By Tonya Foust Mead

Abstract:

This paper examines the expatriate and family as elusive participants in management research. It reviews the current literature and focuses on inappropriate sampling which may lead to research manipulation. Furthermore, it seeks to challenge the view that family and spousal problems are responsible for most assignment failures and early departures.

In addition to traditional methods, this research used electronic mail surveys, group computer mediated communications, computerized self administered questionnaires, and foreign field research. Such methodologies introduced findings that corporate support policies inadequately address the needs of internationally mobile families.

 Keywords: expatriate, accompanying partner, failure rate, early departure

Introduction

Expatriates and the global workforce are increasingly becoming significant factors in the human capital management of multinational corporations (MNCs). Headlines such as “Expatriate Workers Mean World to Human Resources” (Byrnes-Lenarcic, 1998) streaming across a recent business journal seems to sum up the sentiment. According to a survey of 100 administrators polled by Runzheimer International (1998), 60% of the respondents predicted that in the next 5 years the expatriate population would increase. Estimates of the global workforce are as high as 73 million (Taylor, 1999) or as low as 250,000 according to the Cranfield Management Centre (cited in Clerk, 1999).

 
Failure Rates, High Cost, and Unmet Expectations

Failure rates, high costs, and unmet expectations represent 3 problems perplexing international human resource mangers (IHRMs). Mendenhall et al (1987, p. 331) theorized that failure rates are between 20 to 50%. Buckley and Brooke (1992) raised the bar to 70% for expatriates assigned to developing countries. Conservative estimates of failure rates, however, range from 7 to 20% depending upon the source, home-country, and assignment location  (Tung, 1981; Zeira and Banai, 1984; Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985; Mendenhall, Dunbar et al, 1987; Tung, 1987; Dowling and Schuler, 1994).  According to Harzing (1995), the two decade old study by Tung (1981) is the most statistically reliable to date. It reported failure rates between 10%-20% for US MNCs and less than 5% failure rates for European and Japanese MNCs.

The cost estimates for failure are more current and can reach three to four times the expatriated  employee’s salary (Harvey, 1983; Zeira and Banai, 1984; Mendenhall and Oddou, 1985;  Torrington, 1994; Birdseye and Hill, 1995).  Once again, conservatively, Mendenhall et al (1987) suggested losses of $55,000 to 150,000. Copeland and Griggs

(1985) reported findings of $250,000 per failure, while (Shannonhouse, 1996) estimated direct costs to be $1 million per early departures.

ow prevalent are failed assignments? In a Cendant Mobility (1998) study of UK-based multinationals, 56% conceded that they experienced failed assignments.  IHRMs also report expatriate turnover rates can be two times higher than non-relocated executives (Gregersen and Black, 1999). If failure rates, high costs and doubled turnover rates aren’t enough to confound IHRMs, Gregersen and Black also found that of  the expatriates who complete contracts to full-term, only one-third performed up to expectations. 

Family and Spousal Problems Number One Cited Reason for Failure

A review of the expatriate literature reveals that the role of the accompanying spouse is cited as one of the most critical and important factors influencing international assignment success (Punnett, 1997; Sanchez,  Spector et al, 2000).

Black and Gregersen (1991) proposed that family and spousal-related issues are major factors in expatriate management. Brewster  (1995, p. 58) went so far as to state, "often the partner's failure to adjust leads to the early termination." In academe this is a widely accepted view.  Researchers have demonstrated  that while spousal and familial influences on an employee’s performance are not unique to international relocations, they are more critical  than intra-country relocations (Zeira and Banai, 1984; Caligiuri, Hyland et al., 1998; Shaffer and Harrison 1998; Harvey, Buckley et al. 1999).

 In spite of the consensus that family and spousal problems, spousal resistance and dissatisfaction are primary reasons for early departures and assignment failures, few explanations for their root cause have been presented. It is agreed that the work demands of the expatriate, coupled with family conflicts (Greenhause and Beutell, 1985; Feldman and Thompson, 1993) and the deterioration of partner intimacy (Mead, 2002) can lead to early departure. However, the extent to which corporate support is ineffectual or even lacking has rarely been mentioned as a factor influencing the decision to depart prematurely or as a cause for assignment failure. On the domestic front, Hom and Griffeth (1995) developed a retention model based on pay, benefits, fairness and role conflict. Additionally, the Families and Work Institute (1997) found that exuberant job demands negatively impact retention while job quality and workplace support positively impact retention-  factors which have yet to be fully explored in the international work environment.

