment of
one family member affect the adjustment of the other members in the family
unit (Andreason 2008; Lazarova et al. 2010). Therefore, support from the spouse
emerges as an essential ingredient in an expatriates successful adjustment to a new
environment (Lauring and Selmer 2010). Hence, for adjustment to be successful
it is important that both partners achieve a state of psychological comfort (Harvey
1998).
The heightened stress experienced by dual-career couples on assignment mentioned above means that spousal support becomes even more important (Harvey
1998; Shaffer and Harrison 2001). Such support may take many forms since
expatriates report that their spouses have diverse roles (Mkel et al. 2011). These
roles are often reformulated while on assignment in the new foreign environment,
and expatriate couples go through a transition phase, especially when their move
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means the work of the partner is disrupted (Van et al. 2011). Conversely, a lack of
spousal support, which can stem from dissatisfaction with the changed employment
status of a partner in a dual-income or dual-career couple, may be a source of conflict
(Tharenou 2008).
For all these reasons, the research on adjustment among dual-income and dualcareer couples has found the perspective of the spouse to be particularly important.
First, it has been argued that not all dual-income or dual-career spouses are necessarily interested in continuing their career while on assignment, and only a certain
number look for employment (Copeland 2004). Since satisfaction, psychological
comfort, and adjustment among dual-income or career spouses depends on their
intentions, there are dual-income or career spouses who change their role to focus
solely on their family while on assignment and report a high degree of satisfaction
(Copeland 2004). The presence of children helps, and in fact mediates some of the
stress for that group of spouses that would otherwise want to continue their careers
(Beck 2012).
Those partners who hope to continue their careers while on assignment and
do not find an appropriate job suffer from particular adjustment challenges with
a shift in attitudes about spending money, and a feeling of loss of control (Braseby
2010). The interpersonal family conflict that frequently marks such a situation limits
the adjustment of all family members (Van et al. 2011). On the professional side,
business contacts, perceptions of self-worth, financial independence, and the selfesteem of jobless spouses can be disrupted (Andreason 2008). Hence they develop
coping strategies such as exploring options that might permit them to continue
their own careers, or either the maintenance or the creation of new social support
networks (Kupka and Cathro 2007). These social support networks and national
friendships are an essential component of improved adjustment for dual-income and
dual-career spouses abroad (Beck 2012).
Finally, there appears to be a clear link between a spouse working during the
assignment and adjustment (Ravasi et al. 2013). Partners and spouses who find work
report a positive impact on adjustment, family relationships, health, well-being,
willingness to complete and extend their current assignment, or to apply for another
in the future (Permits Foundation 2008). From this perspective, relocations of dualincome and dual-career couples to areas with a high concentration of multinationals
and with a strong demand for international employees can facilitate more effective
adjustment, and effectively significantly reduce adjustment difficulties of expatriate
partners (Ravasi et al. 2013).
Policies and Practices of Corporate Support for DCCs During

Adjustment
The stress and difficulty of adjustment has been reported to contribute significantly
to expatriates returning home from assignments prematurely (Dowling et al. 2008).
An earlier than anticipated return home is designated an assignment failure, and
103
it is argued that organizations pay a significant financial, cultural, mental, and

organizational price for them (Herman and Tetrick 2009). The failure rate among
dual-income and dual-career couples however seems to be modest as only around
6 % of expatriate assignments end with an early return (Brookfield 2013). Limiting
assignment failures would demand deliberate, focused and active corporate support
programmes, which some companies report they have implemented (Brookfield
2013), but there is research indicating international dual-income and dual-career
couples are not wholly satisfied with these organizational practices (Kupka and
Cathro 2007). The support available for spouses has been accused of failing to meet
the needs of this special group, especially in terms of either help with securing
employment or with re-establishing a social network (Permits Foundation 2008).
The most common adjustment assistance programme offered to dual-income
and dual-career spouses is cross-cultural and language training that is provided by
roughly seventy percent of firms, followed by a lump-sum financial allowance that
is provided in a roughly one-third of organizations. These support programmes are
reported to be diminishing in number and training is moving online in response
to cost pressures (Brookfield 2013). At the same time, exploration of the true
needs of dual-income and dual-career spouses calls for improved understanding and
greater effort on the part of multinationals. Available literature on the stated needs
and potential stressors of dual-income and dual-career couples suggests that the
various practical initiatives that help secure a job should be prioritized (Haslberger
and Brewster 2008). Ideally, employers would offer an attractive employment
opportunity within their organization abroad, but even providing details of other
enterprises open to hiring people who do not speak the local language, or of
recruitment agencies, and networks of working spouses would be very valuable
to a relocating career-oriented partner (Reynolds and Bennett 1991; Cole 2012).
Employers should also help secure a work permit for spouses of their employees
in countries that require one (Permits Foundation 2008). One option often favoured
by career-oriented spouses is to further their education, and here too a company
can offer invaluable support in the form of contacts and financial help (Riusala and
Suutari 2000). Finally, as mentioned above, mentoring may be particularly valuable
for expatriate dual-income and dual-career couples where international relocation
has a significant impact on the trailing spouse (Harvey et al. 2010).
Alongside establishing practices supporting dual-income and dual-career couples
on assignment, research suggests employers ensure expatriates remain in contact
with head office and the home country environment. That might be achieved
through the organization paying for return visits, or allocating the expatriate a
mentor in the home organization and by ensuring access to regular communication
with the head office (Hammer et al. 1998; Linehan and Sculion 2002). These
contacts should ease future repatriation challenges, and seem to be equally important
both for assigned expatriates and their dual-income or dual-career partners. For
the assigned expatriate, maintaining a strong connection with headquarters can
positively influence work adjustment following repatriation, and hence improve
retention rates for the employer, and their partners will benefit from maintaining
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social and work relationships that will ease their own subsequent repatriation
adjustment (Kupka and Cathro 2007).
Expatriate and family adjustment issues have been well covered in the literature,
and that literature also includes a fair amount of theory building. The topic
of adjustment among DCCs has not yet been subject to the same volume of
scientific exploration as other areas, and nor has that exploration been quite as
rigorous. Consequently, the area merits further examination. The support practices
of organizations would benefit from research on their effectiveness that would
help optimize the necessary investments, and popularize the most effective, among
multinational corporations. The next phase affecting dual-income and dual-career
couples is the phase of returning home.
Repatriation
Repatriation, defined as the return of an expatriate and their family to their home
country was conceptualized as long ago as the 1980s (Harvey 1982) but is an
aspect of global work assignments that has been largely neglected in both research
and in career development practice (Szkudlarek 2010; Cox et al. 2012). This is
despite evidence of the difficulty of adjustment post repatriation and reports that the
majority of repatriated employees and spouses are dissatisfied with the repatriation
process and experience career, organizational, financial, family and psychological
challenges (Chi and Chen 2007; Snchez Vidal et al. 2008, Black and Gregersen
1999). There is a noticeable gap in the understanding of the specific nature of
the repatriation experience of dual-income and dual-career couples. One way to
form a perspective on this process and formulate a potential future research agenda
is through analysis of empirical articles in adjacent research streams citing cases
examining repatriation among dual-income and dual-career couples.
Among the five relevant adjacent research streams identified, the most pertinent
is the re-entry and repatriation literature (e.g., Haslberger et al. 2012; Szkudlarek
2010), followed by the empirical articles dedicated to the phenomena of dualcareer and dual-income couples (e.g., Knsl et al. 2012; Harvey et al. 2010). The
third source is that literature referencing self-initiated expatriates, who expatriate
themselves from their home country without the support of an employing company
(Doherty 2013). Such cases are interesting in a dual-career context, as they may
include situations where the self-initiated expatriate is a dual-career spouse of
an assigned expatriate (e.g., Mkel and Suutari 2013; Andresen and Walther
2012). Fourth, is the limited volume of often older research on issues affecting a
spouse during repatriation, which provides singular examples relating to dual-career
spouses (e.g., Storti 2001; McNulty 2005). Finally, the studies on male spouses and
female expatriate careers provide rare examples and findings on dual-income and
dual-career repatriation cases (Roos 2013; Vance and McNulty 2014).
105
Repatriation Decision Making

If we adopt the methodology of the studies examining the repatriation of assigned
expatriates, research on dual-income and dual-career repatriation should start from
a point well before the actual physical move home, as it must address what prompts
the decision to return. In cases of assigned expatriates, it is assumed that the
employer initiates repatriation, typically 35 years after expatriation (Scullion and
Collings 2006), and it is argued that discussions and career planning concerning
the return to the home country should start 612 months in advance but firms
rarely manage to match this model advance period, and that the failure to do so has
consequences spanning the whole repatriation process (Herman and Tetrick 2009;
Linehan and Sculion 2002; Harvey and Novicevic 2006).
Allocating sufficient time to preparing to repatriate expatriates and their families
can help reduce stress among them and anticipate the challenges that will arise
in terms of career, family, logistics, and the frequently-underestimated cultural
issues. It can be argued that the repatriation decision may be more complicated for
dual-career or dual-income expatriate couples. It seems logical that dual-income or
dual-career couples planning repatriation may require even more time in advance,
because they have two careers to coordinate. The repatriation decision may then
be initiated by the career demands of either of the spouses, triggering discussions
within the family and both partners having to manage the consequences for their
career. The nature of repatriation decision making for a dual-career expatriate
couple may in fact be similar to the better-understood processes occurring when a
self-initiated dual-career couple returns home (e.g., Tharenou and Caulfield 2010).
Studies of the repatriation decisions of self-initiated expatriates indicate multiple
ways in which the decision on repatriation can be triggered. The contemporary
job turnover framework, for example, has been adapted to show the interplay
of host country embeddedness versus home country attraction and repatriation
related shocks, which existing studies have shown to correlate with an intention to
repatriate, triggering a job search and eventual repatriation (Tharenou and Caulfield
2010). Such shocks might include one of the partners being asked by their employer
to repatriate, or the fact that the dual-career spouse did not find a job in the country of
expatriation and initiated a swifter than anticipated return of the couple to facilitate
their career progress (Roos 2013).
Repatriation Adjustment
The bulk of the existing repatriation literature focuses on the first 612 months after
a former expatriate has returned to their home country, and on exploring various
facets of the repatriation process in an effort to optimize repatriation adjustment,
and to address the common problem of the low retention rates of repatriates by
their employers (Linehan and Sculion 2002; Snchez Vidal et al. 2008; Lazarova
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and Cerdin 2007). It often takes a considerable part of the first 6 months after
repatriation for a dual-career family to settle back into the domestic setting (Harvey
and Buckley 1998). The complete process of readjustment may take between a year
and 18 months (Lee and Liu 2006), during which time both partners are attempting
to restart or continue their careers, find housing and schools, complete a range of
administrative tasks, and adjust socially to the home culture. Often the adjustment to
the home country has to take place against the background of one partner still having
to tie up loose ends in the assignment location, which is a source of additional stress
(Linehan and Sculion 2002). Repatriation adjustment literature has often focused
on spouses because, as in the earlier phases of expatriation, it has been found that
the repatriation adjustment challenges faced by both the spouse and the former
expatriate are significantly related to each other and that family conflicts may spill
over to the work domain (e.g., Van Steenbergen et al. 2007; Takeuchi et al. 2002).
Repatriation adjustment challenges have been viewed through a number of
lenses; the most commonly used being those focusing on adjustment in general,
and adjustment as it applies to the job, organization, and social interactions (Suutari
and Vlimaa 2002). In the job and organization domain, the most common issue
is the underutilization of the international knowledge acquired by expatriates that
results in them perceiving themselves to be underemployed (Kraimer et al. 2012).
In the dual-career context, the spouse also needs to find employment, and failure to
do so may lead to loss of identity and self-esteem (Storti 2001).
In the general adjustment domain, an often-reported challenge is the loss of status
and the impact on the quality of life occasioned by the withdrawal of companysponsored premium housing and a range of affordable services like domestic help,
drivers, and cooks (Haslberger et al. 2012). This loss of additional support may be
felt particularly hard by dual-income and dual-career families, where time needs
to be split between family duties and the careers of both partners, creating major
challenges, when combined with the increased workload related to repatriation
(Storti 2001; Mkel and Suutari 2013). It should be remembered however that
the findings on the impact of loss of material support have largely come from
the historically most common scenario (and even more frequently researched
model) of an expatriate from the USA sent to a developing country (Szkudlarek
2010). Changes in global business models, with more expatriation assignments
being within the developed world (Friedman 2005), and increasing numbers of
expatriates moving from the developing world (with its lower cost of services
and the relative purchasing power of professionals) to the developed world where
equivalent services are not really affordable, mean that the loss of status and service
issues upon repatriation may be less prevalent.
The interaction adjustment domain deals with issues around rekindling the social
life at home, and is related to the shift in identity of expatriates, who while on
assignment, adopt the values of the host country culture. The family perspective
(Black et al. 1992) indicates that expatriates experience some degree of culture
shock during repatriation, and the problem is often more acute for their families
than for the repatriates themselves.
107
Multiple antecedents have been conceptualized to better understand the reasons

for these challenges. For example, it has been shown that the further apart the values
of the destination country are from those of the home country, the greater will be
the culture shock and repatriation adjustment challenge faced by the expatriate
(Sussman 2002; Suutari and Vlimaa 2002; Kraimer et al. 2012). Interestingly,
research indicates spouses and self-initiated expatriates are more exposed to the
risk of the influence of a remote culture than assigned expatriates who are more
engaged in the organizational culture and spend more time with other expatriates
(Haslberger et al. 2012). These findings suggest that dual-career couples, due to
both partners by definition being highly engaged in work, should be less exposed to
the risk of convergence with a host countrys culture and values and therefore may
be less vulnerable to culture shock upon return.
Furthermore, an important view on the general satisfaction with repatriation
of both spouses and repatriates is formed by comparing their expectations of
repatriation (Suutari and Brewster 2003). It has been argued that for both spouses
and expatriates the more positive their re-entry expectations the more satisfied
they will be when they return home (Hammer et al. 1998). At the same time,
international assignments lead people to revise their career expectations upwards
and they former assignees perceive their internal and external career opportunities
should have improved (Benson and Pattie 2008). They have enhanced confidence
in their acquired skills, and have high expectations of how their knowledge will be
utilized upon repatriation (Snchez Vidal et al. 2008), even if those expectations
are not always met. Hence, expectations can be used as a lens offering insights
into the challenges besetting dual-income and dual-career couples on repatriation,
while the management and clarification of expectations ahead of repatriation is of
considerable interest to researchers and human resource managers alike.
Time on assignment also seems to be significant, because it affects both
interaction and job adjustment. The shorter the time on assignment, the less likely
the couple is to adopt their host countrys values, and there is also evidence that in
the case of early repatriation brought about by a dual-income or dual-career spouses
failure to find a job while on assignment, spouses adjust relatively easily back home,
due to the short-term absence. Spouses in that situation would presumably have
maintained transnational links, and through social ties with former colleagues, have
retained their knowledge of the job market, which would help them find employment
easily. That is presumably what leads them to frequently describe themselves as
satisfied (Roos 2013).
In the job and organization contexts, role clarity and role discretion are seen
as the most important antecedents of repatriate adjustment. Repatriates expect to
come back to clearly defined roles, rather than remain in a holding pool, but would
also like those roles to utilize their individual skills honed while abroad (Black and
Gregersen 1991).
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Policies and Practices of Corporate Support During

Repatriation
Even if multinational firms operate policies to support repatriates and their families
in an effort to increase retention, it has been shown that repatriates and their
spouses are often dissatisfied with the support offered (Stahl and Cerdin 2004; Storti
2001; Linehan and Sculion 2002), while satisfaction with the repatriation process
diminishes the repatriates intention to leave the firm (Snchez Vidal et al. 2008).
Consequently, researchers have been conceptualizing policies and tools that are
most effective in supporting expatriates and their families and scrutinizing existing
options (e.g., Gupta 2013). While such research has not yet focused to any great
extent on dual-income and dual-career situations, it is fair to suggest that some of
those policies and tools are applicable to dual-income and dual-career repatriates,
and understanding which tools are in greatest demand would shed light on the
challenges that beset both expatriate and spouse.
Firms targeting the retention of their internationally mobile staff should ensure
that their repatriation policy is clearly defined (Snchez Vidal et al. 2008) and
efficiently applied to support the resettlement of their staff (Linehan and Sculion
2002). Since organizations sometimes fail to provide jobs that match the enhanced
expectations of repatriates, and thus do not clearly signal to their repatriate
employees that their international experience is valued (Benson and Pattie 2008;
Suutari and Brewster 2003; Kraimer et al. 2012), career planning sessions and
similar clear signals that the company values international experience can be very
important (Lazarova and Caligiuri 2001). The idea has also been expressed as
professional career management and accurate working expectations, each of which
has been seen as a key determinant of repatriate satisfaction, and as having a far
greater impact than changes in compensation and social status (Snchez Vidal
et al. 2008). A model career management process would additionally provide early
confirmation of the timing of repatriation, and allow for proper planning to benefit
the careers of both expatriate and spouse (Linehan and Sculion 2002). While it
seems more companies are adopting formal repatriation strategies, only around a
quarter of companies currently apply them (Brookfield 2013). The low application
rate is perhaps surprising given that it has been suggested that companies that are
capable of providing clear communication on roles and careers, and that have clear
career management processes for repatriates benefit from higher repatriate retention
rates (Osman-Gani and Hyder 2008; Brookfield 2013).
Before repatriation, assignees should also receive comprehensive training, and
briefings on what to expect upon return and on changes that have taken place within
the company. Although relatively simple and inexpensive, repatriation training is
not common, and only between 30 % and 65 % of companies provide it (OsmanGani and Hyder 2008). Furthermore, repatriation frequently means a major change
in material status, when the company-sponsored premium housing and access to services ends abruptly. Consequently, certain researchers suggest that companies could
ease resettlement by providing lifestyle assistance and transitional compensation
109
upon repatriation (Black and Gregersen 1991). Expatriates, and especially those in
dual-career couple situations, will have to deal with often-complex tax situations
and the employer could help by providing financial counselling and tax assistance
(Lazarova and Caligiuri 2001).
It has been found that the availability and application of these tools correlates
well with an increased likelihood of retaining single-career repatriates (Lazarova
and Cerdin 2007; Lazarova and Caligiuri 2001), but there seems to be no equivalent
evidence relating to dual career couples. However, it could be argued that if
firms extended specific support to the dual-career spouse, it would help their own
employee adjust effectively, and so improve the retention and the willingness of the
couple to accept an overseas assignment again. In this context, a firm conscious of
the need for both partners to secure jobs back in the home location, could also offer
greater flexibility in the timing of the repatriation. This may require support such as
help with visas, financial matters and travel when one partner needs to stay longer at
the assignment location, after the other has returned home. Similarly to adjustment
support practices at the start of an assignment, career counselling while abroad and
job search assistance for the spouse when back home may also be appropriate, and
it has also been suggested that companies could assume financial responsibility for
any loss of income suffered by the dual-income or career spouse upon their return
home (Punnett 1997).
There is increasing evidence that dual-income and dual-career repatriation
includes a set of complex phenomena that come into play from the point the
decision is made to repatriate, and that the decision making process is more complex
when two careers are involved. The repatriation adjustment of dual-career and
dual-income couples is also likely to be subject to greater stress owing to their
specific needs, that add to the various challenges in the general, organizational,
job, and interaction domains that are typical of the better-understood single-career
situations. Finally, the various corporate support practices described above should
be in demand among dual-career and dual-income families, although research on
the effectiveness of such practices has not yet focused on the specific needs in
situations when both partners are career engaged. The repatriation phase described
above concludes the review of complete dual-income and dual-career relocation.
Discussion and Future Research Agenda

This chapter reviewed existing literature and research on dual-income and dualcareer couples in an international context. The review encompassed all the different
stages of international assignment, from expatriation decision making to adjustment
abroad and finally repatriation back to the home country. It reviewed key aspects
of these issues with a specific focus on the challenges facing dual-income and
dual-career couples and also on the policies and practices available to international
organizations to support dual-career expatriation. The empirical evidence from
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existing literature presented in the chapter confirms the significance of the issue,
and calls for researchers to address the gaps in our understanding.
First, the research reviewed is largely empirical in nature and little theory building has been practiced to date. Earlier studies have primarily used cross-sectional
data collection methods, including qualitative research (e.g., Knsl et al. 2012)
and small scale quantitative research (e.g., Cole 2011). More longitudinal research
is merited because expatriation is becoming less of a once in a lifetime experience
and is increasingly just one of the steps taken by global careerists and their families
(Suutari and Brewster 2003; Doherty and Dickmann 2009; Kraimer et al. 2009).
Furthermore, as has been reported in the available literature (Hughes 2013), the
application of dual-income and dual-career conditions to research phenomena has
not been consistent enough to allow for the generalization of findings between
various research streams. Analysis of the literature also reveals differences in the
adjustment and repatriation challenges faced by dual-career spouses who found
employment as compared to those who wanted to, but were unsuccessful (Copeland
2004). The acute differences in those situations call for more discipline in sourcing
respondents and the systematic identification of such differences in future research.
Simultaneously, the landscape of international work is changing rapidly, as
evidenced by the observed reduction in repatriate retention rates and the increased
incidence of self-initiated and female expatriates accompanied by their male
spouses (Mkel and Suutari 2013; Brookfield 2013). At the same time, the recent
trend among Asian companies of rapid expansion in their global operations and
deterioration of job markets in some parts of the world render the prevailing body of
literature focused on US expatriates less relevant than it once was (Friedman 2005;
Szkudlarek 2010; Andresen and Walther 2012). The above listed factors; the need
for more modern theory building, the lack of discipline in correctly identifying dualcareer couples in samples, and research becoming outdated owing to the evolution
of job markets warrant a comprehensive contemporary refreshing of the research on
dual-career couple expatriation. New, better-controlled theoretical contexts would
be welcome. Empirical investigation, theory building, and quantitative validation
of these theories will advance the state of science and benefit international human
resource managers.
While the phases of expatriation decision making and adjustment on assignment are becoming better understood, the most pressing research gap is in the
area of dual-income and dual-career couple repatriation, where a comprehensive
narrative literature review did not reveal specific literature (Szkudlarek 2010).
There is an opportunity to build an understanding of the typical challenges facing
this group from the time the repatriation decision is made through the phase
of repatriation adjustment, and to the time when related career consequences
manifest themselves. The importance of personal goals and expectations in shaping
repatriation satisfaction (Suutari and Brewster 2003), coupled with the varied degree
of dual-income partner adjustment determined by the expectations around career
continuation (Copeland 2004) offers a promising lens through which to examine the
repatriation of dual-income and dual-career couples. Finally, once personal goals
are understood, insights gained into the coping strategies practiced by the expatriate
111
and the dual-career spouse might reveal the most effective and replicable methods
to optimize the worklife balance, adjustment, satisfaction, and performance of
international careerists and be of interest to both expatriate couples on assignment
and to their employers.
The next research opportunity is to better understand which policies and
practices of corporate support most effectively enhance satisfaction and adjustment
among dual-income and dual-career expatriates in all phases of their international
assignment. The relative effectiveness of proposed practices (Kundu 2013) has
not been validated in any comprehensive, contemporary research on a culturally
and geographically diverse and representative population of dual-income and
dual-career couples. Such understanding could advance scientific knowledge and
persuade multinational corporations to invest in a more consistent and focused
methodology supporting those among their programmes and policies that have the
greatest impact.
In summary, the issues associated with dual-income and dual-career couples
are unique, significant, and increasingly important to international careerists and
multinational corporations. Specific academic attention on this group is warranted
but to date has been limited. More systematic research in the form of both
contemporary empirical investigation and robust theory building would be welcome.
The most pressing research gaps are in the areas of repatriation and the effectiveness
of corporate support policies and practices. Advancing scientific knowledge in
these domains could increase our understanding of the management of expatriates
and may help human resource managers secure the acquisition, retention, and
engagement of talent emerging from the significant global pool of dual-career and
dual-income couples.
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Chapter 7
Adjustment of Spouses of Self-Initiated

Expatriates: Feeling Different vs. Feeling
Welcome
Jakob Lauring and Jan Selmer
Abstract Adjustment of spouses of expatriates is a highly relevant research topic

considering the critical importance of this group of accompanying persons for work
outcomes of their counterparts. Unfortunately, little is known about the adjustment
of spouses of self-initiated expatriates who do not enjoy the support of an assigning
organization and who are argued to be particularly exposed to the host culture and
thus more dependent on the local context compared to the expatriates themselves
as well as other types of expatriate spouses. Therefore, we surveyed 71 spouses
of self-initiated expatriates in Denmark regarding two relevant self-perceptions
and how they were associated with their adjustment. Our findings showed that
feeling different, in terms of perceived cultural distance to the host location, was
not associated with neither general adjustment nor interaction adjustment of the
respondents. On the other hand, feeling welcome had a positive association with
both of the studied dimensions of adjustment. The implications of these findings are
discussed in detail.
Keywords SIE spouses Adjustment Feeling different Feeling welcome
Denmark
Introduction
Despite the financial crisis, increases in international assignments are expected to
continue in the coming years (GRTS 2013; van Erp et al. 2014). Therefore, it is
important that companies are able to deal successfully with expatriation issues and
thus maintain effectiveness of relocated employees. In this regard, scholars and
practitioners have tried to identify factors that could reduce problems in expatriation.
J. Lauring J. Selmer, Ph.D. ()

Department of Business Administration, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus
University, Aarhus, Denmark
e-mail: selmer@asb.dk
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J. Lauring and J. Selmer
In particular, there has been an interest in avoiding premature return of expatriates

as the costs involved are high (McNulty et al. 2009).
Hence, the elimination of factors that could cause disturbances in the expatriation
process is crucial to international business management. One factor that is known to
be central to expatriate functioning is the familys wellbeing. In particular, a number
of studies have shown a link between spousal adjustment and expatriate adjustment,
satisfaction, and performance (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al. 2005; Caligiuri et al. 1998;
Haslberger and Brewster 2008; Shaffer and Harrison 1998). Since a vast majority of
expatriates (up till 80 %) have been reported to be married, this could be a substantial
issue (Ali et al. 2003; Andreason 2008; Selmer and Lauring 2011).
It has been found that the inability of partners to adjust to the global assignment
was among the two most frequently cited reasons for expatriate failure (Harvey
1985; Schtter and Boerner 2013; Tung 1981). Indeed, studies on expatriate
turnover revealed that 1640 % of the expatriate assignments that did not work out
as planned had an unhappy spouse as reason for aborting the assignment beforehand
(Black and Stephens 1989; Takeuchi 2010). Tung (1981) found that almost 50 % of
the studied companies had brought families home early due to unwillingness or
inability of the spouse to adjust. Hence, while there has been some debate over
the magnitude of the premature return problem (Harzing 1995), based on the sheer
number of reported cases over the years, it should be safe to conclude that there
is a consistent rating of spouse maladjustment as a central problem in expatriate
management (Dowling and Welch 2004).1
On the other hand, if spouses are well-adjusted, they could also provide support
and thus have a positive impact on the expatriate. Investigating expatriate business
managers and their spouses in a compound in Saudi Arabia, Lauring and Selmer
(2010) showed that the accompanying partners were active in trying to support and
further their expatriate husbands immediate careers and repatriation opportunities
by using social strategies, such as creating alliances and establishing social networks
with influential others through social contacts and dinner parties. The spouses also
tried as a group to influence company decisions regarding working schedules, pay,
and holidays.
Both the negative and the positive findings of spouse influence on expatriate
performance may be explained by the crossover model (Takeuchi et al. 2002).
This theory deals with the influence that hardship experienced by one family
member can have on the level of hardship experienced by another family member
(Bolger et al. 1989; Brown 2008; Westman 2001). In the process of crossover,
inter-individual transmissions of emotional states take place between closely related
persons. Research has shown that this process can entail the transfer of both negative
and positive perceptions and states (Bakker 2005). In other words, an expatriate
spouse could transfer feelings of stress and burnout or happiness and engagement
to the expatriate partner. This is important because when living in a foreign country,
It should be noted that in some situations expatriates may have used spouse maladjustment as a
more acceptable excuse for terminating a relocation contract.
7 Adjustment of Spouses of Self-Initiated Expatriates: Feeling Different vs.. . .
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they could both be in a vulnerable situation. Hence, as a result of being isolated,

losing much of their prior home country social and physical support systems, it
is likely that the expatriates and spouses will be more dependent on each other.
Therefore, the frequency and degree of interaction between them will be more
substantial than in the home country context and the influence of each partner
on the other will be greater (Harvey and Buckley 1998; Takeuchi et al. 2002).
Accordingly, there is a great chance that the cross-over effect is especially strong
between expatriates and their spouses. This makes spouse adjustment and wellbeing
a central concern.
It has been argued that the spouse has the most difficult role in the family in
terms of adjusting to the new culture (Andreason 2008). Punnett (1997) showed that
particularly female spouses who did not work at the foreign location suffered from
substantial culture shock. This may be because the spouse is often more exposed
to the local culture than the expatriate (Andreason 2008). Moreover, while the
expatriate has some familiar structures in the everyday life, as he/she continues
working and could develop important ties on the job, the spouse, on the other
hand, may have to build a completely new social network to replace relations from
the home country (Ali et al. 2003; Shaffer and Harrison 2001). Hence, because
the familys physical connection to the home country is reduced, support systems
available in a foreign country is likely to affect the spouse to a greater extent than
the expatriate (Chiotis-Leskowich 2009).
However, while many studies have dealt with the detrimental effect of spouse illbeing on expatriate performance, fewer studies have focused on spouses themselves
and engaged in understanding reasons for spouse maladjustment (Ali et al. 2003;
Andreason 2008; Punnett 1997). Hence, this chapter deals with the adjustment of the
expatriate spouse and aims to reveal predictors for spousal general and interaction
adjustment.
Adjustment
Academic interest in expatriate adjustment emerged in the international management literature during the 1980s and onwards, as an increasing number of employees
were sent abroad to conduct work assignments (Harrison et al. 2004; Takeuchi
2010). Since then, adjustment has been perceived to be one of the most important
themes of expatriate research. In this literature, expatriate adjustment has been
shown to affect job performance, job satisfaction, premature withdrawal from
assignments and quality of life (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al. 2005).
The concept of expatriate adjustment depicts to what extent individuals are well
integrated in daily life in the host location as their ability to fit in or to negotiate
interactive aspects of the host culture. This is often measured by the amount of
difficulty experienced in handling everyday situations and is argued to increase the
individuals effectiveness in various life spheres (Selmer and Lauring 2013a; Ward
and Kennedy 1994). The concept of adjustment is generally understood as a learning
120
process in which expatriates make their world more predictable (Caligiuri 2000;
Isakovic and Whitman 2013). In this theory, experiences shape learning and future
behavior so that the observation of behavior, the consequences associated with that
behavior, and the modeling of that behavior will result in better adjustment (Littrell
et al. 2006). This theoretical framework of adjustment emanates from Nicholson
(1984) and Dawis and Lofquist (1984) suggesting that adjustment to a new role is
fundamental to subsequent outcomes in that role.
The adjustment process is argued to be guided by three basic human needs: (1)
the need for predictability and order (finding general meaning), (2) the need to be
accepted and liked (getting along in interactions), and (3) the need for status and
power (achieving job objectives) (Shaffer et al. 2006). Accordingly, adjustment has
often been described in terms of the following three dimensions; general adjustment,
interaction adjustment, and job adjustment (Black et al. 1991). Since many spouses
do not hold a job on their own in the host country, they have to adjust to nonwork factors, and some even argue that current theories of expatriate adjustment
are not entirely adequate to explain spouse adjustment (Andreason 2008). Apart
from not having job responsibilities, spouses are generally more directly involved
with the local environment on a daily basis and tend to have considerably different
responsibilities than they did before the assignment (Shaffer and Harrison 2001).
Based on a study of spouses of corporate assignees, Shaffer and Harrison (2001)
describe their adjustment as a reformation of identity in terms of coping with new
personal roles, new acquaintances, and a different culture. Their study identifies different categories of antecedents relevant to adjustment, namely personal, interaction,
and cultural factors.
With regard to personal factors, Shaffer and Harrison (2001) found that the
adjustment process was smoother for spouses who did not experience a change in
role status from being employed to being unemployed. There were also important
factors related to the spouses personality. Shaffer and Harrison (2001) found that
self-confidence or self-efficacy was an important adjustment antecedent for spouses.
In relation to contextual factors, Shaffer and Harrison (2001) found that spouses
with much support from the extended family had a lower interaction adjustment
than those with less support. They suggest that this may be the case because those
spouses who have a supportive extended family may exert more effort in maintaining
relationships and are, thus, more likely to neglect forging relationships with locals.
Shaffer and Harrison (2001) also found that having preschool-age children was
a stronger predictor of adjustment than having school-age or no children on the
assignment. With regard to other relations, the study indicated that social network
resources were important to spouse adjustment. Finally, Shaffer and Harrison (2001)
found that cultural novelty and favorability of living conditions had important
effects on adjustment. Hence, even though spouse adjustment in many respects
resembles expatriate adjustment, there could be some important differences. While
this has to some extent been studied in relation to corporate assignees, i.e. those who
are assigned abroad by an organization, little has so far been done to understand
adjustment of spouses to self-initiated expatriates who have acquired their foreign
assignment on their own (Cerdin and Selmer (2014)).
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Corporate Assignees and Self-Initiated Expatriates

According to Doherty (2013), there has lately been a continuing exponential growth
in the expatriate adjustment literature. With this also follows a development in
the awareness of the definition of expatriates. For several years, the expatriate
adjustment literature focused on expatriates as a homogenous group sent from a
parent company (Peltokorpi and Froese 2009). However, recently, scholars have
started to look also at different types of expatriates such as expatriate academics
(Selmer and Lauring 2013c), expatriate NGOs, (Fee and Gray 2012), foreign
executives in local organizations (Arp et al. 2013), public expatriates2 (Lauring and
Selmer 2013b; Selmer and Fenner 2009), inpatriates3 (Moeller et al. 2010; Reiche
2006) and flexpatriates4 (Mayerhofer et al. 2010). There has also been a rapidly
growing interest in expatriates that relocate on their own initiative, the so called
self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) (Selmer and Lauring 2010; Tharenou 2013).
This interest in SIEs has not least been driven by their large numbers. According
to Doherty et al. (2011), there are now more SIEs than corporate assignees relocating
from western countries (65 % vs. 35 %). Moreover, SIEs who already are in the
host country are inexpensive, not requiring an expatriate compensation package
(Andresen et al. 2012b; Banai and Harry 2004; McKenna and Richardson 2007;
Tharenou and Harvey 2006). Hence, although SIEs may not to the same extent be
used in implementing firm strategy or transferring HQ corporate culture, they could
still be used in responding to the increasing needs of multinational corporations for
skilled labor (Tharenou 2013; Tharenou and Caulfield 2010).
In terms of definition, it may be argued that being a SIE in general refers to
expatriates who are hired individually on a contractual basis and are not transferred
overseas by a parent organization (Andresen et al. 2012b; Doherty et al. 2011; Lee
2005). In other words, SIEs take jobs in a foreign country, often with no fixed time
period, and the legal employment decision is made by a new work contract partner
(Inkson and Myers 2003; Tharenou 2010). Hence, for employment purposes, SIEs
independently cross both country and organizational boundaries (Andresen et al.
2012b; Tharenou 2013; Tharenou and Caulfield 2010).
In a review of the research on SIEs since 1996, it was found that most
studies so far have drawn on samples of well-educated, young individuals, holding
professional positions, who have moved between developed countries (Doherty
2013). Selmer and Lauring (2010) more precisely define SIEs with regard to three
characteristics, namely, that they had acquired their current job independently (selfinitiated), that their current job was a steady position (regular job) and that their
nationality was different than that of the host country (expatriate). This is further
developed by Cerdin and Selmer (2014) who use four defining characteristics
Public expatriates are foreign nationals employed by public organizations, e.g. embassies.
Inpatriates are subsidiary personnel that are relocated to work in the parent company.
Flexpatriates are short-term assignees also known as frequent business travellers.
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(1) self-initiated international relocation, (2) regular employment, (3) intentions

of a temporary stay, and (4) skilled/professional qualifications. What seems to
distinguish SIEs mostly in relation to corporate assignees, however, is the agency
involved in taking the job (Al Ariss 2013).
A number of differences between SIEs and traditional corporate assignees have
been mentioned. In terms of demographic differences, a number of variations from
corporate assignees have been identified. First, it seems that compared to corporate
assignees, female SIEs are considerably more frequent. In a number of studies, SIE
samples even had slightly more women than men (Jokinen et al. 2008; Peltokorpi
and Froese 2009; Selmer and Lauring 2012; Suutari and Brewster 2000). This
suggests that self-initiated expatriation tends to be less gendered than traditional
expatriate assignments where males are clearly dominating (Andresen et al. 2015;
Tharenou 2010).
SIE and corporate assignees have been found to be relatively similar with regard
to education level (Cerdin and Le Pargneux 2010; Doherty et al. 2011; Froese and
Peltokorpi 2012). They are also similar in terms of age (Andresen et al. 2012a, b).
However, SIEs have more often been found to have a spouse who was born in the
host country (Peltokorpi and Froese 2009; Suutari and Brewster 2000).
There are also differences between SIEs and corporate assignees in relation
to their mobility orientation (cf. Lauring and Selmer 2014). For example, SIEs
have been found to often stay longer in the host country compared to corporate
assignees, as they choose an international career on their own initiative (Doherty
et al. 2011; Peltokorpi and Froese 2009). Jokinen et al. (2008) found that SIEs
in general have a higher global mobility than corporate assignees. This may be
related to Suutari and Brewsters (2000) finding that SIEs generally see the personal
interest in developing international experience as more important than corporate
assignees do. Accordingly, SIEs are more globally mobile and see this mobility as
important to their personal development and career opportunities (Andresen et al.
2015). Hence, while corporate assignees tend to focus on career and economic
reasons to expatriate, SIEs typically have additional motives for their expatriation,
including cultural and travel opportunities, family, and life change/escape (Selmer
and Lauring 2010; Thorn 2009).
In relation to intercultural issues, some studies have found SIEs to be better
at adjusting to the new cultures and better at dealing with cultural friction than
corporate assignees (Peltokorpi and Froese 2009; Shaffer et al. 2012; Tharenou
2013). SIEs have also been found to develop larger social networks (Nsholm 2012;
Von Borell de Araujo et al. 2014). Corporate assignees, on the other hand, find it
more difficult to learn the local language (Khlmann and Hutchings 2010). SIEs are
thus more likely to have stronger cross-cultural abilities and larger social networks
including host-country nationals. However, although SIEs are often better equipped
to adjust to the local culture, there could also be many problems because they do not
have the same preparations or support from a home organization (Carr et al. 2005;
Jokinen et al. 2008). The lacking parent company support may not only affect the
expatriate, but also the spouse as there could be less assistance in finding schools,
123
housing, transportation etc. Accordingly, the characteristics of the local context

could be more important for SIE spouses than for spouses to corporate assignees.
There could also be other general differences between spouses of corporate
assignees and self-initiated expatriates. SIE spouses may be distinguished from
the traditional image of expatriate spouses as part of single-career couples. This
is not necessarily the case for SIEs. Moreover, a substantially larger part of SIEs
are women and therefore the number of male spouses could be larger than among
corporate assignees (e.g. Selmer and Lauring 2013b). It can also be surmised that
the additional variation in motivation for SIEs to go abroad, beyond careers and
economic reasons, may to a larger extent make spouses of SIEs share those reasons
to expatriate than in the case of corporate assignees. Hence, the lack of organizational support, different gender roles, more shared reasons to expatriate, different
relation to host country nationals, and a different orientation at the job market could
be distinguishing factors between traditional corporate assignee spouses and SIE
spouses. As such, SIE spouses may be more dependent on the situation in the host
country. Hence, being in a foreign assignment context may have different influence
on SIE spouses adjustment than it has on traditional expatriate spouses.
Feeling Different
In most of the extant body of theory and research on business expatriates, there
seems to be an assumption that the more different the host culture appears from
the expatriates own culture, the more difficult the process of adjustment will be. In
other words, cultural similarity will facilitate expatriate adjustment. This assumption
may have arisen from other areas of international business research. For example,
empirical studies examining macro-level phenomena such as international trade
patterns (Dow and Karunaratna 2006), international retailing operations (Evans
and Mavondo 2002), as well as market selection and entry mode (Tihanya et al.
2005) have applied, so called, objective measures of similarity between countries to
accompany measures of cultural similarity, including affluence of market, education,
geographical distance, language, political system, religion, and size of market.
In the case of exploring expatriate and spouse adjustment, however, the relation
between cultural similarity and adjustment seems mainly supported by a host of
anecdotal evidence (Furnham and Bochner 1986; Ward and Kennedy 1996). Despite
that, dissenting claims have been made asserting that the positive effect of cultural
similarity on adjustment may be overestimated (Brewster et al. 1993; OGrady
and Lane 1996). The findings of a number of recent empirical studies of business
expatriates, using different samples and methodologies, seem to support such a
deviating view (Selmer 2007; Selmer and Lauring 2009). However, it is not obvious
that these results based on investigations of expatriates are also applicable to SIE
spouses who are more exposed to the local culture than the expatriate and who do
not have the organizational support as spouses of traditional business expatriates.
124
SIE spouses are thus more affected by the host society and may respond to variations
differently than other spouses or the expatriates themselves.
Although some objective differences between cultures and societies can be
argued to exist, the individual spouse will react to the differences they experience.
At any moment in time, information about such circumstances that are known
to the individual expatriate may be reflected in his or her current perceptions of
cultural similarity between home and host country. Hence, individuals will react on
perceived differences rather than actual differences.
There could be several reasons why the link between perceived cultural differences and adjustment may not be as straight-forward as first assumed. The failure
to identify minor, but distinct, cultural differences in cultural contexts similar to
ones own could be due to selective perception. To avoid being overwhelmed by a
flood of information, individuals construct simplified mental representations to give
form and meaning to their environments. Such structures have been called schemas,
cognitive maps, belief structures, scripts, etc. (Fiske and Taylor 1984). Theories of
cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957) predict that people will favor information
consistent with their attitudes and behavior, that is, people are biased to gather data
that reinforce their beliefs (Kiesler and Sproull 1982). This tendency to search for
or interpret new information in a way that confirms ones preconceptions and to
avoid information and interpretations which contradict prior beliefs has been labeled
selective exposure to information, or, perhaps more adequately, confirmation bias
(Nickerson 1998).
Expatriate spouses in both similar and dissimilar cultures may act on their beliefs
and preconceptions. When entering a very different culture, where there can be
no doubt about the foreignness of the location, expatriates may experience many
difficulties and frustrations trying to learn about cultural differences while adjusting
to life and work in that place (cf. Hemmasi and Downes 2013; Vromans and van
Engen 2013). Although typically temporary, this has even been labeled culture
shock to emphasize the traumatic aspects of such experiences (Oberg 1960). It has
recently been proposed that much of the stress felt in adjusting to a foreign culture
is the result of cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957) that arises from adopting or
condoning culturally expected behaviors that are inconsistent with the expatriate
spouses own values or attitudes (Maertz et al. 2009). Hence, the stress level may
be higher the more dissimilar the host culture is perceived by the expatriate partner
which explains the psychological discomfort typically experienced in such foreign
locations.
Expatriate spouses who are convinced that they are entering a very similar, or almost identical, culture may not detect any cultural differences as
they are not looking for them since they are not believed to exist. In that
manner, spouses with such preconceptions may resort to confirmation bias
in trying to corroborate this hypothesis and/or disconfirm the alternative
hypothesis that some cultural differences really exist. Hence, signs of minor
cultural differences are ignored and evidence is actively sought after that
everything in the host location is exactly as at home. Accordingly, consistent
with attribution theory (Fiske and Taylor 1984), expatriate spouses may not
125
explain ensuing problems that occur by being due to cultural differences.

Instead, they could attribute them to other causes, externally (assigning
causality to outside factors such as other individuals or the situation) or
internally (assigning causality to factors within the person) (Weiner 1985).
For example, expatriate spouses may attribute their difficulties to the laziness and stupidity of host country nationals or to their own ineptness
(Selmer and Shiu 1999).
However, the mechanisms of selective perception and attribution theory could
also affect host country nationals. Expatriates who are easily identifiable as
being from very different cultures, may be positively encouraged by locals going
through the stressful process of trying to adjust to the new and very different
host environment. On the other hand, expatriates from similar, or presumed
identical cultures, could be treated with less patience by host country nationals
and given less latitude for culturally deviant behavior. Again, overlooking any
possible minor, but distinct cultural differences, misbehavior of culturally close
individuals will most probably be interpreted negatively by host country nationals
and may be attributed to incompetence of the person in question (Selmer 2002).
Finally, some studies point to the social organization of the expatriate communities
as a possible reason for expatriates in culturally distant countries having fewer
adjustment problems than expected (Lauring and Selmer 2009). For example,
Cohen (1977) argues that while expatriates and their spouses in similar countries
have to deal with the full social reality of the location, expatriates in culturally
dissimilar countries often create what he terms environmental bubbles which
exclude locals.
To summarize, since feeling very different can make the individual avoidant of
host country nationals, this could have a negative effect on adjustment. Moreover,
if a SIE spouse behaves very different from the locals, they may also become less
inclusive. This could be explained by the similarity attraction hypothesis (Byrne
et al. 1966; Morry 2005) and social identity theory (Tajfel 1982). On the other
hand, expatriate spouses misattributions and the reactions of host country nationals
may well reinforce each other to create considerable difficulties for expatriates
trying to adjust to similar cultures making such efforts as stressful as adjusting
to very different cultures. In other words, feeling different may also make the
individual more receptive and cautious of existing differences in the environment,
thus making him or her better able to deal with them and adjust to them. Hence,
the effect of feeling different may not be as straight-forward as sometimes assumed.
Accordingly, we present opposing sets of hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1ab: There is a positive association between feeling different in the
host country and the general (1a) and interaction (1b) adjustment of SIE spouses.
Hypothesis 2ab: There is a negative association between feeling different in the
126
Feeling Welcome
To be welcome means to be greeted with hospitality and courtesy and that ones
presence is accepted with pleasure. As such, the feeling of being welcome may
relate to the inclusion in a group and to the perception that the surroundings are
not only accepting but is even encouraging of ones participation. Venner et al.
(2007) argue that creating a safe, respectful, harmonious space will make foreign
individuals feel welcome. If foreign nationals are approached with respect, kindness,
and interest, they will generally feel welcome (Byrne et al. 1966; Morry 2005).
While very little research has studied the effect of feeling welcome, this could
involve some similar dynamics as feeling different. Feeling welcome, however, is
the individuals perception of the host country nationals attitudes toward that person and they are not necessarily linked to the individuals personal characteristics.
In other words, individuals could be very different but be welcomed because they
provide specific skills, recognition, or resources to the new community. On the other
hand, being very different, due to the similarity attraction hypothesis, may cause
host country nationals to show less welcoming attitudes.
Similarly to feeling similar, there could be a positive feed-back between the
spouses perception of being welcome in the host country and adjustment. If
expatriate spouses feel that their presence in the local community is appreciated,
they will most likely engage more in interaction with host country nationals. This
could well increase their interaction adjustment. This may be explained by the
contact hypothesis, stating that the more individuals interact, the more they will feel
emotional attachment and sympathy for each other (Amir 1969). Moreover, feeling
that living in a community is welcomed by the locals is also likely to increase the
general feeling of life as pleasant in the host country. This will make the person
more encouraged to try to establish functional relations with locals and with the
institutional arrangements in the country as well as taking part in the local way of
living.
Feeling welcome can also be connected to perceptions of social attachment
and acceptance. Along with expectation of belonging and a feeling of acceptance,
awareness of being welcome is a central dimension in achieving a sense of
belonging (McMillan 1996, 2011). Hence, feeling welcome can be argued to be
the external precondition for a sense of belongingness to a new community.
Anant (1966) wrote that belongingness implies recognition and acceptance of a
member by other members in a group. Belongingness is defined by Anant (1966,
p. 21) as a sense of personal involvement in a social system so that persons feel
themselves to be an indispensable and integral part of the system. In line with this,
it has been argued that a pervasive human concern is the need to form interpersonal
attachments to others, social institutions, and environments (Baumeister and Leary
1995; Berlin and Johnson 1989). Maslow (1954), for example, identified belonging
as a basic human need, ranking it third in his hierarchy.
According to theories related to belongingness, feeling welcome can be disrupted
by negative stereotyping (Good et al. 2012). This type of stereotyping carries
127
a strong message that certain groups are less valued or accepted. That is, the
foreigner/stranger stereotype (Simmel 1950) may lead SIE spouses to feel as
less accepted members of the local community and thus to have a lower sense
of belonging to the new country. Although traditional stereotype threat theory
primarily accounts for under-performance in a domain, lack of a sense of belonging
may also account for under-participation (Good et al. 2012). It is not hard to
imagine that stereotyped individuals may be less interested in and willing to involve
themselves in a new country in which their sense of belonging has been undermined.
Hence, not feeling welcome could negatively impact the adjustment effort of a
person. Accordingly, we present the third set of hypothesis:
Hypothesis 3ab: There is a positive association between feeling welcome in the
Method
The data for this investigation was excerpted from a larger study. That study targeted
expatriates and their spouses residing in Denmark and the sample consisted of
members of an association for international residents in Denmark. This association
provided a link to our on-line questionnaire via their electronic newsletter. A webbased survey software package was used to administer the questionnaire. The
university affiliation of the investigators was identified as the official sender and
the potential respondents were assured of anonymity and confidentiality. Screening
questions were applied to retain only SIEs for this larger study. The newsletter with
the link to the online questionnaire was sent to 1,352 members of the association.
Eventually, 704 responses were received. Of these, 329 respondents passed the
screening question indicating that they were SIEs. The respondents were invited
to forward the portion of the questionnaire intended for their spouse to them and
the spouses were instructed to answer that part of the survey without consulting
with their accompanying counterparts. We received 71 responses form spouses of
participating SIEs but are hence unable to calculate any response rate.
The SIE spouses had an average age of 36.15 years (SD D 9.02). On average, they
had spent 2.24 years in Denmark (SD D 3.02) and had been expatriate spouses for
3.40 years (SD D 4.21), including their current stay in Denmark. Table 7.1 reveals
that a clear majority of the respondents was female (76.1 %) and married (74.6 %)
and either had a Master or a Bachelor degree (82.3 %). About half of the SIE spouses
were citizens of non-EU countries (51.4 %).
Background variables were estimated through single direct questions to the
respondents. While the construct of feeling welcome was assessed by a selfdeveloped multi-item scale, the two adjustment concepts and the notion of feeling
different were all measured by established multi-item scales.
General adjustment and interaction adjustment were assessed by scales developed by Black and Stephens (1989). This measure has been found to be structurally
128
Table 7.1 Background of the