The Challenge

Glaser (as cited by McNulty, 2001) states, “…it is about time researchers study the problem that exists for the participants in the area, not what is supposed to exist or what professionals say is important…” Barriers to truth in expatriate management research herein lies under three common practices (i) small samples (ii) over-under representation of nationalities, and (iii) non-internationalization of expatriate research. Each is presented below.

Small Samples

Although the expatriate population is huge and steadily increasing, in the study of expatriate acculturation, spousal and family adjustment, and expatriate failure rates;  current academic researchers report small samples. Vryza (1997) collected data from 140 general managers of foreign international joint ventures (US-based only). Anderzen (1998) studied 131 expatriates for psycho-physiological predictors. Scott (1997) interviewed the adjustment and performance of 81 expatriates. Mainwaring-Betts (1993) studied 72 children to examine gender its influence on international adaptation. Abramson and Ai (1996) surveyed 35 Chinese and expatriates based in China. Sakho (1998) analyzed the role of 25 expatriate managers working in England.

Over-Under Representation of Nationalities

Often, as the samples increase, over and under-representation of nationalities result. Copeland (2001) studied adjustment in 194 accompanying spouses, 80% of the participants, however, were American. Or, as in the case with Tung (1998) in the examination of expatriate attitudes, the researcher may have incurred a huge error by the faulty and selective recall of her subjects. 409 expatriates participated, perhaps due to the liberal extension of the repatriation period to half a decade.

Non- Internationalization of Expatriate Research

As the perceptions of a multi-national, multi-ethnic participant group involves in many cases, ethnocentrism (Gibson, 1998) and stereotyping (Marsh, 1999), Appadurai (1997, p. 59) challenged fellow researchers with this statement:  “…Are we prepared to move beyond a model for internationalizing social science whose main concern is with improving how others practice our precepts?…”  A quotation by a participant in this researcher’s study captures the viewpoints of the murmurings in the field.

 “I have been an expatriate administrator for 18 years in West Africa, Syria, and Kuwait. Americans generally have a naivety and cultural arrogance that rubs people the wrong way (excuse this stereotype). This I find strange as the books on cultural management and some of the leading research on cross-cultural psychology is American. (Mead, 2001).

 
The Solution: Practice-Oriented Research?

The transitory nature of expatriation, remote locations, poor infrastructure and safety concerns do not lend itself to in-depth expatriate research.  While the expatriate assignment averages 2 to 3 years, Windham (1999) reports that the period has been declining when compared to previous years. Furthermore, the threat of death, kidnapping and assault is very real for many expatriates. Pelton, a respected author of overseas threat analysis, provided this general overview, “Expatriates who live in foreign countries are at most risk, while the causal tourist, or in-out business visitor are almost risk free.” (as cited by Fielding, 1998, p. 1). Faced with such a hostile environment, expatriates keep low profiles. This may hinder public displays of research participation.

In light of these unique features,  some researchers attempt to examine expatriate acculturation and attitudes by circumventing the expatriate all together, and instead interview IHRMs. The relative ease by which researchers communicate with IHRMs in their native language; accessibility by phone, postal mail or fax; willingness to share information; and quick response time,  make this group excellent subjects from which to draw a sample. Consulting and relocation firms providing services to MNCs and specializing in practice-oriented research  such as Runzheimer (1998), Windham (1999), Cendant Mobility (1998),  PriceWaterhouseCoopers (1999) favor this technique.

Incorrect Inferences from Inappropriate and Biased Sampling

There are two risks associated with this practice. First, incorrect inferences about the expatriate population using biased and inappropriate sampling  brings into question the research findings,  corporate support policy implications and recommendations for improvement. Second, the resulting findings may be manipulated.

The immediate past chair of the Society for Human Resource Management, Libby Sartain, confirms that her organization's research shows that companies have low opinions of their human resource departments. So too, do the human resource professionals themselves (as cited by Skapinker, 2002).

Therefore, it is easy to see how one might be enticed to produce literature that limits concepts to those for which one particular group is ideologically comfortable or to those that emphasize variables that are easily manipulated by managerial interests (Watson, 1994). In failure rate analysis, it is understandable that IHRM looks to various co-conspirators, in conjunction with internal documentation to identify likely causal factors for such outcomes. This proclivity is often exploited, particularly amongst relocation and consulting firms. A negation of the valuable contributions to society that these service agents provide is not the aim. However, concerns that practice-oriented scholars are so “… client-centered that they fail to question their clients’ own definition of a problem and thereby build testable propositions that are embedded into everyday life…” (Cooperrider and Srivastva, 1987, p. 7).

Non-Integration of Research to Practice

Academic researchers do not escape criticism. Friedlander (1984) described academe’s inability to integrate research into practice through the narrow focus on analyzing, conceptualizing and researching the problem. He offered this poignant recommendation, “…Instead, let’s actively engage and experiment with new designs for producing knowledge that is, in fact, used by organizations…” (p. 647).