sample (N D 71)
Background variables
Gender:
Male
Female
Married:
Education:
Bachelor
Master
Doctorate
Professional qualification
Nationality group:
EU
Non-EU
Frequencya
Percent
17
54
53
23.9
76.1
74.6
26
30
3
9
38.2
44.1
4.4
13.2
34
36
48.6
51.4
Frequency totals may not add-up to the stated N due to

missing values
equivalent with a good fit in culturally dissimilar samples providing evidence of its
construct validity (Robie and Ryan 1996). Although this widely-used scale has been
criticized for being merely a statistical construct (Brewster 1993; Haslberger et al.
2013) with elements that are not well-defined or discrete, this measure has been
replicated in a large number of studies (Bhaskar-Shrinivas et al. 2005; Hechanova
et al. 2003). Respondents were instructed as follows: It is completely normal
for an individual to have difficulty adjusting to living or working in a foreign
country. Please indicate the degree to which you are adjusted or not adjusted to the
following items where you live in the host location. Response categories ranged
from (1) very unadjusted to (7) completely adjusted. General adjustment was
measured by a seven-item scale. A sample item is: Food (alpha D .85). Interaction
adjustment was measured by a four-item scale. A sample item is: Speaking with
host nationals (alpha D .90).
Feeling Different was measured by an eight-item, five-point scale used by Black
and Stephens (1989) adopted after Torbirn (1982) to assess perceived cultural
similarity. Respondents indicated how similar or different they thought a number
of conditions were where they lived in Denmark compared to their home country.
Hence, we use the subjective rating of how respondents see the home country as similar to the host country as a proxy for feeling different. This is similar to other studies
(Black and Stephens 1989; Selmer and Lauring 2009). Response categories ranged
from 1 D extremely different to 5 D extremely similar. In other words, a high
score indicates a high cultural similarity and that the respondent feels little different.
For better conceptual alignment and to make a high score signify that a respondent
feels very different, the scores of the original scale were reversed. A sample item
is: Everyday customs that must be followed (alpha D .85). Feeling Welcome was
measured by a self-developed three-item, seven-point scale (Appendix). Response
categories ranged from 1 D strongly disagree to 7 D strongly agree, sample
129
Table 7.2 Means, standard deviations, and correlations among the variablesa
Variables
1. General adjustment
2. Interaction adjustment
3. Feeling different
4. Feeling welcome
5. Time in host location
Mean
4.91
4.35
3.41
4.63
2.24
SD
1.16
1.44
.70
1.40
3.02
1
1.00
.43***
.33*
.50***
.03
1.00
.12
.27*
.14
1.00
.43***
.00
1.00
.07
1.00
*p < .05; ***p < .001 (2-tailed)

a
65 < N < 70 due to missing answers
item: We feel welcome in Denmark. To improve the conceptual coherence of the

scale and to increase its reliability score, one item was deleted (alpha D . 78).
Time in current location was applied as a control variable since adjustment to
a host location can be regarded as a process over time following a learning curve
(Black and Mendenhall 1991). This variable was estimated by a direct question to
the respondents: How long have you been living in the host location in Denmark?.
Results
Sample means, standard deviations and zero-order Pearson correlations of all
variables are provided in Table 7.2. A one-sample t-test found the mean score
for general adjustment (t D 6.36, p < .001) and interaction adjustment (t D 1.95,
p < .10) to be significantly higher than the mid-point of the scale indicating that
the SIE spouses in general perceived themselves as well adjusted to Denmark.
The mean score for feeling different (t D 4.70, p < .001) was higher than the
scale mid-point and so was the mean score for feeling welcome (t D 3.66, p < .001)
suggesting that the SIE spouses in general felt different in Denmark while they
generally also felt welcome.
The research question was examined by way of hierarchical multiple regressions.
The control variable, time in current location, was entered in Step 1. That did not
produce any significant association with the adjustment variables. In Step 2, the two
predictor variables were entered and that produced significant associations with the
criterion variables. There were positive associations between feeling welcome and
general adjustment (beta D .45, p < .001), and interaction adjustment (beta D .29,
p < .05) explaining 27 and 8 % of the variance in those criterion variables. Since
feeling welcome had a positive relationship with both general adjustment and
interaction adjustment, but since there was no significant association between
feeling different and any of the adjustment variables, these results provide support
for H3a-b while neither H1a-b nor the opposing set of hypothesis H2a-b was
supported (Table 7.3).
130
Table 7.3 Results of

hierarchical regression for
effects of feeling different
and feeling welcome on
adjustmenta, b
General
adjustment
Step 1 (Control)
Time in current
.07
location (years)
R2
.00
F
.10
Step 2
Feeling different .13
Feeling welcome 45***
R2
.27
F
11.42***
R2
.27
F
7.65***
Interaction
adjustment
.14
.02
.95
.00
.29*
.08
2.76
.10
2.17
The standardized regression coefficients are from

the last step of the analyses
b
N D 65 due to missing values

p < .10; *p < .05; ***p < .001; two-tailed
Discussion and Implications

In this chapter we examined the relationships between feeling different and feeling
welcome of SIE spouses and their general and interaction adjustment. As SIE
spouses have less support than spouses of corporate assignees and since SIE spouses
are more directly confronted with the local culture, this group should be most
affected by the local surroundings compared to any other expatriate group.
Nonetheless, we did not find any association between feeling different from the
host country and adjustment. This contradicts some assumptions made in this field
(Furnham and Bochner 1986; Ward and Kennedy 1996), but is in line with pervious
theoretical argument and empirical studies (Brewster et al. 1993; OGrady and Lane
1996; Selmer 2007; Selmer and Lauring 2009). Hence, the feeling of being different
from the new culture does not seem to have an unambiguous effect on SIE spousal
adjustment. This doesnt necessarily mean that the feeling of being different could
not have important consequences, but rather that the effect of feeling that the new
context is much different from the home country could be both positive and negative
(see our discussion above) and thus that a main effect of feeling different cannot be
identified. Further studies may focus on investigating moderators to assess when
feeling different could be harmful and when it could be beneficial to the adjustment
effort. Several institutional and personal factors could be speculated to affect this
relation.
Expatriate spouses in both similar and dissimilar cultures may act on their beliefs
and preconceptions. In very dissimilar cultures, differences are easily observed
while they could be less obvious in similar cultures to the extent that they may
131
not be believed to exist. While theories of cognitive dissonance (Festinger 1957)

may usefully contribute to the explanation of felt problems with adjustment in
dissimilar cultures (Maertz et al. 2009), mechanisms of selective perception and
associated constructs, such as cognitive dissonance theories and the mechanisms
of confirmation bias (Nickerson 1998), attribution theory (Fiske and Taylor 1991),
and the social organization of expatriate communities (Cohen 1977; Lauring and
Selmer 2009) could provide some insights into expatriates misattributions and the
reactions of host country nationals in similar cultures.
We did find a positive significant effect of feeling welcome, understood as
an important element of belongingness and social inclusion. This effect appeared
stronger for general adjustment than for interaction adjustment. This may indicate
that the perception of ones presence being appreciated has more effect on general
life circumstances than on interaction. This may be related to prior findings that
social inclusion and a sense of belonging are positively associated with integration
(Brochmann and Hagelund 2012). This could also be related to the situation in
Denmark with a large percentage of the population having very good English
language skills (Lauring and Selmer 2013a).
With regard to implications, the results suggest that SIE spouses experiencing
either a higher or a lower degree of similarity between host and home country could
have the same problems with adjustment. Therefore, all SIE spouses, regardless
of national origin, may benefit from cross-cultural training. This may be a crucial
insight for the organizations employing SIEs as the expatriates adjustment also
depends on the spouses adjustment and wellbeing.
Although no study is known to have investigated how frequently cross-cultural
training is offered or suggested to SIE spouses by companies or by local governments of the host region, studies of business firms and their expatriates may suggest
that such training is probably not very common (Selmer 2010).
Needless to say, since SIEs and their spouses typically have initiated their
expatriation themselves, and are not assigned to a host country by any organization,
the most suitable temporal mode of the training may be post-arrival and could be
done by either the company or by publicly funded or private expatriate associations.
This type of training could be useful since post-arrival training has been claimed to
be more effective than pre-departure training (Selmer et al. 1998). However, it may
well be that the training should vary with the degree of cultural similarity of the
host location. Training for SIE spouses from very dissimilar cultures may include
substantial elements of cognitive training, emphasizing factual information about
the host country. But training delivered to SIE spouses from countries with a similar
culture would probably rather focus on creating motivation for the individuals to
fine-tune their current thinking and behavior. Directing these minute changes, the
cross-cultural training may focus on attracting the attention to the most essential
nuances of cultural differences and their behavioral implications in the similar host
culture (Selmer 2007).
The findings of this investigation may also have some implications for organizations recruitment of SIEs and their selection strategy. To the extent that there
may be hesitation to recruit SIEs with spouses from very dissimilar cultures on
132
the grounds that they may have intolerable adjustment problems compared to those
from similar cultures, such fears may be allayed by the findings of this study since
cultural origin does not seem to be an antecedent of the extent of adjustment of SIE
spouses.
On the other hand, feeling welcome seems to be important for the adjustment
of SIE spouses. Hence, companies hiring SIEs should try to make their spouses feel
welcome in the host country. This could be done by ensuring a good contact between
foreign and local employees, not only at work, but also outside the work context.
It could be made a job obligation for local employees to mentor SIEs and their
families when arriving in the country. Companies may even offer compensation to
local employees making the effort of assisting newly arrived families in settling-in.
Encouraging inclusion of expatriate spouses in social events, training and mentoring
may enhance their connections as part of in-groups which could increase their
sense of belongingness and, hence, their adjustment.
Apart from company efforts, local publically funded expatriate associations
could also do much to make spouses feel welcome by attending to their needs
and by providing them with training, facilitating for them to take part in social
arrangements, creating expatriate networks and contacts with host country nationals.
This may encourage SIEs, with highly developed skills, to stay longer in the host
location and thus providing local companies with needed skilled labor.
Of course, the conclusions of this chapter should be taken with some caution. The
method employed was cross-sectional in nature. A longitudinal approach may have
produced a more rich data source. On the other hand, compared to cross-sectional
investigations, longitudinal studies pose other serious methodological challenges
such as endemic low response rates (Menard 1991). Another limitation could be the
self-reported variables. However, perceived variables such as feeling different or
feeling welcome can be difficult for others to assess. On the other hand, interaction
adjustment may be possible for members of the spouses social network to estimate.
Such a mode of assessment, however, could be more difficult in the case of general
adjustment. The self-developed scale measuring feeling welcome has not been
grounded thoroughly in theoretical work and may need further work. Finally, the
relatively small sample, based in only one country, could pose some problems with
regard to generalization of our results.
Nonetheless, future studies could try to eliminate some of the weaknesses of the
current study and extend its scope. For example, further efforts could be spent to try
to use a larger sample. A longitudinal design may also provide better control of the
impact of the time factor. Moreover, it may be worthwhile to extend the target group
to other types of expatriate spouses or even the expatriates themselves. No study
has so far examined the role of feeling welcome for expatriate adjustment, and this
may be different for spouses and for expatriates due to their possibly different type
and extent of involvement in the local society. Similarly, SIE spouses and corporate
assignee spouses could be contrasted due to the alleged variation in organizational
support received. Since some expatriate spouses may be gainfully employed, it
could be a worthwhile future research endeavor to explore if this has an effect on
SIE spousal adjustment.
133
Appendix
Feeling Welcome (Self-Developed)
1. The Danes we meet are welcoming towards us
2. The Danes we meet are interested in hearing about our background (deleted)
3. We feel welcome in Denmark
(1 D Strongly disagree to 7 D Strongly agree)
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Chapter 8
Home, Family and the Self-Initiated Expatriate

Experience: Living with Uncertainty,
Complexity and Change
David Clark and Yochanan Altman
Abstract We present the life stories of Self-Initiated Expatriates (SIEs) in Crete as

a means of broadening the discussion on expatriation and the family-work interface.
While SIEs have been depicted in the literature as adjusting more readily and more
effectively to local cultures and working environments than Assigned Expatriates
(Vaiman V, Halsberger A (eds) Managing talent of selfinitiated expatriates: a
neglected source of the global talent flow. Palgrave McMillan, London, 2013;
Andresen M, Bergdolt F, Margenfeld J, What distinguishes self-initiated expatriates
from assigned expatriates and migrants. In: Andresen M, Al Ariss A, Walther M
(eds) Self-initiated expatriation: individual, organizational, and national perspectives. Routledge, London, pp 1141, 2013b. This chapter explores differences and
contrasting experiences within a group of Self-Initiated Expatriates. We examine
such narratives and modes of adjustment through the model of adjustment first
outlined by Black and Gregersen (Hum Relat 44:497515, 1991) with additional
insights on family role re-adjustment provided by Lazarova et al. (Acad Manage
Rev 35(1):93117, 2010).
By focusing our study on members of an expatriate association, the Cretan
International Community, (CIC), based in Chania, we were able to draw upon
a more varied and diverse population than is usually the case for work-based
expatriate research. Moreover, by conducting the research over a 10 year period,
we were able to chart the ever shifting and complex nature of expatriation.
Indeed, we found that the nature of adjustment is far from uniform and varies
considerably, even within the same household. Moreover, over time, changing
family dynamics and evolving needs within the wider extended family entailed
D. Clark ()
Independent Researcher, London, UK
e-mail: davidyclark@live.co.uk
Y. Altman
Kedge Business School, France
Middlesex University, London, UK
Teesside University, Middlesbrough, UK
e-mail: y_altman@hotmail.com
139
140
D. Clark and Y. Altman
considerable readjustments along the way. The main contribution of our study has
been to illustrate the very fluid manner in which expatriate households adjust and
constantly readjust to evolving needs of different members of the wider extended
family and to changing personal and economic circumstances.
Keywords Self-initiated expatriation Longitudinal Family adjustment Cultural adjustment Work adjustment Multigenerational Sense of home
Introduction
Much has been written recently on the emergence and growing importance of SelfInitiated Expatriates as contributing significantly to the pool of those available for
work on foreign assignments (Vaiman and Halsberger 2013; Andresen et al. 2013a;
Doherty et al. 2013). Amongst Organizationally Assigned Expatriates issues of
career development loom large, yet often a sense of adventure and the opportunity
for self-development also play a part in accepting foreign assignments (Altman
and Baruch 2013; McNulty 2013). Amongst Self-Initiated Expatriates there is
generally less attachment to careers within specific institutions and organisations,
whilst building career capital and gaining intercultural experience is seen as more
important than the level of remuneration (Altman and Baruch 2012; McNulty
2013). Self-Initiated Expatriates are generally perceived to be more pro-active about
choosing the destination areas, more flexible in the kind of work they take on, often
seeking a challenge and personal development (Dorsch et al. 2013). Additionally,
Peltokorpi and Froese (2013) suggest that SIEs generally have better cultural
adjustments and higher interaction with host country nationals than Assigned
Expatriates.
In this chapter we wish to address in more detail the process of adjustment
undertaken by SIEs. It is our contention that the process of adjustment is one that is
dynamic and constantly evolving, it is multi-faceted and involves a number of active
players, including members of the wider extended family. Thorn and Inkson (2013)
suggest that to date research on SIEs has tended to consider international mobility
in isolation, without sufficiently taking into account the relationship of mobility to
other life events, such as employment history, partnerships, childbirth and life stages
(Levinson et al. 1978).
Our study focuses on the adjustment process within the household of
those relocating, rather than examining the SIEs as isolated individuals, thus
the work-family interface is seen as an integral aspect of the adjustment process.
Additionally, we will be examining adjustments to relocation over an extended
time period, thereby also exploring the impact of changing needs, interests and
motivations within the wider extended family (Kaufmann and Widmer 2006).
To date few studies have examined the longer term implications of changing
family dynamics and multi-generational needs. Schtter and Boerner (2013)
raise this issue in relation to work-family interface on international assignments
8 Home, Family and the Self-Initiated Expatriate Experience: Living. . .
141
and suggest that while the initial period of assignment can be particularly
stressful for families, most adjust gradually to their new cultural milieu. Mkel
and Suutari (2013) comment that some expatriates in their study expressed
anxiety concerning potential demands placed by aging parents, whilst illness
or bereavement sometimes precipitated the need for repatriation (Rutter and
Andrew 2009; Doherty and Dickmann 2013). Yet, few studies have sought to
trace the story of continuous adjustment to a new environment, as each household
faces new challenges with every change in circumstances.
In the study by Doherty et al. (2011), SIE respondents had been abroad for an
average of nearly 6 years overall, whilst Assigned Expatriates were more likely to
have had shorter periods of work abroad. Continuing this track, we seek to explore
the unfolding process of adjustment and re-adjustment, as both economic and family
circumstances change over time. Hence, we wish to take a wider time frame than
most studies have been able to cover so far.
There is no standard pattern for adjusting to a new environment. Instead,
expatriates fashion their own mode of adjustment in a dynamic and constantly
evolving process. In order to illustrate what this might entail, the discussion
adopts an analytical framework which owes much to the work of Black and
Gregersen (1991) who outline a threefold adjustment process amongst expatriates,
involving adjustment to local culture, interaction with host country nationals
and adjustment to work.
An additional relevant element is introduced by Lazarova et al. (2010), who
suggest that family and couple adjustment to the new environment might also
entail role readjustment within the family. Accordingly, Schtter and Boerner
(2013) stress the importance of considering the adjustment of the whole family
to relocation, pointing out potential stressors and resources to the work-family
interface.
Finally, a further aspect of the adjustment process is brought to our attention
by the work of Papadopoulos (2002), referring to the importance of re-creating
a sense of home, both in terms of the tangible quality of the built environment
and intangible qualities associated with derived meanings. Hence this study will
examine five aspects of adjustment, rather than just the three dimensions outlined
by Black and Gregersen (1991). Moreover, by taking a longitudinal approach, we
seek to document the manner in which such adjustment is constantly negotiated and
renegotiated in line with new demands and ever changing circumstances.
Research Context and Methodology

This chapter examines Self-Initiated Expatriates in Crete, focusing on members of
a self-help expatriate association in Chania, the Cretan International Community
(CIC), and their lived experience.
By focusing our study on members of an expatriate association, we were able to
draw upon a more varied and diverse population than is usually the case for work-
142
based expatriate research, uncovering a much wider range of skills and talents than
had been previously reported in the literature. This chapter examines individuals and
families engaged in economic activity, though not necessarily of a corporate kind.
Such expatriates have much to offer would-be employers, but often do not fit the
standard profile expected of corporate employees.
Some had first arrived as tourists, others sought to establish new lives and new
enterprises, yet others married local partners. For many, relocation to Crete is but
one stage in a long-term process of movement back and forth. An overarching
premise for our analysis is the essential fluidity of contemporary life. Bauman
(2000) characterises current societal trends as constituting a liquid modernity,
whereby rigid boundaries of territory, class and community have dissolved and
become more fluid, entailing constant change and frequent revisions to personal
projects and career trajectories. Just over half the respondents in our sample had
been in Crete for 3 years or less (55 %), whilst a third had been in Crete for 6 years
or more.
Contact with the Cretan International Community (CIC) was established by the
first author in the course of a study on oral history and cross cultural life in the
Mediterranean (Kousis et al. 2011). This led to a series of interviews with members
of the CIC, alongside participant observation in events and outings organised by the
CIC (Clark 2005).
In 2006 a postal questionnaire was sent to all 300 CIC members and 118
responded by filling in the questionnaire. It was followed up by semi-structured
interviews with 20 respondents who had indicated their willingness to be interviewed. Most of them were interviewed again over subsequent years, thereby
building up a more complete picture of their continuing adjustment and readjustment
to expatriation. This, together with ongoing participant observation, provided a rich
source of ethnographic data, unfolding over a 10 year period, focused on a particular
location. Each visit to Crete lasted between 1 and 2 weeks, totalling 24 weeks spread
over 18 visits. Whilst traditional anthropological fieldwork often entails spending
a year immersed in the local culture, contemporary fieldwork practice has seen a
diversity of approaches, involving a multiplicity of locations, varying lengths of
stay and repeat visits (Clifford 1997).
Our research approach is both quantitative (a postal survey, with 118 completed
questionnaires) and qualitative, employing ethnographic approaches (participant
observation, semi-structured interviews and the charting of life histories). A similar
approach, combining a survey with in-depth interviews, was employed in a study
of an inner city neighbourhood in London which ended up focusing on the lives of
just eight households (Wallman 1984). In our study on expatriates in Crete, there
was the added advantage of being able to conduct research over a 10-year period,
from 2003 to 2013, affording a longitudinal approach to the process of relocation,
thereby allowing us to gain valuable insights.
In this chapter, the discussion will focus on a number of individuals and their
families in order to illustrate the dynamic, varied, and often contrasting processes
of adjustment, living simultaneously in a multiplicity of social worlds, retaining ties
back home and creating new ones in Crete.
143
Demographic Background of Respondents

All 118 questionnaire respondents were expatriates with a western background:
61 % UK citizens, 9 % Americans, 6 % from Germany, 5 % Irish; the remainder
were French, Dutch, Danish, Belgian and Austrian. While the dominant Western
expatriates in Crete are Germans (Andriotis 2003), the greater preponderance of
British and English native speakers in our sample is probably due to most of the
activities run by the CIC being held in English.
There were no Central Europeans in our sample, though they form the majority
of foreign residents in Crete (Albanians, Bulgarians, Georgians and Romanians)
nor from the Middle East (Syria) and North Africa, most of whom are economic
migrants in the construction and service industries, of uncertain legal status and
subject to constantly changing regulations (Samatas 2011). Few ever join expatriate
associations such as the CIC, though each national grouping may have its own
particular association (Vardaki 2011).
Amongst our CIC respondents, 40 % were aged 5059 and another 30 % were
over 60. This contrasts with figures for British citizens residing in Greece as a whole,
with 66 % being under the age of 44 (Sriskandarajah and Drew 2006). Nevertheless,
50 % of all respondents were engaged in gainful employment, split evenly between
full time and part time work.
Significant numbers engaged in teaching or lecturing (19 %), building trades
(9 %), clerical and financial administration (8 %), or else in tourism related areas
such as real estate (7 %) and tour guiding (5 %). Other occupations included
journalism, archaeology, medical doctor, nurse, therapist, manicurist, crche worker,
creative arts, copy editor and organic farming.
Two thirds of respondents are women, though they tend to be greatly overrepresented in the age group 3059, whilst there is a more equal gender balance
for the over 60s. It would seem that women of all ages find an expatriate group
such as the CIC a useful point of contact and support network, especially women
raising children and those married to Cretans. Indeed, the CIC was established in
the first place in the late 1980s in order to provide support for expatriate women
married to Cretans. Kousis (1989) examined the patterns of adjustment of such
wives, balancing the need to integrate into local life whilst maintaining their own
identities. More recently, Peltokorpi and Froese (2013) mention the large proportion
of SIEs who are married to Host Country Nationals.
Most of those in teaching, clerical and financial administration had the benefit
of a work contract, around 25 % of those gainfully employed, while the rest were
mainly self-employed or in casual work. Many SIEs are looking for a change in
lifestyle or obtaining cross-cultural experience, whilst others seek a challenge and
personal development (Dorsch et al. 2013; Altman and Baruch 2012, 2013). What
is clear from our study in Crete is that SIEs comprise a very heterogeneous group,
with a wide range of motivations (for further details see Clark and Altman 2015).
The composition of the CIC has changed greatly since the 1990s, with the arrival
of new kinds of expatriates, whether retirees or lifestyle migrants (Benson 2011),
144
often from within the EU, facilitated by the greater freedom of movement within
the EU. Many relocate with little or no pre-planning and partly for this reason those
in our sample who are still economically active find the CIC an important resource
network.
Patterns of Expatriate Adjustment

Each expatriate household fashions its own means of adjustment; this section will
illustrate such household adjustments, highlighting commonalities and differences,
whilst presenting the data as condensed life histories, in line with ethnographic
convention.
Life-Style Migrants
Mary and Allan moved to Crete and bought a house near the coast, on the outskirts
of one of the resorts; Allan set up and manages a clay pigeon shooting range, whilst
Mary works part time as a therapist, setting up a womens group and occasionally
returning back to England to run workshops there.
Adjustment to the local culture: an important aspect of such adjustment is
learning the local language. Mary has been attending weekly classes over several
years, whilst Allan takes more informal classes for conversational Greek.
Interaction with host nationals: although Mary and Allan live in close proximity
to other British expatriates, they decry those of their compatriots who spend most of
their time with other expatriates, in a virtual enclave. They have a number of Cretan
friends; Allan making friends as a result of his clay pigeon range, since Cretan men
traditionally have a strong interest in guns and hunting. The owner of the local gun
shop invited them to his sons wedding, whilst other friends invite them to family
occasions, including Easter Sunday celebrations.
Re-creating a sense of home: by the time of the second interview they had moved
to a larger home, with a swimming pool. They sold their previous home in England
in order to afford it, but retained their smaller property in Crete, which they rent out.
Their new home is even closer to the countryside; Mary enjoys taking her dog for
walks. They clearly take much pride in their new home.
A Trailing Spouse Finds Her Niche

Julie and Sean had come to Crete the previous six summers, with Sean working as a
scuba diving instructor. They decided to set up a scuba diving school in Paleochora
and gave themselves 2 years to make a go of it. They rented out their London home
on an annual lease, providing them with some income.
145
Adjustment to the local culture: both Julie and Sean had picked up sufficient
Greek for everyday conversation. They also developed an interest in local Cretan
music and whenever they visited Chania made a point of visiting their favourite
caf, where the owner plays the mandolin and the lyra, the local stringed instrument.
This caf is frequented mainly by Cretans who drop in to play impromptu music,
reminding Sean of his Irish background and the tradition of live music in pubs and
similar venues.
Interaction with host nationals: Sean had established firm friendships locally and
through one of his contacts found a suitable flat to rent. The couple were treated
very much as part of the landlords family, the children constantly dropping in to
say hello and bringing gifts of fruit and vegetable grown by the landlord.
Family role readjustment and a new connection with the environment: Julie
has a degree in environmental studies and obtained seasonal work with an NGO
protecting the habitat of sea turtles on Cretan beaches. She also took an interest
in the extraordinary variety of indigenous flowers in the surrounding hills. Along
her walks, Julie would be greeted by the women in the outlying villages, gradually
getting to know them. The older women in particular showed her places where the
rarer species could be found and explained to her the uses of such herbs and flowers
for cooking and healing. In this manner Julie began to establish her own friendship
network amongst the local women.
Adjusting to new work demands: whilst the scuba diving school failed to take off,
Julies interest in local plants had some spin offs. Preservation societies took notice
of her work, inviting her to give talks and lead guided tours. The couple have now
returned to London, but Julie has been invited back to Crete for short spells to help
lead walking tours of the local flora.
Re-creating a Sense of Home: Re-imagining the Home Range

Papadopoulos (2002) mentions the importance of home range. Papadopoulos uses
the analogy of a child who begins to explore the transitional space, still relatively
safe, just beyond the home, such as the courtyard and the street, where interaction
can take place with those beyond the immediate family. Gradually the home range
is extended to include other parts of the neighbourhood. When Julie began to roam
the hills in search of indigenous plants, she was effectively extending her home
range and in the process met and interacted with Cretans on the basis of a shared
sense of space and respect for nature.
Second Time Expatriates: Coming Back to Crete After a Gap

Jeremy and Susan first met in Crete in the 1980s, when Jeremys sister relocated
to Crete and Jeremy, at that time in the removal trade, offered to bring his sisters
belongings over in a van. Jeremy and Susan got married in Crete in 1987, but when
146
Susan became pregnant they moved back to the UK to raise their children there.
However, in 2005, when Susan was made redundant, they chose to relocate once
again to Crete, with Jeremy this time involved in the building trade and specialising
in wrought iron work and gates. Their dream is to save enough money to buy a plot
of land and build their own home, but so far this has eluded them and they remain
in rented accommodation.
Adjustment to the local culture: Jeremy speaks sufficient Greek to be able to work
together with the local tradesmen. Two of his children go to local Greek schools; one
daughter had just graduated from high school with above average grades, whilst the
youngest son had been held back for a year and was mercilessly teased by the other
boys.
Interaction with host nationals: Jeremy has made a number of contacts with
Cretan tradesmen and suppliers in the building industry. He has worked alongside
some of them on specific jobs, including fitting solar panels for electricity supply.
Susan joins in with CIC events, but has few contacts with local Cretans.
Adjustment to new work demands: Jeremy is used to the need to constantly
change careers. He started off in shipbuilding in England, but when the shipyard
closed, moved to heavy industry, then road haulage and removals. His dream is still
one day to build his own ship, but meanwhile takes on whatever work he can in
the construction trade, specialising in iron and steel work. He gets on well with
the suppliers, who sometimes find jobs for him to do, but discovered that Greek
customers often dont pay and he is owed money; so now he charges half the fees
up front and sometimes insists on all of it before he starts any work.
Taking Up Farming Following Early Retirement

Paul took early retirement at the age of 57 and bought a plot of land in Crete with
established vineyards and olive trees, up in the hills, 45 min away from Chania by
bus. They had their own home built on the land, together with a self-contained flat
to accommodate Pauls elderly father.
Adjusting to local culture: Helen is used to village life back in England, where
she knew everyone and there were lots of activities; whereas in Crete she feels more
cut off. She relies on the coffee mornings and painting classes organised by the
CIC. Paul, however, soon adjusted to being in Crete, frequenting the local taverna
and meeting other farmers who gave him much advice.
Interaction with host nationals: as Paul spent time in the local taverna, he got to
know the owner, who also happens to be the local Orthodox priest. Paul had been
trying to have his new home connected to electricity for months. On hearing of their
plight the priest promised to help and within a week their electricity was connected.
Adjustment to new work demands: Paul was equally lucky with his other contacts
and came to an arrangement with the local cooperative society which takes his olives
and presses them for him, keeping 5 % of the oil in commission. The same applies
to his grapes, the local distiller keeps 10 % of the raki (local liquor) produced from
147
the grapes as a fee. Paul has decided to make his own wine, seeking advice from
the locals on how to make it. He also makes grape juice and freezes it for home
consumption, as Helen does not drink any wine.
Family role readjustment: Helen had spent much of her married life with a
measure of independent social life but now feels more dependent on Paul. She is
not confident about driving, along Cretes narrow and winding roads, so relies on
Paul to take her into Chania, where she can enjoy the activities of the CIC and other
facilities.
Paul has more extensive contacts with local Cretans and is less dependent on
expatriate social life. Pauls father was meant to join them, but due to the difficulties
in local transport, they made alternative arrangements for him to be taken care of in
England.
Finding Work Within the Expatriate Enclave

Colin had been in Crete for 4 years, following his divorce. He used to be in the
removal business, worked as a handyman within the expatriate community and was
also working as a part time chauffeur and companion for an elderly wheelchairbound woman, whose daughter and son-in-law had settled in Chania to run a
bookshop.
Adjustment to local culture: Colin took some Greek language classes upon first
arrival, but never became fluent in the language.
Interaction with host nationals: Colin relied for social contacts on the CIC and
other expatriates, though he did meet local Cretans via his voluntary work on an
archaeological project. Colin complained that he finds it difficult to meet women
socially; most of the expatriate women came over as couples, whilst Cretan women
kept much greater social distance and were difficult to approach.
Yet, Colins daughter who came initially on a short visit, decided to stay on.
She started by waitressing at a local caf run by expatriates but now has a Cretan
boyfriend and has found waitressing jobs in Greek run establishments. Colin
comments that perhaps it is easier for the younger generation to interact with each
other and cited two young expatriate men who have Cretan girlfriends.
Re-creating a Sense of Home or Failing To Do So

At the time of interview, Colin was living in very cheap accommodation with basic
facilities, a toilet with no flush water and cockroaches in the kitchen. He was fed
up with his life in Crete and would soon leave. He would go to Scotland to visit his
siblings, but did not want to live there. He left Crete soon thereafter, to accompany
the wheelchair-bound woman who wanted to be back in England. Colin stayed with
her for a while, till she passed away, and Colin is once again on the move.
148
Straddling the Host Community and the Expatriate Enclave

Matthew had taken early retirement due to ill health and met Anna in England
whilst convalescing. They bought an old farmhouse in the hills and gradually made
friends with their neighbours. This came about as Anna walked her two dogs every
day and neighbours began greeting her, inviting her in for coffee and eventually
for festive meals and parties. Their neighbours helped find reliable tradesmen and
obtain planning consent, whilst engaging in the customary give and take by way of
gifts of fruit, vegetables and wine. Yet, Anna and Matthew still maintain strong links
with the expatriate community. By the time they were interviewed a second time,
Matthew had bought a second-hand boat jointly with another expatriate couple,
sharing the use of the boat on alternative weeks.
Family Role Re-adjustment and Re-creating a Sense of Home

Henry and Ed are a gay couple who met in London but relocated to Crete, buying a
house in the old Turkish quarter of Chania. They wished to restore their home in the
Turkish style, using original building materials as much as possible, tiles, wood and
fittings, scouring the island for likely sources. They proceeded to do all the work
themselves over a 10 year period. Decisions were taken jointly, but Ed was left
doing the bulk of the work on the house, whilst Henry, unable to find suitable work
in Crete, spent much of his time working in London, coming over to Crete as often
as possible. Renovation on the house was hampered by the need to obtain approval
from the local conservation office every step of the way, but they persevered and the
result is a truly stunning home.
Discussion on Differences and Similarities in Patterns

of Adjustment
OReilly (2000) documents the extent to which British expatriates in Spain are able
to use a proliferation of voluntary associations to maintain a sense of familiarity
and solidarity. Mkel and Suutari (2013) suggest that SIEs are more likely to have
local friends who are themselves expatriates or foreigners, rather than host country
nationals. Yet, this sometimes can be a mixed blessing. OReilly (2007) frames the
debate in terms of the mobility enclosure dialectic. She makes a distinction between
transnational elites who can negotiate their movement across borders and continents
with relative ease, as against less privileged groups of people who remain trapped
or encapsulated in social networks amongst fellow expatriates, with more limited
economic opportunities.
149
Some expatriates in Crete fall into the category of those entrapped within the
expatriate community, reliant on such networks for advice, support and socializing,
as well as for a means of livelihood: Colin seemed to fit this pattern. Yet, the majority
of expatriates are able to establish ties both with other expatriates and with host
nationals, although to varying degrees.
In line with Lazarova et al.s (2010) comments on family and couple role
realignment, we note that expatriate households have very nuanced patterns of
adjustment.
Often men are able to establish friendships with local Cretans more readily than
women, either through work contacts, drinking in the local tavernas or forging
common bonds through an interest in hunting, diving or similar pursuit. But some
of the women are equally adept at making contacts with Cretans. There is a sense in
which couples like Mary and Allan, Julie and Sean, Anna and Matthew, feel equally
at home and at ease both within the expatriate community and amongst their Cretan
friends and neighbours.
Sometimes one spouse had better contacts with local Cretans, whilst the other
remained more dependent on expatriate networks, this seemed the case for
Paul, who was able to establish a number of contacts in the village where he
lives, whilst Helen remains more dependent for support and socializing on the
CIC and the expatriate community. Jeremy was able to establish effective work
contacts with local Cretan tradesmen and suppliers and has a much wider network
of Cretan friends than his wife, who remains more bounded within the expatriate
community, though she is beginning to make some local contacts through her
childrens schooling. Finch et al. (2010) also note how integration into the host
community is facilitated by having children going to local schools.
For yet other couples, it is the women who are better able to cross social boundaries and establish contacts with Cretans, simply by having better communication
skills than their partner. Thus, for the couple who opened an English language
bookshop, it is the wife who spoke fluent Greek, as she studied classics at university;
she quickly established contacts with local Cretans and was more adept at dealing
with the local bureaucracy. Yet, she was also very active within the CIC and had
extensive networks within the expatriate community.
Peltokorpi and Froese (2013) suggest that SIEs generally have better cultural
adjustments and higher interaction with host country nationals than Assigned
Expatriates due to greater language fluency and to residing in less exclusive housing,
affording more opportunities for interaction with local residents. Schtter and
Boerner (2013) comment on the role of language proficiency within the expatriate
family as a whole, contributing positively to family adjustment, which in turn acts
as a resource for work-related adjustment.
150
Adjusting to Changing Circumstances

Many expatriates arrive in Crete with high expectations, which are not always met.
Finding adequate work is not easy and setting up a business enterprise has its own
uncertainties; all face new challenges.
Dorsch et al. (2013) suggest that successful adjustment to any new work
environment requires the use of several strategies, including maintenance and
transformation (the recognition of career barriers and seeking to overcome them),
entrepreneurship (taking additional risks by opening a new business to avoid
discrimination or legal constraints) and opting out (thinking outside the box and
operating outside existing structures). The life stories we outline in this section
illustrate the manner in which SIEs in Crete adopt some of these strategies.
Moreover, Thorn and Inkson (2013) document the manner in which successful
SIEs learn as they go, acquiring new skills and competences, thereby increasing
career capital. Andresen and Walther (2013) found that repatriating SIEs often
had acquired market specific knowledge, such as language skills or knowledge
about legal and system differences, whilst Doherty (2013) suggests that SIEs often
demonstrate entrepreneurial skills, pro-activity and flexibility.
Many expatriates also had to respond to changing circumstances within the
wider extended family. Our data support Mkel and Suutaris (2013) findings of
a degree of anxiety amongst expatriates concerning potential demands placed by
aging parents; and we echo Richardson (2006) that when members of the family
join those already in the new location, that may act as an inducement to stay.
Our study documents the extent to which the work-family balance changes and
evolves over time, as well as involving family ties spread over several countries
and continents. Indeed, there may be considerable movement back and forth, by
different members of the extended family, according to the particular needs and
circumstances of those involved.
An Expatriate Woman Married to a Cretan Man

An American expatriate, Betty, met her Cretan husband in the United States,
but relocated to Crete in 1994, when their 13 year old son was getting into
trouble, hanging out with the wrong crowd. They settled in her husbands village.
However, their son, unable to adjust to his new school, went to live with his paternal
uncle, helping him with house building and construction till he was 18 and old
enough to go back to the United States on his own. Her daughter successfully
completed schooling in Crete and initially worked as a hairdresser but found it more
lucrative to import beauty and nail products from the USA, supplying hair salons in
Athens. Betty left village life upon her husbands death and now rents a small flat
in the seaside resort where her daughter resides.
151
Bringing Up Children in Crete

One French couple settled in Crete, setting up a French restaurant near the old
harbour. As the kitchen was situated at the back of the restaurant, adjoining the
archaeological museum, they had to close down the restaurant when the back yard
was reclaimed by the museum for extension work. They then turned the premises
into a shop selling local crafts and produce to tourists. Meanwhile their daughter
completed her schooling via French correspondence courses and initially worked
in local hotels, took a year out to work in Australia and decided to settle there.
The parents stayed in Crete and continued to run the shop, but have since sold the
business to another French couple. They live in a village near Chania, grow grapes
and oranges and have started making an orange flavoured liqueur, which they sell
through their former shop. They are uncertain where they would like to retire France, Australia or Crete.
One American woman married to a Cretan initially helped her husband run a
restaurant but later switched to running a curio shop for the tourist trade. She would
often take her two sons to see her relatives back in the States over the Christmas
holidays. The older son now runs the shop, whilst the younger son studied at
an American university and came back to Crete to complete his military service.
However, he failed to find adequate employment and has now moved to Aberdeen,
in Scotland, where a previous classmate has found employment and job prospects
are much better than in Greece.
Caring for Elderly Parents

We have already referred to Colin, who spent some time as a paid carer for a
wheelchair-bound elderly woman. The womans daughter had relocated to Crete,
where she found a suitable flat for her mother to rent. Yet, the mother could not
get used to the place, did not speak any Greek, and within the year insisted on
going back to England. The daughter remained in Crete for a while, but when the
bookshop failed, the couple relocated to another part of Greece where she could find
work teaching English in a school.
Mutual Support Within a Three Generational Family

Rose had come to Crete to help her parents run a small holiday complex. She met
Lenny, an American marine on shore leave. They married and settled in Crete, with
Lenny taking a civilian post on the American base. Lennys mother joined them
upon the arrival of their second child, to help look after the children. When the
children were diagnosed as autistic, the family reviewed their options. Rose decided
152
to move back to England, with better special needs schools and a more supportive
environment. Roses parents stayed in Crete to look after the holiday business,
whilst Lenny found alternative work on the American base in Naples and tries to
see his children as often as he can.
Discussion on Adjusting to Changing Circumstances

Much could be reported on the constant need to adapt to ever changing circumstances in the lives of expatriates, whether on the economic or personal and domestic
front.
On the economic front, maintenance and transformation strategies (Dorsch et al.
2013) were employed by Jeremy in his ability to recognise how to make the most
of the opportunities available, switching between making wrought iron gates and
installing solar panels, whilst investigating the possibility of erecting wind turbines.
Through trial and error he was able to establish which of the local tradesmen he
could rely upon to help him in his work, as well as insisting that clients pay him up
front before embarking on any work, rather than being paid at the end of a job.
Most self-employed expatriates had to employ a combination of transformation
strategy and entrepreneurship (Dorsch et al. 2013). When Bettys daughter found
that there were no adequate prospects in hairdressing, she switched to importing
nail and beauty products in order to supply hair salons in Athens. Some expatriates
switched from the restaurant trade to running curio shops, but one enterprising expatriate imported Native American crafts as an added attraction for those interested in
New Age.
Economic opportunities and work challenges are only part of the mix that goes
into the decision whether to stay or leave. Our study has highlighted the extent to
which household decisions are influenced by what is happening to other members
of the extended family.
Schtter and Boerner (2013) suggest that researchers should consider the importance of adjustment of the family as a whole, including dependent children, noting
that the perception of family adjustment as either a stressor or a resource can change
over the course of time.
Depending on circumstances and inclination, different members of the wider
family unit may opt to join, stay or leave those already in Crete. Indeed, those
relocating or repatriating do not necessarily move as a household unit, and the
particular configuration of who stays or leaves may be constantly shifting. This has
so far not been adequately examined in the extant literature.
Different members of the household living in Crete may take different stances
and opt for different outcomes. Thus, the younger generation may search for new
opportunities further afield, whilst the older generation may seek repatriation; yet we
have also highlighted different options taken by siblings and hinted at differences
amongst couples on this matter.
153
Different patterns of adjustment and differing positions within a family unit are
topics which deserve further exploration. In our study we came across a number of
expatriate women married to Cretan men, but also a small number of such women
who had divorced their Cretan husbands and decided to stay on in Crete, set up
their own business venture or found employment on the island. Equally, marriages
amongst expatriates in Crete did sometimes break down, whilst the death or serious
illness of one of the spouses would also bring into question whether to stay or leave.
Such family traumas might lead to repatriation, as some have suggested (Rutter and
Andrew 2009; Doherty and Dickmann 2013; Mkel and Suutari 2013), but not
unavoidably.
Directions for Further Research

More research is called for which links the expatriates experience of relocation
with their previous life histories and those of the members of their wider extended
families, increasingly spread over several countries, if not continents (Kaufmann
and Widmer 2006). The influence of life events (such as marriage break-up,
redundancy, ill health), together with life stage transitions would also need to be
taken into account. Hence, Thorn (2009) comments that motives for relocation vary
not only according to destinations but also crucially according to gender and life
stage.
In terms of our own research, redundancy and early retirement featured quite
prominently for some expatriates in our study, who took the opportunity to launch
new economic ventures, whether in real estate, farming, a bookshop or similar
enterprise, with varying degrees of success. Marriage breakdown was another point
of transition which affected the decision to relocate to Crete, whilst for some
marriage breakdown during their stay in Crete brought sharply to the fore the
question as to whether to stay or to repatriate. For yet others in our study, business
failure did not necessarily entail repatriation, but could lead to new business ventures
or relocation elsewhere. Some were on a continuous quest; like the young couple
who had travelled extensively in the Far East and had decided to set up a bar in
Chania with a tropical theme, hoping to attract a younger crowd and set a new trend.
Significantly, further research needs to examine the relocation experience
of expatriates in the context of the lives of those close to them, especially within
the extended family. Researchers have indicated the importance of reciprocal family
adjustments to the new location (Lazarova et al. 2010; Schtter and Boerner 2013)
and the impact of changing needs of members of the wider extended family on
repatriation decisions of SIEs (Mkel and Suutari 2013). Crucially, our own study
has highlighted the extent to which household decisions are in constant flux, forever
responding to changing needs and demands of various members of the household
and of the extended family. Indeed, at different times, family members may opt to
join, stay or leave those working on assignments abroad.
154
Conclusion
Our study has focused on members of an expatriate association based in Crete. This
provides us with a more varied and diverse expatriate population sample than most
work-based expatriate research. The longitudinal nature of the study enabled us to
examine the unfolding process of relocation. As a result, we have been able to
document the complexity of adjustments as multi-faceted, nuanced and varied,
constantly evolving in response to a world that is itself in constant flux (Bauman
2007).
All the economically active expatriates in our sample were SIEs, many of
them visiting Crete first as tourists before deciding to settle there, whilst others
married local partners. Some came with the specific intention to engage in particular
activities, such as tour guiding, teaching English as a foreign language, real estate,
hotel and catering, or running a bookshop. Others took on whatever economic roles
they could, as opportunities arose.
Our analysis has focused on the process of adjustment to the new environment,
a process which we see as an ongoing process over time, involving all the members
of the expatriate household and even, at times, members of the wider extended
family. We examined three key areas suggested by the model of adjustment adopted
Black and Gregersen (1991), cultural adjustment, interaction with host nationals and
adjustment to new work demands. In addition we added two further aspects, namely
family role re-adjustment (Lazarova et al. 2010) and re-creating a sense of home
(Papadopoulos 2002).
In terms of socio-cultural adjustments, it is clear that expatriates relocating
to Crete live simultaneously in a multiplicity of social worlds, retaining ties
with friends and family back home, whilst creating new relationships in Crete.
Yet,
the nature of adjustment is far from uniform and varies considerably, even
within the same household; indeed, we detected a fourfold division within our
sample.
1. Some expatriates are almost exclusively dependent on the expatriate enclave for
support, advice, sociability and sometimes even livelihood. They generally have
limited command of Greek and only few contacts with local Cretans.
2. A number of expatriate households display a mixed approach, whereby one
member of the household is more adapt at establishing friendships with local
Cretans through work contacts, drinking in the local taverna or through a
particular hobby or pursuit, whilst other members of the household are more
reliant on the expatriate enclave.
3. Both spouses are able to establish extensive contacts with other expatriates as
well as with Cretan neighbours and friends, are equally at ease in both social
worlds and generally have good conversational Greek.
4. A number of expatriate women are married to local Cretans. In such cases
the husband is immersed in the local Cretan community, the wife bridges both
worlds, whilst the children may go through the local Greek school system whilst
maintaining some links with their mothers home background and extended
family.
155
On the economic front, SIEs often have to adjust to different ways of operating
in Greece from what they have been used to. This entails adopting maintenance and
transformation strategies, as outlined by Dorsch et al. (2013). A striking example
of this is presented by Jeremy, who had to learn as he goes (Thorn and Inkson
2013), in terms of how best to work alongside Cretan tradesmen, switching between
installing wrought iron gates and solar panels and learning to be paid up-front. Most
self-employed expatriates, however, had to employ a combination of transformation
strategy and entrepreneurship (Dorsch et al. 2013). Thus, many of those who started
in the restaurant business had to switch to running curios shops for the tourist trade.
All of them had to learn how best to deal with the local bureaucracy, in order to
obtain relevant licenses and permits, whilst some saw their businesses fail, leading
to repatriation or relocation elsewhere.
However, economic opportunities and work challenges are only part of the
mix that goes into the decision whether to stay or leave. Family dynamics and
changing demands within the immediate family can be perceived either as stressors
or resources (Schtter and Boerner 2013). A further aspect to take into account
is the changing and evolving needs within the wider extended family, and it is here
that our study probably makes its most distinctive contribution, documenting
the way in which expatriate households adjust to relocation in a highly fluid
manner, adjusting and readjusting according to the evolving needs, interests and
motivations of different members of the wider extended family, accounting to
changing circumstances of those involved.
We agree with Thorn and Inkson (2013) that decisions concerning relocation
should not be viewed in isolation from prior history of mobility, employment and
life stage; yet, neither should they be viewed in isolation from what is happening
to other members of the wider extended family. Our own study suggests a much
more fluid and dynamic process, whereby members of the extended family as well
as members of the household may opt to join, stay or leave those already in Crete,
at different times and in different constellations. All in all, the expatriate process,
as it unfolds, both reveals as well as unleashes lifes essential truisms: a story of
uncertainty, complexity and change.
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Chapter 9
International Business Travel and Work-Family