Case Methodology

This case presents the methodology for studying the perceptions of 88 expatriates and/or accompanying spouses. The purpose was to reject/accept the hypothesis that 69% of all failures in overseas assignments are due to family problems (Atlas,1995). The author utilized a 61 question exploratory analysis containing multiple choice, Likert Scale and open-ended questions.  Qualitative interpretations from the respondents  were compiled to add depth to the statistical findings (Creswell, 1994).

Unique Psychological Characteristics of Sample

Expatriates, unlike migrants, are sent to the host country by a sponsor (MNC) and are expected to repatriate to their home country after the contract completion. The temporary employment contract and job uncertainties give rise to the psychological factors briefly discussed below. Such attributes may be forgotten due to selective recall (Sanitioso, Junda, and Fong, 1990). To limit these errors, all of the respondents, with the exception of one were surveyed during a work-related assignment abroad. Furthermore, such factors may not be present in IHRM sample, increasing the likelihood of  inappropriate sampling errors and faulty inferences.

• Inclusionary Boundary: Feldman and Thompson (1993) referred to the expatriate’s loss of centrality in the informal network of the sponsoring organization

• Multi-Faceted Nature of Expatriation: Expatriates are required to adjust to multiple facets of a new life simultaneously (Black, 1988). They must also make sense of political, cultural, and economic systems while learning new languages, and standards of behavior.

• Culture Shock: Frustration resulting from strange cues about what to do and how to get it done (Oberg, 1958). This is further compounded when organizational members are unavailable to help make sense about the new environment

• Loss of Reality:  Schachter, Wrightsman, Festinger  (as cited in Rodrigues, 1976) found that as anxiety increases, the need to associate with others in like situations becomes paramont to establish reality. 

 
Computer Assisted Data Collection (CADC) and Electronic Mail Survey (EMS)

CADC and EMS were selected for three reasons. First, ten years ago Triola (1992) found that high survey refusal rates were making it difficult to obtain random samples.  To combat resistance, researchers turn to the computer to assist with data collection. de Leeuw and Nicholls (1996, p. 1) report that CADC is “replacing paper and pen methods.”

 Second, online technology heightens the potential for obtaining a more representative sample, not specific to any one company, organization, country or nationality.  Third, with such an  extremely personal questionnaire,  CADC and EMS were used to reduce social desirability response errors.

Respondents were asked to rate their perceptions of corporate support policy  and  spousal and family problems, based on a intensity questions (Likert-scale) with numerical and descriptive ratings. Random flip-flop of the scale was used to prevent pattern responses (Selltiz et al, 1964). A Newman-Keuls Test was employed  at a 0.05 significance level to test significant differences between responses of 10 subgroups (Early Departures, Expatriates with Accompanying Children, Expatriates without Accompanying Children, Less than 5 years Overseas, 5 to 9 Years Overseas, 10 Years or More Overseas, Challenging Location, Regular Location, Sector, and Gender.

To test the numerical means generated, respondents were given options to respond to open-ended questions.  Beyond the background classifier questions, there were 15 free-response questions used  to gather opinions. Participant narratives are presented in corresponding sections within the statistical findings. The data were collected through the following  six channels.

Foreign Field Research

To cope, expatriates overwhelmingly turn to local expatriate communities (Cohen, 1977; Black and Gregersen, 1991; Brewster, 1995). Therefore, potential participants were located at expatriate social clubs. The risk of obtaining an unrepresentative and non-empirical sample (non-expatriate or non-accompanying partners) was reduced by garnering high level sponsorship from leaders in the expatriate community (Selltiz et al, 1964).

Field research was undertaken in Brazil, a country that according to the American Academy of Management (as cited by Barbosa, 2000) represents one of four countries with no cultural counterpart and yet it is one of the hottest destinations for expatriates (Windham, 2000). Windham (2000) also reports that Brazil is one of the five most challenging countries for expatriates, along with China, Japan, India, Russia.

High-level sponsorship and  word of mouth promotion from recognized experts in the expatriate community were used to limit non-returns (Selltiz et al., 1964). The researcher met with the president of the International Newcomer’s Club (INC) Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to discuss the survey and to request permission to distribute. During a general meeting, the president introduced the study. Fifteen surveys were submitted to the president who later hand delivered them to the researcher.