Balance: Research Review and Future Directions
Kati Saarenp
Abstract The aim of this chapter is to review the existing studies on the workfamily interface of international business travelers (IBTs), chart the under-reported
research avenues, and offer some proposals for further studies. According to
reviewed literature work with travel abroad makes unusual demands of both
travellers and their family members, and requires a high degree of flexibility,
understanding, and cooperation from the whole family. Understanding the impact of
travel at the family level is important in order to enhance the travellers well-being
and efficiency. The volume of research on IBTs has grown considerably over the last
few decades, but compared to the literature on the work-family interface in general,
the research in the context of the work-family interface of IBTs remains focused
on quite limited issues, and uses restricted research methods. Several proposals for
interesting future research are provided, such as positive enriching effect of travel,
how children are affected by the absence of other parent. Also age, gender and
marital status as an influencing factor in how international travel is experiences
should be taken into consideration in future research.
Keywords International business travel Work-family interface Work-family
balance Work-family conflict Research review Research agenda
Introduction
Mobility and the internationalisation of careers is a major feature of working life
today. The number of people who travel abroad for work continues to rise. Although
technical advances such as video conferences allow communication without physical meetings, face-to-face encounters between individuals who are working far apart
from one another are important to the transfer of tacit information, the coordination
of activities, the negotiation of agreements and creation of relationships of trust
among key staff (Davidson and Cope 2003; Faulconbridge and Beaverstock 2008).
K. Saarenp ()
Department of Management, University of Vaasa, P.O. Box 700, 65101 Vaasa, Finland
e-mail: kati.saarenpaa@uva.fi
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Work including frequent travelling may pose both psychological and physical
challenges (Patel 2011), as well as difficulties in integrating work and family life
(e.g. Shaffer and Harrison 2005; Welch et al. 2007).
The rise of mobile workers has increased the research interest in international
business travelling and its consequences. The majority of business traveller research
has been conducted within the field of travel medicine, and has concentrated
on physical disorders, such as travel-related illness (Liese et al. 1997; Patel
2011), on psychological disorders, such as sleeping, eating and drinking problems
(Burkholder et al. 2010; DeFrank et al. 2000), psychological stress (Striker et al.
2000) and burnout (Westman and Etzion 2004). Moreover, existing research on
international business travellers (IBTs) has covered themes such as their roles and
the activities (Welch et al. 2007), and lifestyle and identity issues (Lassen 2010).
Business travel has also been studied from the perspective of the organisation; for
example from the perspective of business travel management (Holma 2010, 2012;
Jenkins 1993).
Because an international business travellers job involves frequent short business
trips abroad without their families (Shaffer and Harrison 2005), the families of
travellers do not experience identical problems to the likes of expatriate families
struggling with a relocation process. However, regular departures and absences, and
the necessity to work extended hours even when in the home country do affect
the well-being of the whole family (Espino et al. 2002; Gustafson 2012; Striker
et al. 2000; Welch et al. 2007; Welch and Worm 2006). Blurred boundaries between
private and work time and are typical aspects of both international assignments and
international business travel (Mayerhofer et al. 2010). Just as a stable and supportive
family environment can diminish the effects of travel stress (DeFrank et al. 2000),
so its absence can increase such stress.
Although work and family are clearly closely related, research related to IBTs
has primarily focused on the traveller, and paid little attention to the consequences
of travel for the family (Gustafson 2013). Those studies that have examined the
effects of travel on the family have focused on a rather limited set of issues and
there are ample research gaps about how and why international business travel
affects domesticity, family members, and family dynamics. To obtain a broader
understanding it is worthwhile reviewing the kind of aspects covered in the general
research on combining work and family.
Work and family are closely linked (Kinnunen et al. 2014), and there is a
connection between experiences at the work-life interface (also referred to as an
interplay or interaction) and personal well-being (Hildebrandt and Littig 2006).
(Work-life can be interpreted as a broader definition than work-family, i.e. work-life
includes experiences in all life domains (e.g. Kirchmeyer 2000)). Working people
with families can be seen as members of both a work and a family system; both
of which demand time and effort, therefore work and family can be considered
concurrent systems.
The concept of the family cannot be determined precisely. In some cultures
the family is restricted to the nuclear family; parents (mother and father) and the
children. In other cultures the concept of family is extended, also grandparents,
9 International Business Travel and Work-Family Balance: Research Review. . .
161
uncles, aunts and cousins are considered to belong to the family. Nowadays
the concept of family builds on various forms of relationships than before; the
increase of unmarried families, divorced or reconstituted family, as well as legally
acknowledged of same-sex couples have changed the definitions of family.
The interest in the issues of work and family originally arose following the
entry of women into the job market. Recently, research interest has expanded to
encompass issues like dual-career couples and the heightened need for flexibility
at work (Bergstrm Casinowsky 2013). Early research on work-family interaction
focused on negative interactions between work and family, while today interaction
between these domains is seen as a bidirectional and double-layered phenomenon
(Greenhaus and Beutell 1985; Kinnunen et al. 2014). Work can interfere with family
and family with work, and the relationship between work and family can be either
negative or positive.
The interface between work and family has been analysed from different points
of view, such as the integration and segmentation of work and family (Frone 2003),
the work-family balance (Frone 2003), or work-family conflict referring to negative work-family interactions, and work-family enrichment, referring to positive
interactions (Greenhaus and Beutell 1985). Models commonly used to explain
both negative and positive work-family interactions are antecedent and outcome
models, and spillover-crossover models (Kinnunen et al. 2014). Research on how
people manage with work and family demands is conducted within coping-research
(Lazarus and Folkman 1984; Mauno et al. 2012). Some of these perspectives have
already been applied in the context of international business travelling, at least
to some extent, but there remains a limited number of studies on how frequent
international business travel affects the integration of work and family concerns
(Bergbom et al. 2011; Mkel et al. 2012; Nicholas and McDowall 2012).
Given the above, the aims of this chapter are to review existing studies on
the work-family interface of IBTs, chart the under-reported research avenues, and
offer some proposals for further studies. The chapter is organised as follows.
First, an overview of the basic concepts in the area of work-family interaction is
offered. Next, the existing literature relating to the work-family interface of IBTs is
reviewed. Finally, a summary and directions for future research is provided.
The Research Perspectives on Work-Family Interactions

We now know that the integration of work and family is a bidirectional phenomena:
work can affect the family, and family can affect work. There have been several
attempts to understand the multi-faceted phenomenon of integrating work and
family (Eby et al. 2005). As early as the 1970s (see, Kinnunen et al. 2006) it was
reported that the interference between work and family can be either negative or
positive (Frone et al. 1997b; Kinnunen et al. 2014). Nonetheless, the research on
work and family to a large extent relies on the conflict orientation, meaning that the
competing demands between work and family often result in conflict.
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Segmentation and Integration of Work and Family

Maintaining a balance between work and other spheres of life is important to
psychological well-being (Clark 2000). The work-family balance has been defined
in various ways: Some researchers consider it simply an absence of work-family
conflict (Duxbury and Higgins 2001) or a scarcity of conflict; satisfaction and good
functioning at work and at home with a minimum of role conflict (Clark 2001).
According to Frone (2003) there is balance between work and family when workfamily conflict is low and work-family enrichment is high. Greenblatt (2002, p. 179)
has described work-life balance, concept close connected to work-family balance, as
satisfying the needs of both oneself and those one is committed to support. Balance
between work and family does not mean equal time spent on each; instead, balance
is experienced when successfully managing different fields of life.
An important factor affecting the work-family balance is the degree to which
individuals integrate or segment work and family roles (Kreiner 2006; NippertEng 1996). Segmentation of work and family can be defined as the degree to
which aspects of each domain are kept separate from one another (Kreiner 2006).
Segmenters choose to keep work and family as separate as possible, and rarely
bring elements of one domain into the other. Segmentation can involve creating
physical, cognitive or behavioural boundaries (Casper et al. 2013). Other people
instead integrate elements of work and family. For these integrators, boundaries
between work and family domains are either non-existent or very permeable
(Ashforth et al. 2000; Kreiner 2006). Besides individual differences workplaces
also create a different kind of environment affecting the segmentation or integration
of work and family (Kirchmeyer 1995; Kreiner 2006). Either segmentation or
integration cannot prefer better than other, both have advantages, through which
an individual can facilitate the reconciliation of work and family.
Negative Sides of the Work and Family Interface

Early research on negative work-family interactions focused on role stress theory
and the scarcity perspective (Casper et al. 2013; Kinnunen et al. 2014). Role stress
theory holds that having multiple roles (e.g. spouse, parent, employee) can generate
expectations and pressures that can create psychological conflict and role overload
(Kahn et al. 1964). The scarcity perspective suggests that because individuals
resources are limited, work and family compete for scare resources (Goode 1960;
Marks 1977). Competing for scarce resources fuels work-family conflict.
Greenhaus and Beutell (1985, 77) defined work-family conflict (WFC) as a form
in which the role pressure from work and family domains are mutually incompatible
in some respect. The conflict element has been classified in three different forms
(1985). Time-based conflict occurs because multiple roles may compete for a
persons time, and time devoted to one role makes it difficult to perform another
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role (shortage of time). Strain-based conflict occurs when strain experienced in one
role intrudes into and interferes with the performance of another role (spillover
of strain from work to family/family-to-work). Behaviour-based conflict occurs
when specific behaviours required in one role are incompatible with behavioural
expectations in another role.
Work-family conflict has been proved to be associated with general well-being,
and satisfaction with both work and family life (Aryee 1992; Frone et al. 1997a;
Kinnunen and Mauno 1998; Kossek and Ozeki 1998). According to the conceptual
model of the work-family interface, the predictors of WFC are job and family
stressors, and job and family involvement (Frone et al. 1992). Frone and colleagues
also propose that job stressors are directly and positively related to WFC, and family
stressors are directly and positively related to family-work conflict (FWC). Conflict
between family and work can occur in two directions: family can interfere with work
resulting in FWC or work can interfere with family (producing WFC) (Greenhaus
and Beutell 1985).
As indicated above individuals may face multiple challenges when combining
work and family. Use of coping has been posited as a way to maintain balance and
resolve conflicting situations between these two life domains.
Coping with Negative Work-Family Interaction

When an individual encounters challenges or negative events, effective use of coping
strategies can help maintain physical and mental well-being. The concept of coping
began to take shape in the 1960s and 1970s, when stress became a popular research
target (Lazarus 1993). Coping in the context of WFC can be summarised as the
conscious efforts made to get through stressful situations, or actions and thoughts
that enable individuals to handle difficult situations (Stone et al. 1988: 183).
Coping is often studied via coping strategies (Mauno et al. 2012). The distinction
between emotion-focused and problem-focused strategies is probably that most
often used to categorise coping strategies on a broad level (e.g. Stahl and Caligiuri
2005). Emotional coping is likely to occur if it seems that nothing can be
done to modify the harmful, threatening, or challenging environmental condition.
The problem-focused forms of coping are appropriate when something can be
done about the situation (Lazarus and Folkman 1984). In addition, research on
family coping has carried on. Work-family coping strategies are the coping efforts
and behaviours employed when the aim is to improve or maintain the balance
between work and family commitments. Mauno and colleagues (2012) suggest three
work-family coping strategies to maintain the balance between work and family
commitments; delegating at home/work, being super at home/work, and being
good enough at home/work.
Although the main focus of research has been on the negative sides of the work
and family interface; positive sides have also increasingly attracted research.
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Positive Sides of the Work and Family Interface

Early conceptions underlined the negative interactions between work and family,
but later research noted that work and family can benefit each other. However, there
is still limited evidence on such positive sides of the work-family interface, and
the roots of that research are in the enhancement or expansion hypothesis, which
asserts that multiple roles can be beneficial because they can offer greater access to
resources and improve the likelihood of achieving role balance (Marks 1977; Sieber
1974). For example Barnett and Hydes (2001) research indicates that multiple roles
improve both mens and womens psychological, physical, and relationship health.
The research on positive relationships between work and family has employed
different concepts, such as enrichment (Wayne et al. 2006; Wayne 2009), facilitation
(Grzywacz and Butler 2005), positive spillover (Grzywacz and Marks 2000), and
enhancement (Fisher et al. 2009). Greenhaus and Powell (2006) combined all the
positive constructs mentioned under a single construct: work-family enrichment,
which is the extent to which experiences in one role improve the quality of life in
the other role. To generalise, work-family enrichment is the opposite experience to
WFC (Mauno et al. 2012).
Besides studying the negative and positive interactions, prior research has
concentrated on antecedents and outcomes of these interactions. In the next section,
the concepts of antecedents and outcomes are briefly reviewed.
Antecedents and Outcomes of Negative and Positive

Work-Family Interactions
Antecedent and outcome models aim to explain the factors behind the experiences
of negative and positive work-family interactions. Antecedents have typically been
placed in three categories: work domain variables, non-work domain variables,
and individual and demographic variables (Byron 2005; Casper et al. 2007). Work
domain antecedents include total working hours, flexibility of work schedules,
organisational culture, and support (Byron 2005).
Non-work domain antecedents refer to families, and choices of leisure time
activities; they also vary according to the family situation (single/parent, childrens
age etc.) (Guest 2002). One approach to the issue of researching non-work domain
antecedents is the crossover effect. Crossover can be described as a dyadic,
transmission process between people where one persons experiences affect the
experience of another person in the same social environment (Bolger et al. 1989).
Both positive and negative experiences can crossover (Carlson et al. 2010), but
existing research has mainly concentrated on the crossover of negative experiences
and emotions (Carlson et al. 2010; Westman 2001). Research has detected three
main mechanisms behind the crossover process; (1) common stressors, which
increase the strain on both partners, and cause strain to cross over from one
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situation to another, (2) empathetic reactions, based on the close relationship

between partners who share their lives and care for one another, and (3) indirect
crossover, where the transmission is mediated by interpersonal exchanges. Increased
stress produces negative interaction styles that can create additional stress for a
spouse (Westman et al. 2008b; Westman and Vinokur 1998). The definition of the
mechanisms of crossover was originally developed for negative crossover, but was
later also extended to embrace positive events (Westman et al. 2008b). Individual
and demographic variables of antecedent and outcome models comprise factors such
as age, gender, personality career stage, and incomes (Kinnunen and Mauno 2001).
The interaction between work and family has various outcomes for individuals
and also for families and work (Voydanoff 2002). According to Voydanoff individual outcomes include psychological and physical well-being; work outcomes
comprise job performance, absenteeism, turnover, involvement, and job satisfaction.
Family outcomes include marital and family involvement and satisfaction, marital
conflict and stability, family cohesion, and developmental outcomes for children.
There is a strong tradition of work and family research, and many of its
perspectives are useful in order to understand the work-life balance issues of IBTs.
The rest of this chapter focuses on reviewing the existing research on the workfamily interactions of IBTs using the same structure as used previously to review
the general research perspectives on work-family interactions.
Work-Family Interactions Among International Business

Travellers
International business traveller are persons for whom a significant part of their work
involves international visits to foreign countries (Welch et al. 2007). Similarly to
general work-family research, research focusing on the work and family issues
of IBTs has also mainly concentrated on negative aspects. The importance of the
work-family interactions of IBTs was recognised as early as the 1970s (Culbert
and Renshaw 1972), but since the late 1990s the research has diversified, meaning
the consequences of business travel have been considered from different research
perspectives (Dimberg et al. 2002; Espino et al. 2002; Liese et al. 1997; Striker
et al. 1999, 2000). The findings of such research highlight the negative effects on
both travellers and their families (Dimberg et al. 2002; Espino et al. 2002).
Although the empirical research has not focused on the issue of integration and
segmentation of work and family for IBTs, it seems that the integration of work
and family among IBTs is rather high. Presumably, the business travel stress model
(DeFrank et al. 2000) would provide support to the supposed high integration. In
the model, international business travel is considered as a circle in which the phases
of leaving, absence, and homecoming alternate. The travel process is divided into
three stages (pre-, during-, post-trip), each of which has its unique stressors that
create personal stress reactions. It can be assumed that work involving travelling
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influences life outside work quite extensively, and it is quite possible that the high
integration of work and family exposes the negative interactions between these two
domains.
In this section, the existing research on negative interactions is first discussed.
Then research on coping, positive work-family interactions, and finally research on
the antecedents of negative and positive interactions is reviewed.
Negative Work-Family Interactions Due to Work-Related Travel

International business travel has been found to place a strain on travellers themselves, but also on family life, and family members. Experience of stress caused
by work travel is common among travellers, and research also indicates negative
outcomes for spouses (Dimberg et al. 2002; Espino et al. 2002; Mayerhofer et al.
2004; Nicholas and McDowall 2012; Orthner and Roderick 2009; Stewart and
Donald 2006; Westman et al. 2008b). Business travel was also found to be more
stressful for travellers with families, and especially those with young children
(Espino et al. 2002). However, having children in the household may also have
an attenuating effect on the stress levels of travellers (Striker et al. 1999), perhaps
because having a family with children provides an important source of social support
to reduce stress.
To some extent, the consequences of business travel are unavoidable and such
travel demands extra flexibility from the family (Bergbom et al. 2011). The absence
from home due to work-related travel of a parent or partner complicates family
life and affects such things as attendance at family events (Espino et al. 2002).
Other issues reported include role strain on the part of spouses, lack of security and
support, and loneliness (Stewart and Donald 2006). In dual-career families, spouses
may find it difficult to manage all the home and childcare commitments without
their partner. Spouses of IBTs also face issues combining work and family demands
and Nicholas and McDowall (2012) refer to the family-to-work conflicts of spouses,
because it will often be the IBTs work routine that is prioritised, if, for example,
one parent has to stay home with a sick child.
Previous medical studies indicate that there is relationship between business
travel and travellers psychological issues, such as depression, anxiety, and drinking
problems (Patel 2011). The stress caused by frequent travel can also spill over
and affect the psychological and physical health of travellers spouses (Dimberg
et al. 2002). Spouses have also been reported to experience feelings of stress, anger
and resentment, due to their partners work-related travelling (Espino et al. 2002).
Spouses who more frequently experience work-related separations have been found
to be at greater risk of psychological ill-being (Orthner and Roderick 2009).
In addition to the discussion on the psychological influences of travel, there has
also been some research on the potential damage to marriages caused by workrelated travel of both international and domestic types. Commuters for example, and
especially international business commuters, can be compared to IBTs. International
167
business commuters are people who cross international borders when they commute
from home to work (Briscoe et al. 2009), and in consequence are separated from
their families in a similar way to IBTs. Studies among commuters have illustrated
negative psychological and emotional impacts on the spouses of absent husbands
(Cooper and Sloan 1985; Isay 1968; Morrice et al. 1985; Rigg and Cosgrove 1994),
and studies on IBTs indicate negative outcomes resulting from marital separation.
Absence from home has for example been noted to result in marital problems and
gradual emotional distancing between spouses (Espino et al. 2002; Stewart and
Donald 2006; Striker et al. 1999).
Roehling and Bultman (2002) studied the relationship between work-related
travel and marital satisfaction and found that gender role attitudes affect marital
satisfaction, especially among couples with children at home. Marital satisfaction
in travellers marriages is highest when gender role attitudes and gender role
behaviours are congruent. If a husband travels, traditional gender roles contribute
to marital satisfaction. When a wife travels and the couple have traditional gender
role attitudes, marital satisfaction is reduced. If a couple is non-traditional, they are
generally less happy if either of the partners travels.
There is little information on how a parents international business travel affects
their children, but Espino et al. (2002) reported changes in childrens behaviour as
a result of the absence of a parent, and Stewart and Donald (2006) also reported
detecting strain on children in such circumstances.
Coping with Negative Work to Family Interactions

As discussed, international travel creates special challenges in integrating work and
family. The multiple roles of IBTs mean they need to develop coping strategies
if they are to find a work-family balance, and to prevent stress, dissatisfaction and
marital difficulties (Nicholas and McDowall 2012). The coping strategies the family
applies are specific to the family and will be negotiated within the family system.
There is little research on the coping strategies of IBTs, but there is some
on the coping strategies of travellers. Nicholas and McDowall (2012) identified
adaptability, negotiating and compromising with significant others, and flexibility as
the main coping strategies travellers apply to cope with the negative consequences
of travel. Adaptability means both travellers and their families adapting to and
accepting the chosen lifestyle. The key factor in adaptability is learning, which
enables successful adaptation to multiple roles. Negotiation in turn refers to the need
to negotiate with family, friends, and employers to find the balance between work
and family. The irregular nature of the travelling for work adds the need to negotiate,
particularly over childcare arrangements and domestic responsibilities. Compromise
may be important, for example, when arranging to spend quality time with the
family; and flexibility mainly refers to the flexibility afforded by the employer.
Gustafson (2013) has discussed how travellers apply different kinds of strategies
to cope with the impacts of travel and meet both family and work commitments.
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Gustafson describes temporal strategies as an intensification of time, meaning that

travellers try to minimise travel time, use their working time effectively, and allocate
quality time for their family and friends.
In addition, other studies recognise family as a factor crucial to the choice
of coping strategies. Lassen (2010) notes how personal circumstances such as
the family situation have an impact on the selection of coping strategies. Lassen
identified three different coping strategies that can help IBTs cope with work
demanding considerable travel; those are career, juggling, and family strategies.
Travellers who adopt a career strategy consider a high level of work mobility and
an international orientation as a core element of their self-conception and identity.
Work and travel is a lifestyle choice for career strategists. They are typically single
or have a supportive partner. Juggling strategists try to combine work with travel
and family demands. For them, family and work are equally important, and either
work or family is chosen over the other as the situation demands. Family strategists
prioritise their family, for example, planning business trips to take account of the
needs of the family.
Research addressing the differences between male and female travellers is rare,
though some studies indicate that strategies to cope with the problems caused by
travel are related to gender (Bergstrm 2010; Gustafson 2006). Women might avoid
overnight trips to overcome the negative feelings related to travel, and may be
willing to travel long distances to come home for the night, whereas men are more
likely to opt for an overnight stay away.
Stewart and McDonald (2006) focused on how spouses cope with their partners
absence. They found the majority of the strategies employed to be targeted at dealing
with role overload and with the expectations and needs of children and of colleagues.
Spouses used both problem and emotion-focused strategies. Social support and
work flexibility appeared to be the most important resources when spouses tried to
manage family and work commitments during their partners absence. Furthermore,
Nicholas and McDowall (2012) report that spouses staying home had to make
special arrangements to manage work commitments and their familys demands
simultaneously, and that involved negotiating with their employers.
While there is no empirical evidence on how international business travel affects
children, it can be assumed that frequent separation from one parent may have some
effect. Maintaining the connection with a regularly absent parent can be seen as a
kind of coping. Although daily (video) calls home, and e-mails cannot replace the
personal contact with an absent parent, they are practices that may make separation
easier for children (Mayerhofer et al. 2004).
Positive Work-Family Interactions Due to Work-Related

Travel
Only a few studies have concentrated on outcomes of work-family enrichment
among IBTs. Instead, the positive outcomes of work-related travel have mainly been
observed from the travellers perspective, and in particular from the perspective
169
of his/her career outcomes. Several studies refer to positive outcomes from work
involving travel, such as variation and novelty, new experiences, and international
opportunities, and social networks that contribute to the employees personal and
professional growth, and promote travellers careers (Mayerhofer et al. 2010;
Oddou et al. 2000; Shaffer et al. 2012; Starr and Currie 2009; Welch and Worm
2006). Positive and enriching experiences, like social and professional status, career
advancement, and a cosmopolitan identity have also been associated with workrelated travel (Gustafson 2013).
A recent study found WLC and enrichment to be almost equally common
among IBTs (Mkel et al. 2014). Moreover, Westman et al. (2008a, b) noticed
that positive work-related feelings and attitudes, specifically, vigour at work, cross
over from business traveller to spouse. The vigour of travellers crossed over to
influence their spouses vigour as a result of a process of empathy. In addition,
Stewart and Donald (2006) refer to positive outcomes of work-related travel for the
spouse. The travelling partners absence increased the spouses independence and
space, encouraged career advancement, and enabled spouses to concentrate on other
relationships and interests. It was also shown that if the parent staying home is male,
the relationship with the children is enriched, as during the spouses absence their
contact time with children increased. More detailed research would be necessary to
fully understand the enriching outcomes that may be by-products of international
business travel.
Antecedents and Outcomes of Negative and Positive

Interactions
The antecedents of work-family interactions are also often classified in the international context as belonging to the work domain, the non-work domain, the
individual, and the demographic domains. Several researchers have suggested
reasons for travel disturbing the work-family balance, and placing stress on family
members (Espino et al. 2002; Jensen 2013; Striker et al. 2000).
Because there is little research on the positive interactions, very little research
has been done on the antecedents of positive work-family interactions, and only one
study concentrating on the antecedent of work-life enrichment of IBTs was found
(Mkel et al. 2014). The research on antecedents of negative and positive workfamily interactions will be reviewed below using the work-, non-work, individual,
and demographic domain classifications.
Work Domain Antecedents of Negative and Positive

Previous research emphasises the connection between the number of the trips and
the strain experienced by both travellers and their families. However, there is no
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consensus over whether it is the length of trip, the number of trips, or their frequency
that is the most detrimental to the work-family balance. Spending more than 50
days travelling each year has been shown to affect family life through the build
up of work that must be addressed by sacrificing what should have been family
time (Hyrkknen et al. 2011). The length of travel has been found to be positively
related to WLC (Mkel et al. 2014). Dimberg et al. (2002) see the length of
absences to be a critical factor for spouses, and found those spouses whose partners
spent longer periods travelling to more often experience symptoms associated with
negative psychological well-being, than those who were separated from partners for
shorter periods. Espino et al.s (2002) study establishes a connection between the
number of travel days and the stress experienced by spouse, as well as changes to
childrens behaviour. Welch and Worm (2006) suggest that the frequency of the
trips exposes family problems more than infrequent but longer absences which
allow more continuity. Furthermore, Jensens (2013) study establishes a positive
relationship between business travel frequency and WFC.
One of the factors most strongly associated with stress for people whose work
involves a great deal of travelling is the lack of control over their own work
(Vartiainen et al. 2005). Adjusting to having to travel at short notice places more
strain on the traveller and their family than long-planned trips do (Welch and Worm
2006). Furthermore, both Espino et al. (2002) and Wickham and Vecchi (2009)
emphasised that a large number of trips does not necessarily add travel-related
strain, if the traveller can prearrange the times and details of the trips. Jensens
(2013) findings support the previous finding and the study adds that the reduction of
travel frequency alone does not diminish the conflict, and the more important factor
is the extent to which the traveller has control over their trips, which contributes to
the reduction in WFC. Many international companies have tightened their travel
policies in pursuit of cost savings (Mason 2002), and have restricted travellers
autonomy to arrange their business trips. Such strict travel policies may expose
travellers to travel stress, and consequently affect their families (DeFrank et al.
2000).
People also become distressed in the face of frequent changes to schedules and
not being able to establish routines (Fisher and Cooper 1990). In the study by
Espino and colleagues (2002), spouses of travellers reported behavioural changes
among their children that they associated with the work-related travel of a parent.
They found that there was a correlation between the reported behavioural changes
and the number and duration of trips, last minute changes to travel schedules, the
interference of last minute changes with family plans, and the number of occasions
when the absent parent missed family celebrations or events.
Several studies refer to family separation, which in this context means absence
because of work-related travel, as an antecedent of negative work-family interactions. The combination of travel and family separation may for example place
time-based strain on the work-family interface if the traveller lacks time to devote
to the family (Shaffer et al. 2012). Another significant factor affecting the general
quality of working life and the balance between work and family among IBTs is
family separation and the need to work outside regular office hours (Welch and
171
Worm 2006). Similarly, DeFrank et al. (2000) point to family separation, travel
stress and health issues as a source of negative effects on the work-family balance
of IBTs.
Some researchers have detected that how people experience travel-related stress
varies in different stages of a trip. The level of stress level has been identified
as highest before the trip and lowest after the return home (Westman and Etzion
2002). Even if the stress level reduces when the traveller returns home, the travelrelated stress does not disappear completely. Travel takes its toll, and the traveller
needs time for physical and emotional recovery after a trip. The longer the trip, the
more likely the traveller is to experience post-trip stress (DeFrank et al. 2000). The
absence from work is likely to have resulted in a build up of tasks that increase
the normal workload upon return, and once home the IBT may experience stress
as a consequence of not having met their familial responsibilities (Ivancevich et al.
2003). For all these reasons, it is possible that stress experienced as a result of workrelated travel causes work-family conflicts.
Non-work Domain Antecedents of Negative and Positive

Gustafson (2006) examined how the family situation influences work-related travel,
and found it seemed to be the major factor behind experiences of conflict between
work and family. Travellers with a partner and those with children are more reluctant
to travel than those who live alone (Gustafson 2006; Roehling and Bultman 2002).
It seems that one main reason behind WFC arising due to travel is that having a
family increases social and emotional burdens. Concern over the impact of travel on
the family has been proven one of the most important causes of travel-related stress
experienced by travellers (Striker et al. 1999). Conflict may arise for example due
to unforeseen events during the travellers absence, for instance if a child suddenly
falls ill (Nicholas and McDowall 2012).
Individual and Demographic Domain Antecedents of Negative

and Positive Work-Family Interactions
Although both male and female travellers struggle with similar issues, it can be even
more challenging for women to integrate work involving travel with their family
responsibilities (Frone et al. 1992). Gender, and the different gender roles, affects
how women and men experience interactions between work and family. Having
young children seems to reduce the willingness to travel, but gender affects workrelated travel more than family obligations (Gustafson 2006). Men travel more
than women, notwithstanding their family situation. Although both genders are less
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likely to travel when children are young, men with young children do not reduce
their travel more than men with older children. In addition, Bergstrms (2008)
findings indicate gender affects the willingness to travel; mothers of small children
reduce the amount they travel for work, and avoid spending nights away from home
when travelling.
Having children increases the number of roles a person assumes, and the more
competing roles a person has, the greater is the risk of role overload and WFC
(Roehling and Bultman 2002). Role pressure is increased for IBTs by the need to
perform both in the domestic and the international work context (Welch et al. 2007).
Travelling involving regular absences causes issues around managing parental roles
at home, exposing both partners (but especially female travellers) to higher levels of
WFC (Duxbury et al. 1994). Stewart and Donald (2006) also support the assumption
that business travel gives rise to a risk of role overload. The study also reports effects
on family members due to work-related travel and concludes that travel exacerbates
role strain and overload among travellers spouses.
There does not appear to be any direct research on the antecedents of positive
work-family interactions, but according to Mkel and colleagues (2014) an international career orientation increases work-life enrichment, which is similar to the
concept of work-family enrichment. The same study finds the age of the traveller to
affect enrichment with enrichment being greater the older the traveller is.
Outcomes of Negative and Positive Work-Family Interactions

The research on outcomes of WFC among IBTs is limited. Only a few studies have
focused on the issue: Jensen (2013) found WFC to be a mediator in the business
travelemotional exhaustion relationship. In addition, other health outcomes of
WFC have been identified. Mkel and colleagues (2013) found that high number of
travel days leads to sleeping problems and this relationship was mediated by WFC.
Bergstrm (2010) asserts that travel-related absences from home cause feelings
of guilt, especially for women. Women also experience feelings of loneliness,
vulnerability and insecurity staying overnight alone at a hotel. Male travellers
experiences are less negative and they also report positive aspects of being away
from home.
After this review of existing research on international business travel in relation
to the work-family context, the chapter moves on to identify proposals for further
research.
Conclusions and Future Research

The aim of this chapter was to review and bring together the research on the workfamily interface of IBTs, and in light of existing work-life balance research to make
173
proposals for future studies. According to the literature reviewed on international

business travel, work requiring frequent travel abroad makes unusual demands of
both travellers and their families. Such work requires a high degree of flexibility,
understanding, and cooperation from the whole family. As the review indicates, the
volume of research on IBTs has grown considerably over the last few decades, but
compared to the literature on the work-family interface in general, the research in
the context of the work-family interface of IBTs remains focused on quite limited
issues, and uses restricted research methods. This does provide an opportunity to
make several proposals for interesting future research.
Today the line between work and family has become blurred. Keeping work
and family domains separate is rarely possible, and businesspeople must almost
inevitably deal with integrating these domains. The integration or segmentation of
work and family in the lives of IBTs has not been studied, although several elements
of the reviewed literature suggest that the integration of work and family domains in
IBTs lives is probably essential. The level and form of the necessary integration for
IBTs certainly merits more attention, as does the phenomenon of spillover, in both
negative and positive forms.
The existing literature strongly indicates work involving frequent travel poses
both psychological and physical challenges for travellers. Those challenges seem
likely to affect the balance between work and family. As travel is time-consuming,
it reduces the time available for rest and recovery from work demands. An individual
who is insufficiently recovered will lack the energy to participate in family
life, which may presumably spawn conflicts between work and family. Recovery
research addressing the work-family interface indicates that conflict between work
and family increases the need for recovery time (Demerouti et al. 2007), while
reducing the opportunity to recover (Taris et al. 2006). The question of a connection
between recovery and WFC among IBTs would be an interesting new research
avenue.
General work-family research has mainly adopted a conflict orientation; similarly
the research on the work-family interactions of IBTs has concentrated almost
exclusively on the negative consequences of travel. Research has already recognised
the positive outcomes of travel at the individual level (Mayerhofer et al. 2010;
Oddou et al. 2000; Shaffer et al. 2012; Starr and Currie 2009; Welch and Worm
2006), while there remains very little research on positive enriching effects (notable
exceptions being Mkel et al. 2014; and Westman et al. 2008a). It follows that
future research on the positive consequences of international business travel for both
the traveller and their family would be welcome.
Existing research has to some extent considered the experiences of the spouse,
but information on how children are affected by having a parent who travels
extensively for work is almost non-existent. Only two studies (Espino et al. 2002;
Stewart and Donald 2006) have taken children into consideration, and both indicate
negative consequences arising from a parents travelling.
Various individual and demographical antecedents of work-family conflict experiences, such as gender, age, and marital status, offer many interesting opportunities
for future research. The work-family literature has addressed whether genders differ
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in how they experience WFC (e.g. Duxbury et al. 1994; Frone et al. 1992). However,
the findings are contradictory: some studies identifying differences between genders
(Duxbury et al. 1994), while others do not acknowledge that gender affects the
experiences of WFC (Greenhaus et al. 1989). A few studies report gender-based
differences in how international business travel is experienced, and in how female
and male travellers cope with negative work-family interactions (Gustafson 2006;
Kollinger-Santer and Fischlmayr 2013; Westman et al. 2008b). Several studies also
suggest that international business travel can be more challenging for women (Frone
et al. 1992). One reason for this may be that while dual-career couples are more
or less a fact of life, at least in western countries, the traditional roles may still
affect how home tasks are shared. Traditional roles at home would make it easier for
male travellers to pass the burden of domestic tasks to their wives around periods
of travel. In contrast, female travellers are more likely to retain responsibility for
organising their traditional tasks even when they are travelling (Kollinger-Santer and
Fischlmayr 2013). Future research should extend its focus to possible differences
between female and male travellers. The research should be targeted at WFC, for
example, as well as at revealing individual and family coping strategies.
As international business travel is increasingly common, it can be assumed
that there are dual-career couples where both parties jobs include international
travelling. Such couples and their families are likely to experience a different set
of issues than families with only one traveller. Accordingly, it would be interesting
to explore the kinds of difficulties these couples encounter in combining frequent
work-related absences and family demands, and how they cope with conflicts arising
from work-related travel. Furthermore, single parent travellers are an unexplored
group, and it would be worthwhile studying how they cope with the challenges of
work involving international business travel, and how the strains related to travel
differ from those experienced by a traveller with a spouse.
More over there is lack of attention to same-sex couples and their experiences.
Same sex couples may experience similar conflict between work and family, but
they also face challenges associated to their sexual orientation. Therefore further
research should paid attention on IBTs in same-sex relationships.
The varying strengths and weaknesses of people at different ages should be part
of the equation when work with travelling is planned. Different age groups might
experience travel differently. For example, younger travellers may struggle with
childcare issues while senior travellers might need to take care of elderly parents.
The enriching experiences might also be different among people of different ages.
Therefore, age as an influencing factor should be taken into consideration in future
research.
Travellers do not usually get much assistance from their employers, instead they
are often left quite alone to manage the negative effects of travel (Mayerhofer et al.
2004). Research on the connection between workplace factors and WFC would be
welcome, as would research reviewing work-life balance policies and practices, and
organisational support. The last research area might encompass suggesting policies
management might enact to support travelling staff in adjusting to travelling, to
175
maintaining the balance between work and family, to reducing WFC, and coping
with the expectations of work and family.
The quantitative research tradition is strong in IBT studies (Demel and
Mayrhofer 2010; Mayerhofer et al. 2010; Mayerhofer et al. 2011). The quantitative
perspective has often concentrated on the consequences of travel stress (e.g.
DeFrank et al. 2000) or medical claims (Dimberg et al. 2002; Liese et al.
1997). More qualitative research could increase our understanding of individuals
experiences and discover underlying reasons for international business travel
causing conflicts between work and family. Further research could also examine
how the families of international business travellers are affected by the absence of
the IBT.
It might be beneficial if other forms of research, such as longitudinal research
designs, were employed to examine the international business travel context. A
longitudinal study could, for instance, focus on the question of the influence of
international business travel at the family level before, during and after a business
trip (Westman et al. 2008a). It would also be interesting and worthwhile to study the
influence of the career stage of the traveller on the experience of the work-family
interaction. The experience may well change as a career progresses, and it would be
interesting to study the differing perceptions of travellers in the early stages of their
careers and those of experienced business travellers.
The reviewed literature confirms international business travel affects not only
the traveller but also the families of IBTs. Understanding the impact of travel at
the family level is important in order to enhance the travellers well-being and
efficiency, but there remains a lack of systematic theoretical and empirical research
on the issue. It is hoped that this review clarifies the current state of the knowledge
on the work-family interface of IBTs, and also serves to direct scholars towards new
avenues of research.
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Chapter 10
International Business Traveler, Is Work Always

on Your Mind? An Investigation
of the Relationship Between Sources of Social
Support and Satisfaction with Work-Related
International Travel: The Moderating Role
of Over-Commitment
Liisa Mkel, Helen De Cieri, and Audra Mockaitis
Abstract The present study examines how supervisor support and family support
are related to satisfaction with work-related international travel and what is the role
of over-commitment, referring to individuals inability to withdraw from work, in
those relationships. The study was conducted among 200 Finnish employees in jobs
requiring international business travel. A moderated hierarchical regression analysis
shows that over-commitment and the support of ones family were directly linked to
satisfaction with work-related international travel. People who were over-committed
at work experienced more satisfaction with work-related international travel if they
received high levels of family support; however, no moderator effect was found
for supervisor support. Our findings indicate that interventions aimed at reducing
over-commitment and policies and practices that improve the worklife balance of
international business travelers would help them to maintain important resources
related to their satisfaction with work-related international travel.
Keywords International business traveler Job satisfaction Over-commitment
Social support
L. Mkel ()
Department of Management, University of Vaasa, P.O. Box 700, 65101 Vaasa, Finland
e-mail: liisa.makela@uva.fi
H. De Cieri A. Mockaitis
Department of Management, Monash University, P.O. Box 197, Caulfield East, VIC 3145,
Australia
e-mail: Helen.DeCieri@monash.edu; Audra.Mockaitis@monash.edu
181
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L. Mkel et al.
Introduction
Indisputably, the globalization of business has led to the internationalization of the
workforce. In fact, by the year 2020, it is expected that the international workforce
will have become even more diverse, and short-term international assignments will
still be on the rise (Economist Intelligence Unit 2010). At the same time, according
to 479 senior executives of firms operating in overseas markets, employees will
be expected to work longer hours, retire at an older age, and experience greater
personal and family stress due to work (Economist Intelligence Unit 2010, 13).
One-third of respondents also indicated that their firms managers will be engaged
in more frequent travel to overseas locations.
Jobs involving international business travel have become more common in
developed economies with a corresponding increase in types of international work.
Modern transportation and communication systems enable many employees to
work in locations that are geographically remote from their homes (often on short
assignments) and to continue living in their own home country (Bergstrm 2010;
Collings et al. 2007; Ramsey et al. 2011). International business travelers (IBTs)
are employees whose jobs involve frequent travel between their home country
and host countries abroad. Most often, IBTs are key talent and senior leaders
in their organization, and they perform complex and demanding business roles
when traveling abroad (Burkholder et al. 2010). IBTs important roles in their
organizations mean it is important to pay attention to their experiences concerning
their jobs. Job satisfaction, defined as a positive emotional state resulting from the
appraisal of ones job or job experiences (Locke 1976, p. 1300), is a phenomenon
that has been shown to be an important indicator of employees affective well-being
and performance, and it provides an important starting point to inform research and
practice regarding experiences related to IBTs work.
An important predictor of occupational well-being and job satisfaction is social
support. Social support can be defined as a social network structure including the
availability and quality of social relationships, characterized by the provision of help
and emotional nurture (Blanch and Aluja 2012). Social support can be drawn from
different sources, for instance, from an immediate supervisor, family members, the
community one lives in, and even online. This study examines two different types of
social support for work-related international travel, namely supervisor support and
family support.
Alongside these different sources of social support, individuals personal characteristics play an important role in IBTs experiences of their work. It has been
shown that over-commitment, which is defined as an intrinsic motivational factor
describing an inability to withdraw from work (see Kinnunen et al. 2011; Siegrist
et al. 2004, 2009), increases the risk of poor well-being . It has also been found
that employees well-being may be at risk because over-commitment increases
(moderates) the negative effect of an unsatisfactory psychosocial work environment,
referring in particular to the situation in which the effort an employee puts into
her/his work and the rewards s/he gains from the organization are not in balance
10 International Business Traveler, Is Work Always on Your Mind? An. . .
183
(De Jonge et al. 2000). Earlier studies have indicated that IBTs risk becoming
over-committed at work; for instance, IBTs work longer hours compared to their
counterparts working in domestic contexts and must often be very flexible with their
working time even when they are not traveling. These are likely to relate to the fact
that IBTs spend a lot of time traveling, and their travel often takes them across
different time zones. They also typically need to work across time zones when
located at their home country (Bergbom et al. 2011; Copeland 2008; Hyrkknen
et al. 2011).
The aim of this study is to examine the direct and moderating effects of
supervisor support, family support, and over-commitment on satisfaction with workrelated international travel among IBTs. We base our study on the Conservation
of Resources (COR) theory (Hobfoll 2001, 2002) and develop a set of hypotheses
to test the relationships investigated. The paper begins with an overview of COR
theory and the social support and well-being literatures, which is followed by the
presentation of our hypotheses. We next present the research method and results,
followed by discussion of the findings and implications of the study.
Conservation of Resources Theory

The basis for COR theory is that individuals strive to obtain, retain, protect, and
foster the things that they value, which are called as their resources. Resources can
be objects (e.g., a home) personal characteristics (e.g., self-esteem) or conditions
(e.g., living with a person who provides social support) (Hobfoll 2001). Several
types of resources are salient for well-being, and, according to COR theory, the loss
of resources leads to the loss of well-being. It has also been shown that in a situation
in which one loses some resources, the importance of other acquired resources
increases. Moreover, having fewer resources makes people more vulnerable to
resource loss than those with greater resources. In addition, it has been shown
that the greater the resources available, the greater are the opportunities to acquire
new resources (Hobfoll 2001); this kind of positive process is known as a resource
caravan (Hobfoll 2002).
It has been argued that COR theory offers a suitable theoretical basis for studying
business travel (Westman et al. 2008). In the present study we focus on two different
external resourcessupervisor support and family supportand investigate their
effect on satisfaction with work-related international travel. In addition, we study
what happens if an IBT is unable to withdraw from her/ his work, thus investigating
the role of over-commitment in this relationship. High levels of over-commitment
are seen to indicate a situation in which the employee has lost a resource (e.g.,
leisure time and activities outside work), although they might have gained other
resources, such as job status or perceived importance (Hakanen et al. 2011).
Therefore we study if there is differences in the experiences of satisfaction with
work-related international travel depending on how hard it is for IBT to withdraw
from their work, that is, how over-committed them are (direct effect). Furthermore,
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we also investigate differences between the role of social support and satisfaction
in work-related international travel for IBTs who are unable to withdraw from their
work and for IBTs who are able to withdraw (moderating effect).
Well-Being of International Business Travelers

Research on IBTs has grown in parallel with the increased importance of international business travel to companies success. Most of the studies conducted
so far have been within the field of travel medicine (for a review, see Patel
2011), but academic interest in IBTs psychological well-being has also begun to
emerge. Earlier studies have found that burnout, indicated by a primary symptom of
emotional exhaustion (Maslach et al. 2001), is not present at alarming levels among
IBTs in general (Jensen 2013). However, the level of burnout has been shown to
vary in different phases of a single international business trip (Westman and Etzioni
2002; Westman et al. 2004). A study by Jensen (2013) found no direct relationship
between the frequency of business travel (including both international and national
trips) and burnout, but this relationship was mediated by work-to-family conflict.
Furthermore, Westman and Etzioni (2002) reported that stress and burnout reached
their highest levels in the pre- and on-trip phases and both decreased after returning
from the international business trip. They concluded that detachment from the
everyday work environment during a international business trip may reduce stress
and strain and lead to positive well-being outcomes. Later, Westman et al. (2004)
found that burnout experience varies within different phases of the trip, and that the
process is different among genders. Albeit with small sample sizes, they found that
females experienced slightly higher burnout levels than men. For men, the lowest
level of burnout was found in the on-trip phase and for women in the pre-trip phase.
While these studies have identified indicators that are negatively related to IBTs
well-being, other research has investigated positive correlates. Westman et al. (2009)
reported that first, international business trip satisfaction functioned as an antecedent
for travelers vigorreferring to the employees high levels of energy and mental
resilience, and to their willingness to invest effort in ones work (Bakker et al.
2008). The same study showed that an increase in the number of international
business trips was positively related to travelers vigor. However, even though this
particular study showed evidence that IBTs general attitude towards his/her work
(vigor) may become better the more they travel and the more satisfied they are with
their international business trips, that study did not address the implications for
travel-specific experiences, namely international business trip satisfaction. Actually,
there was a significant negative relationship between the number of international
business trips and business trip satisfaction. This relationship was reported only as a
correlation and there was no investigation of what kind of issues may affect business
trip satisfaction. Although job satisfaction has been used in many studies as an
indicator of employees well-being and has been shown to relate to many important
outcomes, such as commitment, performance and productivity (see e.g., Judge et al.
185
2001), there is a lack of research exploring what kind of mechanisms are related to
satisfaction with work-related international travel. Given the increasing prevalence
of work-related international travel, particularly among knowledge workers and
professionals, there is a critical need for studies to build understanding of the
antecedents of IBTs job satisfaction and well-being.
Social Support and Well-Being

Social support is an important resource for nurturing and maintaining employees
well-being (Nahum-Shani et al. 2011), and is one that can be drawn from different
sources. Social support in the workplace context typically refers to the help
and emotional support drawn from ones coworkers and supervisor (Rousseau
and Aube 2010). In the context of international business, travel support gained
from an immediate supervisor may play a particularly important role. Working at
locations geographically distant from the home office typically involves independent
decision-making; there is often a need to manage various challenging situations of
a cultural, political, or personal nature while abroad on business. Thus, it is likely
that receiving practical help, for instance, a supervisors responses to an IBTs emails or phone calls in a timely manner when IBT and supervisor are working in
different time zones, or a supervisor being the communication link between an IBT
and relevant information sources when the IBT is working in a destination without
internet connection. Supervisor support in the context of international business
traveling may also relate to home-office based issues; a supervisor can support the
IBT by keeping her/him informed about important work-related events and issues.
In addition, other kinds of advice and emotional support from a supervisor can be
a very important factor in IBTs well-being. However it appears that researchers
have to date directed little attention to organizational resources, such as supervisor
support related to international business travel.
Furthermore, support gained from immediate family members and other friends
and relatives has been found to be an important contributor to employee experiences
at work. Spousal support is a significant predictor of job satisfaction in a domestic
(single-country) setting (Singh 2014). It has been shown that the interplay between
work and non-work roles among IBTs is very important and that balancing the
needs of these two life spheres may be challenging due to the long absences
from home and blurred boundaries between private and working time (Mayerhofer
et al. 2010; also see the review by Saarenp, Chap. 9 in this book). In particular,
international business traveling has been found to cause conflicts between work and
personal life (Jensen 2013; Mkel et al. 2015) and therefore the support drawn
from the family may become a highly valued resource. It has been reported that
support from the family reduces IBTs stress (DeFrank et al. 2000). However,
providing the desired support for a partner who travels for work may be problematic.
Earlier studies have shown that IBTs travel increases their spouses stress, and
that travelers psychological problems (disorders) also affect their spouses well-
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L. Mkel et al.
being (Espino et al. 2002). In addition, Westman et al. (2009) found a negative
relationship between employees (international) business trip satisfaction and their
spouses level of vigor.
The above points lead us to hypothesize:
Hypothesis 1) A high level of social support from ones supervisor is positively
related to satisfaction with work-related international travel.
Hypothesis 2) A high level of social support from ones family is positively related
to satisfaction with work-related international travel.
Over-Commitment and Well-Being

Personal characteristics have a central role in the process of conservation of
resources (Gorgievski and Hobfoll 2008). Strong psychological resources such as
high self-esteem and self-efficacy are crucial to overall resource management and
maintenance (Gorgievski and Hobfoll 2008). However, certain characteristics of
individuals may also be risk factors for employee well-being. Studies have shown
that when employees are unable to withdraw from their work, such that they become
over-committed (see Rantanen et al. 2013; Siegrist et al. 2004, 2009), their risk of
poor well-being increases (De Jonge et al. 2000). There is evidence that IBTs may be
at risk of being over-committed to their work. First, IBTs are reported to work long
hours, especially when traveling (Bergbom et al. 2011; Hyrkknen et al. 2011), a fact
that may relate to the need to accommodate time-zone differences. It has also been
found that IBTs do not work regular hours; their working day and working week
schedules depend on the requirements of the given task (Hyrkknen et al. 2011),
the culture they may be working in (e.g. in Asia where working late is considered
normal), and how often their work-related travel stretches into weekends in order
to reach a location and ready for work on Monday morning. Therefore, it is often
not possible to identify specific daily working hours among IBTs (Hyrkknen et al.
2011). Moreover, compared to employees working in domestic settings including
those who travel for work domestically, IBTs have been found to experience a
greater lack of confidence in their continued ability to keep up with the pace of
work (Burkholder et al. 2010, 331). Moreover, the effect was found to be magnified
the more the IBTs traveled (Burkholder et al. 2010). These findings lead us to
suggest that IBTs are likely to be highly committed to their work but at the same
time worried about their ability to perform well. This combination may increase
the risk that the IBT cant give up thinking about work issues and becomes unable
to withdraw from work, that is the IBT becomes over-committed. Therefore, we
hypothesize:
Hypothesis 3) A high level of over-commitment by IBTs is negatively related to job
satisfaction.
187
Furthermore, over-commitment has been found to increase the negative effect

of an unpleasant psychosocial work environment. In particular, if work-related
rewards, such as money, respect, security and career opportunities, and the effort an
employee puts into his/ her work are imbalanced, the negative effect on employees
well-being is stronger in the situation of over-commitment (De Jonge et al. 2000).
To date, we have not been able to identify any empirical studies among IBTs that
take into account the role of over-commitment, even though imbalance between
organizational efforts and rewards has been found to increase IBTs work-to
personal life conflict and decrease their work-to personal life enrichment (Mkel
et al. 2015). According to COR theory, the importance of acquired resources is
higher in a situation of loss or if there is a lack of some other resources (Hobfoll
2001). In this study, over-commitment is seen as a lack of personal resource. We
expect that in the situation in which an IBT is unable to withdraw from his/ her work
inadequately (is highly over-committed) the role of acquired social support becomes
more important. This means that the link between social support and satisfaction
with work-related travel can be moderated by over-commitment as follows:
Hypothesis 4) Over-commitment will moderate the positive relationship between
social support from (4a) ones supervisor and (4b) ones family and satisfaction
with work-related international travel.
Method
Participants
The study was conducted among 232 Finnish employees in jobs requiring international business travel. For the data analysis, and because family support was a
focus of the study, participants who did not have a partner were excluded, which
reduced the sample to 200. Of our respondents, 72.5 % were men and 74 % had
children. Nearly 44 % held a supervisory position and the reported tenure in a
job requiring international business traveling ranged from 23 % who had up to 5
years experience, 23 % who had more than five but less than 10 years experience,
and 64 % who had more than 10 years experience. On average, IBTs did 16.3
international business trips during the past 12 months.
Data were gathered during May and August 2011 using a web-based survey
questionnaire, and were obtained from two different sources. First, a Finnish trade
union (The Finnish Association of Graduates in Economics and Business) invited
its members to take part in the survey via its newsletter and an announcement on
its website and social media channels (LinkedIn and Facebook). The invitation
garnered responses from 84 people, and after excluding those respondents not
reporting any international business travel during the previous 12 months (n D 9),
or those who did not have a partner, the final sample size was 66. Second, three
multinational companies (MNCs) operating in various global locations participated
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L. Mkel et al.
in the study. Two companies were recruited by personally contacting HR managers

in the company, and one company enrolled in the study after an open invitation
presented at a networking event for HR staff of MNCs. All the companies operated
in the energy sector, two of them being manufacturing companies and one a
supplier company. The companies employed 10,000; 18,000; and 11,700 people
worldwide respectively. Companies sent an invitation to their most frequent travelers
to participate in the survey via e-mail, eliciting responses from 157 travelers. After
excluding participants who did not have a partner, the sample size decreased to 134,
for a total of 200 overall.
Measures
Satisfaction with work-related international travel was measured by three items
very similar used by Westman and her colleagues (2009) (sample item: I am
satisfied with my job because it includes international business traveling). The
items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale anchored with completely disagree (1)
and completely agree (5) and the Cronbachs alpha for the scale was .80.
It was not possible to obtain measurement instruments for supervisor support
and family support for traveling from previous studies and therefore questions for
these concepts were developed following the idea of measuring perceived supervisor
support items (see e.g. Eisenberger et al. 2002). Supervisor support was measured
with the question During my international business travels I can count on support
from my supervisor if needed. Family support was measured by the item: During
my international business travels I can count on support from my spouse or other
close people if needed. Both items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale anchored
with completely disagree (1) and completely agree (5).
Over-commitment was measured using a Finnish version of the ERI scale
(Kinnunen et al. 2008) developed by Siegrist et al. (2004). It comprised six items
(e.g. As soon as I get up in the morning I start thinking about work problems).
The items were rated on a 4-point Likert scale anchored with strongly disagree (1)
and strongly agree (4) and the Cronbachs alpha for the scale was .81.
Gender (a binary variable, where 0 D male and 1 D female), age, whether the
employee has any children (a binary variable, where 1 D yes and 0 D no) and the
number of days of travel during the past 12 months were included as control
variables.
Results
Means, standard deviations, and correlations between study variables are presented
in Table 10.1. The intercorrelations showed, first, that both supervisor support
and the support of family related positively to satisfaction with work-related
189
Table 10.1 Means, standard deviations and correlations of the study variables
Variable
1. Age (in years)
2. Gender (men/women)
3. Having children
(no/yes)
4. Travel days
5. Supervisor support
6. Family support
7. Over-commitment
8. Satisfaction with workrelated international travel
M
42.5
SD
9.4
.17*
.43** .28**
71.3
3.95
4.54
2.4
4.4
72.3
1.4
1.3
0.5
1.1
.19**
.02
.02
.09
.06
.30**
.03
.13
.07
.25**
.10
.08
.15*
.11
.08
.09
.09
.28**
.12
16* .01
.16 .25** .25** .18*
* p < .05, ** p < .01
international travel and that over-commitment was negatively related to satisfaction.

Control variables showed that being female was positively related to satisfaction
with work-related travel, and the number of traveling days was negatively related to
satisfaction with work-related travel.
A moderated linear hierarchical regression analysis was used with the following
procedure: first, control variables were entered in step 1 to control for their effects;
second, supervisor support and family support were entered in step 2; next, overcommitment was entered in step 3; finally, the two interaction terms of supervisor
support and close people support with over-commitment were entered in step 4. In
calculating the interaction terms, the variables were standardized to avoid multicollinearity (Cohen et al. 2003).
We found a positive relationship between satisfaction with work-related international travel and family support ( D 0.20, p < .01) and a negative relationship with over-commitment ( D 0.16, p < .05). No significant relationship was
found between satisfaction with work-related travel and supervisor support (see
Table 10.2). Thus, if the IBT gained support from family s/he was more satisfied
with his/ her work-related international travel; however, gaining support from ones
supervisor did not increase the level of the satisfaction. Moreover, if the IBT had
problems in withdrawing from his or her work s/he was not as satisfied with the
international work travel compared to others who were not over-committed to their
work. In addition, one of the interaction terms made a significant contribution to
the explained variance. The interaction term between family support and overcommitment was significant (( D 0.15, p < .05). This significant interaction is
illustrated in Fig. 10.1 and it shows that for those IBTs who are not too committed
(low over-commitment) to their work, family support is not as important as it was
found to be among IBTs who have problems in distancing themselves from their
work (high degree of over-commitment). For less committed IBTs, the level of their
satisfaction with work-related international travel stays relatively stable regardless
of whether they have family support. On the contrary, for IBTs who are highly overcommitted, family support seems to be very important; if overcommitted IBTs do
not gain support from their family, their satisfaction with work-related international
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L. Mkel et al.
Table 10.2 Results of hierarchical regression analyses for satisfaction with work-related
international travel
Independent variables
Step 1: Controls
Age (in years)
Gender (men/women)
Children (no/yes)
Travel days
Step 2: External resources
Supervisor support
Family support
Step 3: Personal resources
Over-commitment (OC)
Step 4: Interactions
OC*supervisor support
OC*family support
Satisfaction with work-related international travel
R2
R2
.09**
.09**
.18*
.19*
.10
12
.08***
.17***
.13
.20**
.02*
.19***
.16*
.03
.22***
.03
.15*
Note: D standardized beta-coefficient from the final step, R2 D change in explanation rate in
each step, R2 D explanation rate
* p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .00
Fig. 10.1 The significant interaction effect of family support and over-commitment on satisfaction
with work-related international travel
travel is much lower that it is for those who have family support. In addition,
significant relationships were found between age, gender and satisfaction with
work-related travel; women ( D 0.19, p < .05) and older IBTs ( D 0.18, p < .05)
expressed greater satisfaction with work-related travel. This model explained 22 %
of the variance in satisfaction with work-related travel and the best single predictor
was (high) family support.
191
Discussion and Conclusions

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of social support (supervisor
support and family support) on satisfaction with work-related international travel.
It also investigated whether there are differences in the experiences of satisfaction
with work-related international business travel depending on how over-committed
IBTs are to their work (direct effect). Furthermore, we also investigated whether the
relationship between social support and satisfaction with work-related international
business travel is different for IBTs who have problems in withdrawing from their
work (high over-commitment) and for those who are able to withdraw (moderating
effect).
Our first hypothesis (H1) suggesting that supervisor support is related directly
to satisfaction with work-related international business travel was supported at the
correlation level, but was not supported in the regression analysis, although earlier
studies have found that in a domestic work environment, supervisor support is an
especially important work-related resource (Rousseau and Aube 2010). Our second
hypothesis (H2) suggesting that family support is positively related to satisfaction
with work-related international business travel was supported. IBTs who received
more support from their family were more satisfied with their work-related travel
than those with lower levels of support. This finding is in line with earlier studies
(DeFrank et al. 2000; Singh 2014) and offers evidence for the importance of support
gained from the private life sphere. In addition, even though we suggested that it
might be problematic for families to provide support to IBTs (Espino et al. 2002),
our results showed that the level of family support was very high (a mean of 4.54, on
a scale of 15), and actually even higher than the support derived from a supervisor
(mean 3.95). Therefore, our findings suggest that when it comes to satisfaction with
work-related travel, resources in the personal life sphere, such as support from the
family, are even more important than organizational resources such as supervisor
support. That might relate to the nature of IBTs work, as the typical IBT is a
professional who is used to working independently, and therefore does not expect
support from a supervisor while traveling. Alternatively, traveling has been found
to cause conflicts between work and personal life (Jensen 2013; Mkel et al. 2015)
and therefore the support drawn from the personal life sphere may become a highly
valued resource. We may also assume that being away from ones workplace due to
work-related travel is seen as acceptable and IBTs do not need to have a promise
from their supervisors to feel good about their traveling. This may not always be
the situation when it comes to family. It is likely that in order to feel satisfied with
the work-related international business travel, an IBT needs to feel comfortable with
being away from home; support gained from family may indicate that the travels are
seen by their family members as justified.
Our third hypothesis (H3) suggesting that over-commitment is negatively related
to satisfaction with international work-related travel was supported. This finding
is in line with previous studies that have shown evidence of the harmful effect of
over-commitment on employees well-being (De Jonge et al. 2000). Our finding
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L. Mkel et al.
also supports that view with regard to a more specific indicator of well-being,
namely satisfaction with international work-related travel. This finding highlights
the importance of psychological detachment from work, which refers to the process
of temporarily disengaging from work during time off, which facilitates recovery
from job strain (Siltaloppi et al. 2009; Sonnentag 2003).
Only one of our two interaction hypotheses (H4a & H4b) was supported.
Consistent with Hypothesis 4b, people who had problems in distancing themselves
from work (demonstrating a high degree of over-commitment) experienced more
satisfaction with work-related travel when gaining high levels of support from their
family than those who scored low on the family support measure. This finding
supports earlier research indicating that if some resources are lacking -here, in
particular we see that over-commitment is a lack of personal resource - other
resources become correspondingly more important (Hobfoll 2001). Our findings
illustrate that support gained from the personal life sphere is also important where
an IBT is over-committed to work. Hypothesis 4a, suggesting a moderating effect
of over-commitment in the relationship between supervisor support and satisfaction
with work-related travel, was not supported. This suggests that supervisor support is
not the most productive resource to call on to ensure satisfaction with work-related
travel in the situation where an IBT is over-committed to work.
The current study has some limitations that should be acknowledged. First, the
findings come from a cross-sectional survey, meaning that we can draw no reliable
conclusions on the causal direction of the effects. Longitudinal studies would
be required to confirm the connections between different kinds of resources and
satisfaction with work-related travel among IBTs. Second, other indicators of IBTs
well-being in addition to satisfaction with work-related travel should be investigated
to enhance our knowledge of IBTs well-being. For example future studies might
investigate satisfaction, burnout, and work engagement at the same time. Such
studies would enhance understanding of the processes related, for instance, to overcommitment and how it affects the well-being of employees in different work
contexts. Third, the relatively small dataset was based on self-reports, so common
method variance may have affected our findings. However, it has been argued that
it is an oversimplification to assume that common method variance automatically
affects variables measured with the same method (Spector 2006). Nevertheless,
future studies should acknowledge this in their research design and, for instance,
use several sources for data collection, perhaps by questioning supervisors, spouses,
and other close relations.
To conclude, our results contribute to previous knowledge by offering evidence
that the support of ones family plays an important role in travel-related job
satisfaction. Over-commitment was found to be harmful to job satisfaction and our
findings indicate that support gained from the personal life sphere is especially
important for IBTs who are highly over-committed to work. The Conservation
of Resources theory (Hobfoll 2001, 2002) received support in the context of
international work-related travel. The findings show that resources may vary in their
salience for IBTs, so being able to call upon a range of resources, both work- and
non work-related, as suggested by COR theory, appears to be desirable.
193
As a practical implication based on the findings of this study, we suggest that

organizations employing IBTs should pay attention to the opportunities available
to those IBTs to psychologically distance themselves from their work and foster
their ability to do so. Interventions designed to enhance recovery could help IBTs to
avoid over-commitment and enhance their satisfaction with work-related travel. For
instance, providing an opportunity to learn to practice mindfulness which is defined
being a state of consciousness in which individuals attend to ongoing events and
experiences in a receptive and non-judgmental way- could be a good help for IBTs
as it has been shown to have many beneficial outcomes in the work context, for
instance increasing job satisfaction (Hlsheger et al. 2013).
Organizations should also pay attention to policies and practices that assist
IBTs to balance their work and personal lives and ensure that a crucial resource
for satisfaction with work-related travel, namely family support, is available. IBTs
themselves should also pay attention to their own attitudes towards their work and
try to recognize the risk of harmful over-commitment. Organizational practices such
as training in risk assessment and management for IBTs could help both supervisors
and IBTs to recognize the risk of over-commitment. IBTs should be encouraged to
nurture their social relationships and to recognize the importance of reciprocity of
social support. Overall, this study has contributed to the understanding of IBTs wellbeing, yet many questions remain about the mechanism and processes that influence
the well-being of this expanding and important group of global workers.
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Chapter 11
A Framework for Work-Life Management

in Multinational Corporations
Helen De Cieri and E. Anne Bardoel
Abstract Work-life issues are a substantial concern for managers and employees
in many multinational corporations (MNCs), as there are many challenges related
to the need for MNCs to balance global policy guidelines with responsiveness to
regional and local differences. Drawing on recent empirical advances, we offer a
framework and a set of broad research questions to guide future scholarship in
work-life management in MNCs. The framework identifies important external and
organisational factors that influence the HRM function and specifically work-life
policies and practices, in MNCs. Employee responses to work-life practices are
proposed to mediate the relationship with the organisations social and financial
performance. Avenues for future research are discussed.
Keywords Environmental dynamism Human resource management processes
Multinational corporations Organisational performance Work-life management
Many managers in multinational corporations (MNCs) face challenges related to the

often-competing pressures for global integration and local responsiveness. On one
hand, there are efficiencies to be gained by global co-ordination and consistency
of policies; on the other hand, local differences such as social and institutional
variations create pressures for responsiveness (Doz and Prahalad 1991; Sparrow
2012). Achieving an effective balance between global and local pressures enables
MNCs to integrate units into a cohesive, global organisation and maximise local
responsiveness (Venaik et al. 2004). Recent arguments for regionalisation (e.g.,
Edwards et al. 2012; Rugman et al. 2011) suggest even more complexity and
tension related to competing pressures at multiple levels, perhaps global, local and
regional. We suggest that work-life management in MNCs provides an excellent
case for analysis of the way in which MNCs manage these competing pressures
H. De Cieri () E.A. Bardoel

Department of Management, Monash University, P.O. Box 197, Caulfield East, VIC 3145,
Australia
e-mail: helen.decieri@monash.edu; anne.bardoel@monash.edu
197
198
H. De Cieri and E.A. Bardoel
because understanding of work-life issues will differ across societal contexts, and
the effectiveness of an MNCs global work-life policy will vary across subsidiary
units that are impacted by local factors such as national culture and institutional
frameworks.
There is widespread understanding that the management of a globally dispersed
workforce, via human resource management (HRM), is a crucial dimension of
international business (Brewster et al. 2008; Farndale et al. 2010). Recent studies
have examined a number of important challenges for HRM such as how global
firms replicate HRM practices across their operations (Morris et al. 2009) and the
role of national social and institutional contexts in differentiation of HRM practices
(Sparrow 2012). The work-life management area is widely recognised as an important aspect of HRM (Ryan and Kossek 2008). HRM is the organisational function
that typically interprets and promotes work-life management as an important issue
to senior management; develops work-life policies and practices; and works with
line managers in subsidiaries on work-life policy implementation (McCarthy et al.
2010).
Greenhaus and Allen (2011: 174) have defined work-family balance as an
overall appraisal of the extent to which individuals effectiveness and satisfaction
in work and family roles are consistent with their life values at a given point in
time (p. 174). This conceptualisation could also be applied to the broader concept
of work-life balance, recognising an individuals involvement in multiple roles.
Our focus is on the policies and practices developed by employers to facilitate
employees work-life balance. Ryan and Kossek (2008: 295) define organisational
efforts to manage work-life issues as: any organizational programs or officially
sanctioned practices designed to assist employees with the integration of paid work
with other important life roles such as family, education, or leisure. Examples of
work-life practices include flexible work arrangements such as flexible scheduling
or telecommuting, support for child care, and leave arrangements such as carers
leave or paid parental leave). It is widely recognised that work-life policies and
practices are intended to contribute to employee wellbeing as well as employee and
organisational performance (Lewis et al. 2007).
Bringing together research in HRM and work-life management, in this chapter
we propose that effective work-life management in MNCs can be understood via
a framework of relationships between external and organisational influences, the
HRM system, and outcomes for individuals and their employers. The focus of this
chapter is on developing a framework for work-life management in MNCs.
First, we briefly review recent developments in research relevant to worklife management in MNCs. Second, we present our framework and discuss each
of the elements. In this discussion, we raise broad questions that we hope will
stimulate future scholarly investigation. Finally, we identify several avenues for
future research on work-life management in MNCs.
11 A Framework for Work-Life Management in Multinational Corporations
199
Understanding Work-Life Management in the Global Context

As Perry-Smith and Blum have noted, work-life practices can be viewed as a,
complementary, highly related, and, in some cases, overlapping set of human
resource policies that may help employees manage nonwork roles (2000: 1107).
Following this approach, work-life management is intended to elicit positive
employee responses, leading to positive employee outcomes in terms of job
performance, which in turn contributes to outcomes for employers such as improved
organisational performance.
Much of the research on the relationships between HRM practices and organisational performance has focused on the content of HRM practices; however,
Bowen and Ostroff (2004) brought attention to HRM processes, which refer to
the mechanisms by which HRM practices are implemented and adopted in an
organisation. This is as relevant to work-life practices as it is to any other HRM
practice. Bowen and Ostroff (2004: 206) argue that HRM processes contribute to
organisational outcomes by creating a system of HRM policy and practices that
are designed and implemented with shared meaning about the content [of the
policy and practices]. Haggerty and Wright (2010) extend Bowen and Ostroffs
(2004) work by proposing that the HRM function will gain legitimacy when there is
shared understanding of the HRM practices by managers and employees across the
entire organisation. This argument echoes Kogut and Zanders (1993) notion that an
MNC could be viewed as a social community that creates, transfers, and integrates
knowledge across its different locations. In an MNC, with a diverse and dispersed
workforce, an HRM system that has work-life practices embedded will require an
effective balance between global, regional and local perspectives of work-life issues,
so that there are shared understandings of global guidelines, while allowing for
regional and local differences. However, putting this into practice in an MNC is
challenging. Most MNCs will have a global HRM policy that is designed and led
by the corporate HRM leaders at headquarters. Implementation of a global policy
across the MNCs subsidiaries is influenced, and sometimes hindered, by a complex
interplay between home- and host-country effects, and organisational and external
factors. Within each subsidiary there may well be tensions between the global intent
of a policy and the local operational context.
In industrialised and western developed societies, work-life issues have become
a common topic of social discussion and attention (Kossek et al. 2010). A substantial
body of knowledge has been built in research on work-life issues over several
decades (for recent reviews, see Chang et al. 2010; Gatrell et al. 2013). There is
an abundance of studies on workfamily conflict (Byron 2005), with increasing
attention being paid to notions of work-family enrichment (Greenhaus and Powell
2006; Grzywacz and Carlson 2007) and work-family integration (Korabik et al.
2008). Arguments for broadening of the focus from work-family to a more inclusive
view of work-life (e.g., Gatrell et al. 2013) are widely recognised. There is
some evidence of a relationship between work-life policies and programs and
200
organisational performance and productivity (Beauregard and Henry 2009; Bloom

et al. 2011; Konrad and Mangel 2000). Further, scholars have advocated alignment
of work-life policies and practices with strategic objectives of the firm and with other
areas of HRM, such as diversity management and talent management (Mescher
et al. 2010), recognising the need for MNCs to achieve both social and financial
performance outcomes. Overall, this field of research has made great progress yet
remains dominated by studies conducted in industrialised nations, often focused on
single-country contexts (Allen 2013).
In recent years, however, there has been a steady increase in research pertinent
to work-life management in MNCs. First, several studies have investigated crosscultural perspectives of work-life and identified implications of globalisation for
work-life management; this research has been largely driven by substantial changes
in workforce demography and by increasing recognition that work-life issues are
highly salient for many people (Allen et al. 2014; Beham et al. 2014; Billing et al.
2014; Rapoport et al. 2005). Second, there is nascent research exploring the worklife policies and practices designed and implemented in MNCs (e.g., Chandra 2012).
There is now considerable evidence that the HRM function varies in significant ways
across countries and firms (Lazarova et al. 2008); there is growing understanding of
how the management of work-life issues also varies (Chandra 2012).
Third, there are numerous examples of studies of work-life issues in developing
and less-industrialised countries and eastern contexts (for recent examples, see
Lee et al. 2011; Lyness and Judiesch 2014; Sidani and Al Hakim 2012). This
research indicates that work-life management policies and practices designed to
suit western contexts may not be directly transferable to diverse, developing and
transitional economies (Lewis et al. 2007).
Fourth, there is an emerging stream of research (Lepak and Snell 2002) exploring
work-life issues for specific groups of MNC employees; this research has tended to
focus on managers and knowledge workers. There have been important theoretical
and empirical contributions focused on work-life balance for expatriates (e.g.,
Fischlmayr and Kollinger 2010; Lazarova et al. 2010; Rosenbusch and Cseh 2012;
Shih et al. 2010). Several studies explore work-life issues and work-family conflicts
related to gender and global careers (Hearn et al. 2008; Hutchings et al. 2012;
Mkel and Suutari 2011). Finally, reflecting changing employment and work
patterns, there are recent studies on work-life issues for employees who undertake
frequent international business travel (e.g., Hearn et al. 2008; Kollinger-Santer
and Fischlmayr 2013; Kvande 2009) and particularly for women on international
assignments (Shortland 2014). There is also emerging research on employees
in developing economies who may be integral to the operations of an MNC;
cross-cultural research exploring different national perspectives of work-life offers
insights to inform MNC managers about how to approach work-life in local contexts
(e.g., Masuda et al. 2012).
Overall, despite advances in research, there is relatively little known about worklife management in MNCs; our framework is offered as a guide for future research.
201
Fig. 11.1 Framework for work-life management in multinational corporations
A Framework for Work-Life Management in MNCs

Drawing on previous work by De Cieri and Dowling (2012) and De Cieri and
Bardoel (2011), we present a framework for work-life management in MNCs (see
Fig. 11.1) that indicates that there are reciprocal relationships among external
and organisational factors, the HRM function, and outcomes for individuals and
employers. Work-life management in MNCs is one aspect of the MNCs approach
to managing the global workforce; hence, we position the work-life policies and
practices within the HRM function.
External Influences
We note in our framework that external influences, at global, regional and local
levels, are important for work-life management policies and practices. De Cieri and
Dowling (2012) have suggested that external influences can be thought of in terms of
political, economic, sociological, technological, legal and environmental (PESTLE)
factors. PESTLE is a popular analytical tool in consulting and management practice yet has received little academic research attention (Hughes et al. 2008). At local
(national) levels, legislation and institutional frameworks, socio-cultural factors, and
economic development have been described as particularly influential for worklife management (Chandra 2012) and Ollier-Malaterre (2009) has identified a set
of local (national) factors that explain why organisational work-life policies and
202
practices are widely adopted in some countries yet largely ignored in others. As
noted earlier, however, external influences operate at multiple levels and may be
conflicting; managers in MNCs need to balance these often-conflicting influences.
For work-life management, the multi-level approach may be particularly relevant,
reflecting the increasingly shared global interest in work-life management yet the
diverse and culturally embedded nature of work-life practices. For example, De
Cieri and Bardoel (2009), in a series of interviews with managers in MNCs in
China and South-East Asia, found the skill shortage and competition for talent
in the Asian region was a common concern and work-life policies and practices
were seen as a crucial tool to attract and retain employees. However, they also
noted that the concurrent need for MNC managers to recognise that work-life
practices transferred from western contexts, such as flexible work arrangements,
may be viewed differently in Asia, and imported practices should be balanced
with appreciation for and sensitivity to local conditions, cultural traditions, and
institutional frameworks.
To capture both the content and process of the international business context,
we note not only the complexity of external influences but also their dynamism.
Environmental dynamism affects the internal operations and functions of a firm,
(including work-life management) and influences firm performance (e.g., Akgn
et al. 2008). Global changes, such as the ageing workforce, skill shortages, or the
proliferation of social media present many challenges to MNCs (Pearson et al.
2007). The dynamic nature of external influences is highlighted in studies conducted
in countries undergoing significant economic transformations. Forster et al. (2013
2014) have analysed work-life issues with a focus on working women in the
United Arab Emirates and discussed the changing economic and social influences
at local and global levels that create pressure for government and employers in
the United Arab Emirates to implement new work-life policies and practices. In
transitional economies such as China and India, where working hours are already
among the highest worldwide (Lee et al. 2007), some employers are endeavouring
to implement flexible work arrangements to deal with the increasing demands of
globalised work (Masuda et al. 2012).
More extreme examples of external influences include shock events such as
terrorist acts (Wernick 2006), economic and financial crisis, and natural disasters. In
response to these external influences, many MNCs have revised their management
approaches (Chau et al. 2012). For example, in response to security risks, some
MNCs have revised their policies and practices related to employees use of
international assignments and travel. Research by Gunnigle et al. (2013) found
that, in MNCs responding to the global financial crisis that began in 2008, the
HRM function plays an important role in organisational change and re-structuring,
downsizing, working time reductions, industrial relations negotiations and related
changes in reward systems and working conditions. While some of these MNC
activities in crisis management might encompass work-life management, there
appears to have been little specific analysis of the implications of changes in worklife policies and practices in response to external shocks.
203
In sum, scholars have identified academic and practical issues related to international business in the context of such challenging conditions (e.g., Czinkota and
Ronkainen 2008). However, there remain gaps in our knowledge about the impact
of global dynamism on work-life management. At this stage, there is lack of clarity
about how the external factors exert influence: is there a direct influence on the MNC
or might external factors moderate the relationship between organisational factors
and the HRM function? Hence, these relationships are represented in the framework
as dotted lines. Identifying and investigating the influence of external factors at
global, regional and local levels, and in a dynamic context, is an important initial
step in the advancement of research on work-life management in MNCs. Hence, we
raise the following research questions to guide future research:
1. How does environmental dynamism at global, regional and local levels impact
on work-life policies and practices in MNCs?
2. How do external influences at global, regional and local levels influence MNCs,
and what are the implications for work-life policies and practices?
Organisational Factors
In addition to the external influences on work-life management, there are numerous
organisational characteristics that influence the HRM system and work-life management in MNCs. An important organisational factor is the way in which the
MNC responds to the competing global, regional and local influences (Venaik et al.
2004). Critical to the management of work-life in MNCs is the acknowledgement
that, while there are common issues faced by working women and men across the
world, work-life policies and practices need to be designed and implemented in an
organisational context that balances shared and global concerns with responsiveness
to regional and local environments. It is important that MNC decision-makers give
attention to identifying and responding to influences at multiple levels. An MNCs
efforts to balance these multiple levels may be evidenced by mechanisms such as
the level of centralisation of decision-making.
Organisational factors likely to influence work-life policies and practices also
include: MNC structure and strategy, organisational culture, size, age and international experience of the MNC, characteristics of the subsidiary, and available
resources and resource allocation (De Cieri and Dowling 2012). Several important
studies have examined relationships between organisational factors and HRM, such
as Farndale et al.s (2010 study of organisational structures and HRM in MNCs,
or Lawler et al.s (2010) study of high-performance work systems in subsidiaries
of American MNCs. Chandra (2012) has reported that U.S.-headquartered MNCs
tend to focus their work-life practices on flexible work arrangements, while Indianowned MNCs tend to focus on employee welfare and employee assistance programs
for cultural, recreational, health and educational purposes. However, there appears
to have been a lack of attention paid to investigating relationships between factors
204
in the organisational context and work-life management in MNCs. We offer the

following research questions to guide future research:
3. How do MNCs negotiate and balance the global, regional and local influences
related to work-life policies and practice?
4. How does the organisational context in an MNC influence work-life policies and
practice?
The Human Resource Management Function in MNCs

Central to this framework is the HRM function in MNCs, and we identify three
elements in which work-life policies and practices are embedded: the HRM system,
HRM architecture, and HRM roles and responsibilities.
HRM System and Work-Life Management in MNCs

MNCs are increasingly seeking more globally integrated HRM practices, although
replication of HRM practices across subsidiaries may be difficult due to the
influence of external factors in local environments (Morris et al. 2009). In light
of arguments made in recent studies of regionalisation (Edwards et al. 2012;
Rugman et al. 2011; Minbaeva and De Cieri in press) speculate that there may
be a shift in MNCs such that the role of a corporate HRM function moves
from central developmentlocal implementation towards central inspiration
regional developmentlocal implementation.
In recent years, globalisation has increased the pressure for the corporate HRM
function to perform at a strategic level in terms of influencing and enabling
HRM systems across MNCs (Minbaeva and Collings 2013). Global HRM policies
are typically formulated by the corporate HRM function at headquarters and
implemented in the subsidiaries in the form of HRM policies and practices (Farndale
et al. 2010). However, there can, and should, be reciprocal knowledge flows, so
that local and regional knowledge flows to headquarters and other parts of the
MNC (Minbaeva and De Cieri in press). Knowledge flows between subsidiaries
and back to headquarters are also important, as they have potential to change and
influence global policy on work-life management. Even within one MNC, it is likely
that there will be differences between the perspectives of HRM practitioners at
global, regional and local levels. Different views expressed by HR managers at
global headquarters and in local units may indicate the presence, even in a MNC
that is well-advanced in terms of managing work-life issues, of deficiencies in the
HRM system with regard to knowledge transfer and shared understanding of the
policy. Such deficiencies may become significant if they lead to mis-understandings
within, and outside, the HRM function (Minbaeva 2005). In order for the MNC to
205
operate effectively, policies such as work-life policies need to be well understood

and supported by those within the HRM function.
Bowen and Ostroff (2004) emphasise the importance of a shared view of HRM,
and argue that the impact of the HRM system on performance outcomes will not be
determined by the content of HRM practices and policies but rather by the processes
that signal to employees desired and appropriate HRM responses to form a collective
sense of what is expected. Applying this understanding of the HRM function in
MNCs to the specific area of managing work-life issues in a global workforce, it is
apparent that, to manage global-regional-local pressures, attention to both content
and process of work-life management will be important. The processes used to
communicate and implement work-life practices, as well as the content of practices,
have the potential to add real value to an organisation.
Andersen and Minbaeva (2013) have proposed that, rather than trying to identify
a specific set of HRM practices necessary for achieving an organisational goal, it
is valuable and important to consider an overall HRM approach that provides a
platform for strategic decisions to be implemented throughout the organisation, and
to establish clear ways of channeling the strategic intent formulated by top management. In many MNCs, regional and national HR managers and line managers
are the front line and are accountable for implementing work-life policy from
global headquarters. Knowledge sharing between subsidiaries and headquarters
could enhance the diffusion of locally responsive work-life practices across the
MNC. One example of this can be seen in shared knowledge regarding work-life
practices to support employees observance of religious obligations. Many MNCs
have a policy on Ramadan, which is the annual religious observance of a month of
fasting in Muslim communities worldwide. In countries such as Malaysia, around a
month before Ramadan begins, an e-mail or note is sent to all managers reminding
them of the onset of Ramadan, when most of the employees will request permission
to leave an hour earlier.
HRM Architecture and Work-Life Management in MNCs

Lepak and Snell (2002) developed the concept of the HRM architecture, which
identifies HRM practices, employment modes, and employment relationships for
different employee groups, depending on the extent to which their human capital
creates value for the firm and is unique. Applying the concept of HRM architecture
to an MNC, it is evident that some employee cohorts, such as managerial expatriates,
will face different work-life challenges from those faced by un-skilled workers
in less-developed economies. Given the investment in expatriates and knowledge
workers, it is valuable for researchers to investigate work-life issues for strategically
important employees in MNCs, such as expatriates (e.g., Fischlmayr and Kollinger
2010; Lazarova et al. 2010; Rosenbusch and Cseh 2012; Shih et al 2010). Recent
research examining the impact of changing employment patterns and exploring
new or different employment modes in MNCs is also valuable (e.g., Kollinger-
206
Santer and Fischlmayr 2013; Mkel and Suutari 2011). It is encouraging that
researchers have responded to calls such as those by Agars and French (2011) to
move beyond a focus on middle-class, white-collar positions. Recent examples in
this stream include studies of women in developing countries (Hearn et al. 2008;
Hutchings et al. 2012) and comparative studies of work-life issues among workers
across the operations of an MNC (e.g., Allen et al. 2014; Beham et al. 2014). In
sum, this body of literature offers insights to inform MNC managers about how to
approach work-life in local contexts and across the HRM architecture. However,
there is much scope for management research to elucidate the work-life issues faced
by workers in less-developed countries; there is an imperative for research to give
voice to those workers. As one example, in South Africa, a major work-life matter
is dealing with a workforce in which a large proportion are HIV-positive or are caregivers for people who are affected by HIV. Employees may require lengthy periods
out of the workforce in order to deal with their illness or to care for a relative.
Lepak and Snell (2002) argue that effective management of diverse human
resources will provide a key differentiator for successful organisations. Following
their argument, we suggest that the adoption of an HRM system that incorporates
work-life practices that address a variety of employee needs and expectations will
have the potential for significant positive outcomes for both employees and their
employers.
HRM Roles and Responsibilities for Work-Life Management

in MNCs
There are numerous and varied roles and responsibilities within the HRM function
and across the MNC, reflecting different foci at global, regional and local levels.
There are several global responsibilities for work-life management. In the complex
organisational structures of MNCs, the global HRM function needs to have the
knowledge and influence to set strategic directions that are linked to organisational
and HRM objectives (Farndale et al. 2010), yet be responsive to local concerns. In
the case of work-life strategies, Global HRM Directors and Regional HR Managers
are integral to a strategic approach to work-life policy that balances global, regional
and local influences (De Cieri and Bardoel 2011). Conversely, implementation
relies to a large extent on the engagement, knowledge and competencies of local
HRM professionals. Work-life management in MNCs raises several challenges,
particularly for MNCs seeking to operate in developing and growing markets,
such as the large emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China (Chandra
2012). First, staffing local HRM positions can be difficult, as many employers
report a shortage of people with HRM experience and knowledge in emerging
markets. A second challenge is related to talent development in the HRM function;
HRM professionals require competencies such as networking skills in addition to
functional expertise. A third challenge is for HRM professionals to form knowledge-
207
sharing networks in the HRM community outside their own organisation; in the
Chinese context, the importance of guanxi is widely recognised (Zhu et al. 2008).
Finally, HRM and work-life practitioners in MNCs must address the challenge of
working with line managers and employees to build their competencies via training
programs and advisory services to enhance implementation and utilisation of worklife practices (De Cieri and Bardoel 2009). As Chandra (2012: 1048) has shown in
four case studies, for many managers in Asia, work takes priority over personal or
family matters: When WLB issues arise, they are ready to sacrifice family for the
sake of work and career progression.
While our focus is on the HRM function, we recognise that the roles and
responsibilities adopted both within the HRM function and by all managers across
the MNC will influence the way in which work-life policies and practices are
designed and implemented. Work-life policies and practices will be most effective
when led by senior decision-makers and supported and understood throughout the
organisation. As McCarthy and colleagues (2010) discuss, line managers have an
important impact on employees experience of work-life balance and employees
utilisation of work-life practices. For example, Beham et al. (2014) found that
a family-supportive supervisor was particularly important for non-professional
employees across five European countries when seeking to manage the interference
of work in their home lives. However, as Cooke and Jing (2009) found, the majority
of managers they interviewed in China showed indifference to work-life balance
concerns.
To understand more about work-life management and HRM in MNCs, we pose
the following research questions:
5. How do MNCs create and maintain an HRM system that delivers work-life
policies and practices to a globally dispersed workforce?
6. How are work-life policies and practices implemented and utilised across the
HRM architecture of an MNC?
7. What are the roles and responsibilities at global, regional and local levels of the
HRM function in an MNC with respect to work-life management?
8. How do the attitudes of line managers towards work-life management influence
the implementation and utilisation of work-life policies and practices in MNC
subsidiaries?
Employee Responses to Work-Life Policies and Practices

In developing a framework for work-life management, it is important to consider the
potential outcomes of work-life management. We propose that employees attitudes
and behaviours in response to work-life policies and practices will mediate the
relationship with organisational outcomes. Although the research in this area has
tended to focus on employees in developed countries, studies have shown that worklife practices can positively influence employees work-life balance (Hayman 2009);
208
health and well-being (Grzywacz et al. 2008), job satisfaction (e.g., Forsyth and
Polzer-Debruyne 2007), and organisational commitment (Allen 2001). To stimulate
investigation of relationships between work-life management and the perceptions
and behaviours of employees in MNCs, we pose the following research questions:
9. How do work-life policies and practices in an MNC influence the work-life
balance of employees working in different subsidiary units?
10. How do work-life policies and practices in an MNC influence employees workrelated attitudes such as organizational identification and commitment?
Organisational Outcomes
As is the case for any organisational initiative, work-life policies and programs
will only be sustained where there is demonstrated contribution to organisational
performance (Bloom et al. 2011). De Cieri and Dowling (2012) note that heightened
awareness of corporate governance and global turbulence have led to an increasing
demand for effective monitoring and measurement of organisational performance
(Chau et al. 2012). In the context of environmental dynamism, although the focus in
organisational research has been primarily on financial performance (Richard et al.
2009), there have been recent calls for attention to be paid to social performance as
well as financial performance (Lengnick-Hall et al. 2009; Paauwe 2009). Drawing
on ideas presented by Guest (2011) and Bardoel and De Cieri (2014), we suggest
that the metrics applied in MNCs to assess the contribution of HRM initiatives
such as work-life practices should pay particular attention to social performance by
supporting workers work-life balance by providing safe and healthy workplaces.
A range of positive outcomes in terms of both social and financial performance
has been identified where organisations implement work-life practices and policies
(Kossek and Michel 2010). Several researchers have demonstrated a link, often
mediated by employee responses, between work-life policies and practices and
organisational outcomes such as higher levels of productivity (Konrad and Mangel
2000; Perry-Smith and Blum 2000) and job performance (Lazarova et al. 2010),
and reduced employee turnover intentions (Forsyth and Polzer-Debruyne 2007).
Haas et al. (2000) identify several benefits, in terms of both social and financial
outcomes, of successful work-life policies and practices. Work-life practices can be
part of a strategy that supports attracting, managing and retaining talent (Richman
et al. 2008). Effective work-life practices may address barriers such as career breaks
related to dependent care responsibilities or a lack of flexibility in career structures.
Work-life strategies can enhance the employer brand, by helping MNCs to obtain
recognition by being seen as a good corporate citizen (Russell and Bourke 1999).
These outcomes are not easy to achieve in Western developed nations; they are even
more difficult to realise in fast-growing economies such as in China and Southeast
Asia (De Cieri and Bardoel 2009). As Xiao and Cooke (2012) found in China, many
organisational leaders and workers tend to view and accept work-life conflict as a
209
fact of life. Some HRM practices that are advocated in many developed nations
as integral to work-life management, such as assistance with employees childcare
needs, are unlikely to be implemented by Chinese managers:
The majority of women work full-time, as part-time work is not an option. Working mothers
tend to draw support for childcare and housework from nurseries, commercial domestic
services and family networks. The concepts of job sharing, part-time, flexi-time and termtime working are unfamiliar to most employers, even less entertained by them (Xiao and
Cooke 2012: 9).
To elucidate the relationships between work-life policies and practices, employee

responses and organisational performance, we pose the following research questions
to guide future research:
11. Which employee responses mediate the relationship between work-life policies
and practices and MNC performance?
12. Do organisational outcomes of work-life policies and practices vary across
different local environments?
13. Which organisational metrics should be used in MNCs to assess the contribution of work-life policies and practices?
We present this framework as an overview of issues or factors to consider in
future research on work-life management in MNCs. We welcome discussion and
debate on the variables and relationships between variables that we have identified.
The framework we have presented is broad and somewhat unspecified. While
intended to provide a useful overview of factors to consider when researching
work-life management in MNCs, we acknowledge that the framework contain few
specified relationships. We suggest that there are a number of areas that require
attention in future research and encourage researchers to adapt and revise the
framework further, as understanding of work-life management in MNCs evolves.
Research Avenues for Work-Life Management in MNCs

Overall, the complexities and ongoing changes related to work-life management
present many important challenges and opportunities for managers in MNCs, and
for the researchers who study these firms. Below, we offer some thoughts on
potential research directions.
First, drawing on the research led by Bowen and Ostroff (2004) on shared
understandings of HRM has brought attention to the challenges and tensions related
to implementing global policy on HRM and work-life matters across diverse MNC
subsidiary contexts. It could be illuminating for future research to investigate these
tensions through qualitative case studies that explore how subsidiaries may respond
to, interpret, and inform an MNCs global policy on work-life issues. Recent
research such as the interviews conducted by Xiao and Cooke (2012) offer some
direction for research.
210
We note that work-life research overall tends to be theory-driven with rigorous

research designs (Chang et al. 2010). However, there is scope for researchers to shed
new light by applying different theoretical perspectives on work-life management
in MNCs. For example, Lazarova et al.s (2010) important work has applied job
demands-resources theory and contagion theory to work-life and expatriates. Also,
ttheoretical perspectives drawing on power and micro-politics could help to answer
the questions we have raised regarding how external factors may influence work-life
management in MNCs.
Scholars within the field of HRM (e.g., Brewster et al. 2014) have called
for research on expatriates to be broadened from a focus on organisational and
expatriate perspectives to give more attention to the familys perspective on issues
such as worklife balance. Doing so would help future research on work-life
management in MNCs to not only reinforce or emulate the existing research on
HRM in MNCs but also go beyond it by bringing in theoretical perspectives that
have been developed in sociological, community and family contexts rather than
based in an organisational context. As Heymann et al. (2013: 242) have argued,
in the global context, it is no longer sufficient for working conditions to address
only the individual workers needs and priorities - they need to address the workers
social context, particularly their need to provide care for their family. For example,
an MNC implementing a workforce reduction or downsizing could consider the
impact not only for the individual but also the whole community as well, particularly
in developing countries where an employee may be supporting an extended family.
Second, we echo calls for attention to construct specification and development
of reliable and valid measures (Chang et al. 2010). While there have been important
advances in construct definition and scale development (e.g., Chen et al. 2014;
Brough et al. 2014), much more work is needed with regard to construct clarity, and
the development and validation of measures across multi-national contexts (Kossek
et al. 2011). For example, Heymann et al. (2013: 239) have argued that: Current
measures of decent work are more comprehensive in terms of what matters to
individuals, but deficient in their coverage of work policies that matter to families.
Third, it is worthwhile to note Von Glinow et al.s (2002) call for researchers
to use broad research lenses with multiple embedded contexts when conducting
globally distributed HRM research. With regard to recent discussion in the HRM
and general management field, we suggest that it is important to consider multiple
levels of theory and analysis relevant to work-life issues. Real advances in this
field could be brought by broadening the more traditional focus on micro-level
factors and exploring macro-level factors related to issues in the global context.
There are apparent opportunities for the work-life field to be advanced by research
based on multi-level theoretical reasoning and modeling. Molloy et al. (2011) have
identified a road map for multi-level research that could be applied to work-life
management research. Comparative research (e.g., Allen et al. 2014; Billing et al.
2014) can be designed to bring together multi-disciplinary perspectives, investigate
complex relationships, and address big questions, although we heed Mathieu
and Chens (2011) warning that there are challenges inherent to the multi-level
paradigm and multi-level research may not be applicable to all research questions.
211
Multi-disciplinary research teams based in different countries could collaborate in

large-scale studies with mixed methods to create a more comprehensive picture
of worklife management across the subsidiary units of MNCs. An example of
multi-level research in this field could investigate employer, employee and family
perspectives of the needs of families regarding work-life management in MNCs.
This could include investigation on three levels and address questions such as:
14. What laws are in place in the MNCs home and host countries to support
workers caring for their families, and are those laws being implemented?
15. What is included in an MNCs global work-life policy that supports employees
caring for their families?
16. Which work-life practices are implemented in a given MNC subsidiary, and
how is this done?
17. What are the outcomes of work-life practices for employees of a given MNC
subsidiary, and their families, in terms of their health and wellbeing?
Fourth, work-life scholars are already responding to calls for research to incorporate a focus on how global organisations can address work-life issues in multiple
cultural contexts (Poelmans 2005). Future research might venture into organisational forms other than large multi-national corporations, such as international small
firms or not-for-profit organisations. Research on MNCs that are based in emerging
economies such as China and India and expanding their global reach could shed light
on how their work-life management might differ from MNCs based in developed
countries. As one example, emerging MNCs tend to send expatriate employees as
single assignees, leaving the family at home. Also, as Poelmans (2005) and Kossek
et al. (2011) have suggested, qualitative research including case studies, such as
exploratory case studies conducted in MNC subsidiaries, to explore the impact of
globalisation on work-family policies and practices may be valuable in building
research on work-life management in MNCs.
Finally, key informants for research on work-life in MNCs include those within
the organisation most likely to be knowledgeable about the issues being researched
and able and willing to communicate about them (Kumar et al. 1993), such as global
managers or directors responsible for HRM or diversity and work-life management
at a national or regional level. However, as Agars and French (2011) argue, capturing
other views, such as the views of marginalised employees is also valuable. Future
research might also explore issues such as the work-life experiences of those
impacted by MNCs and globalisation in negative ways.
In sum, there are numerous interesting and fruitful avenues for work-life
research. We acknowledge that we have not addressed all of the potential directions
for research on work-life management in MNCs and encourage colleagues to
continue to advance knowledge in this field.
212
Conclusion
An emerging theme in research over the past decade is that employees around
the world are becoming increasingly vocal about their work and family needs
and the issue of managing work-life needs is likely to grow in importance. For
HRM professionals and work-life specialists in MNCs, we suggest that employees
will benefit from clarity regarding the availability of practices relevant to worklife management. This is particularly relevant for MNCs operating across diverse
cultures, given that views of work-life vary greatly across regional and national
contexts. However, important gaps remain in knowledge about how MNCs manage
work-life policies and practices, and how the globally dispersed workforce of an
MNC view and experience work-life issues. This chapter explores work-life issues
in MNCs and offers a framework to guide research in this area. We suggest that
research in this area is critical because there are likely to be specific challenges
associated with the design and implementation of work-life policies and practices
that balance multiple and often competing pressures in the dynamic global context,
recognising the need for MNCs to achieve competitive advantage, but not at the
expense of employees health and well-being.
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LiisaMkel VesaSuutari Editors

Work and Family Interface in the International

Liisa Mkel Vesa Suutari

Work and Family

ISBN 978-3-319-17647-5 (eBook)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015942681

The Work and Personal Life Interface in the International

Another Look at Family Adjustment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

What Is a Better Predictor of Work-Family Conflict

Dual-Income and Dual-Career Couples in International Context . . . .

Adjustment of Spouses of Self-Initiated Expatriates:

Home, Family and the Self-Initiated Expatriate

International Business Travel and Work-Family Balance:

10 International Business Traveler, Is Work Always

The Work and Personal Life Interface in the

The globalization of business has led to an increasing number of people working in

L. Mkel () V. Suutari

L. Mkel and V. Suutari

L. Mkel and V. Suutari

which to explore the impact of international mobility on the interface between

L. Mkel and V. Suutari

The chapter entitled Adjustment of spouses of self-initiated expatriates: feeling

L. Mkel and V. Suutari

Integrating the Work-Life Interface During

Abstract The global mining industry is characterized by increasing demands for

J. Richardson () S. McKenna

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

Expatriation and the Work-Life Interface in the Global

Work-Life Balance and the Work-Life Interface

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

Caring Commitments: Family

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

Non-caring Commitments: Travel and Cultural Experiences

We identified widespread perceptions that the mining industry provides

Financial Status and Job Security

The theme of hiring domestic help in developing countries was invariably

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

greater willingness among our interviewees to get involved in non-work activities

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

experience of expatriation. Finally, the pros and cons of working in an expanding

2 Integrating the Work-Life Interface During Expatriation: A Case Study. . .

Expatriate Family Narratives on International

M. Lazarova, Ph.D. () M. Semeniuk

3 Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics. . .

Table 3.1 Sample characteristics

Ages of accompanying children

Relocated for what purpose

3 Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics. . .

3 Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics. . .

in a policy, it is neither being communicated nor implemented to those that need

More than 60 % of respondents were also not offered cross-cultural training

And in the words of another:

Or as one respondent expressed it more humorously,

What Expatriate Families Would Like to Receive

3 Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics. . .

new relocation (56 %) were listed as important. Look-see visits in particular

3 Expatriate Family Narratives on International Mobility: Key Characteristics. . .

Communication support cannot be overstated. As perhaps the least expensive

The Causes of Assignment Failure

Another reason for financial difficulties is that, in an attempt to rein in costs,

Spousal Career Concerns