International Announcement

To limit systematic error resulting from non-responses due to technological inaccessibility (Hamburg, 1979), the researcher provided a postal address, facsimile, and  a printed announcement in the December 2000 issue of Woman Abroad Magazine, England.  This magazine is the world’s first combined international magazine and website devoted to helping women living abroad cope with third culture problems. Almost 20,000 magazines are circulated worldwide. Twenty-five completed surveys were received in this manner.

 Group Computer-Mediated Communication (GCMC)

Computer users who frequent web portals, become members of a discussion group (GCMC) often return for continual interaction. They communicate in styles that are less confrontational, more helpful, and self-revealing than previously believed (Rafaeli et al, 1994).

Therefore, the researcher of this study utilized 18 domestic and foreign web-based search engines. The search yielded 83 GCMCs serving the expatriate market.  Of those encountered, 41 provided space for guests to post announcements. Some of the GCMCs: Australians Abroad, Expats in Israel, Expats Living in Indonesia, Expat Singapore, Nigerians Abroad, Frog French Expats,  and Brits Living in Germany.

As a response to the announcements, 182 electronic inquiries were received. In all, 71 (including Woman Abroad Website and magazine respondents) were submitted. Please see the newly formed, www.woman-abroad.com to glimpse a similar audience as Postmark Publishing, Ltda., publisher of the magazine has since liquidated.

Computerized Self-Administered Questionnaire (CSAQ)

The researcher was interviewed by the Brazilian webportal serving expatriates. Once aired, the audience was offered the option to participate via CSAQ. Thus, 2 surveys were received. According to de Leeuw and Nicholls (1996), the use of CSAQ is believed to offer higher degrees of privacy and anonymity which leads to greater self disclosure and less social desirability bias.

Global Connections and Foreign Language Postings

Crucial to foster participation (Selltiz et al, 1964), recognized international leaders: editor of Woman Abroad; author of three relocation books; co-founders of Expatriate Web portals such as: www.virtualvienna.net and Expats in Israel; and a 15-year international human resource veteran  assisted with distribution. German language announcements appeared in the German Expat Webportal.

Sample Demographics

Nationalities.

All nationalities, locations, and industries within the expatriate community were believed to be proportionally represented.  34% American; 30% European; 14% Australian or New Zealander; 7% Nigerian, Indian or Asian; 6% Canadian; and 6% Dutch. 

Accompanying Children.

55% chose to bring with them to their overseas posting accompanying children, 45% did not. Specifically, of the expatriates with accompanying children, 18% had one child;  21% had two children; 10% had three children; 4% had four children; 2% had five children.  The most frequent familial (expatriates with accompanying children) composition was: two children, both genders, age range from 6 to 12 years (10% of the total respondent pool).

Assignment Location.

34% of the participants were posted in Europe; 18% in Challenging Countries; 14% in Asia; 8% in North America; 7% in Africa, Middle East; 4% in Australia, New Zealand; 4% in South, Central America; and 11% location not indicated.

Industries.

22% represented the Energy sector.  16% were from Technology. 8% represented Environmental. 8% from Educational Institutions. 8% from Professional Services. 7% from the Finance. 7% from Food and Consumer Goods. 7% Media. 6% from Transport. 5% from  NGOs. 2% from Health Professions and 2% from the Military. The remaining 3% did not indicate industry.

 Findings

(a)        Early Departures

 The primary purpose of the research was to test the Null Hypothesis that 69% of all failures in overseas assignments are a result of ‘family and spousal problems.’ The hypothesis proved false.

 63% of the participant pool agreed or tended to agree that early departures were due to family and spousal problems as referenced by Atlas (1995). Only 16% disagreed or tended to disagree. 21% did not respond to the question. 

 
Table 1: Participant Quotations.

 

“hmm? I don’t challenge your stats, but of the expats that I have known, all have had successful assignments.” Australian male. Five years overseas experience in USA, Switzerland, and Hong Kong.

“Tend to disagree. It is an exaggerated excuse.” American female with 13 years experience in England, Holland, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, India and France.

15% of the respondents indicated that during the course of their expatriate career, or period spent as an accompanying spouse, they have left early from an overseas posting. 75% of the respondents have never left early from an assignment.  Of those with firsthand experience, 50% indicated that the reasons for premature departure were Work-Related, i.e., corporate cut-backs, corporate re-direction, or perhaps expatriate difficulties with the employer or direction the office was headed, included also with this category are two respondents who mentioned ‘career prospects’ such as the expatriate and/or the spouse received a better job offer or promotion back home. 17% additional respondents indicated that the premature departure was Financial, or that the couple was not reaching their financial goals. The remaining 33% was distributed evenly among four categories: Children/Elderly Parents, or Medical, or Marital Infidelity/Separation/Divorce or Cultural Adaptation.

 71% of the survey participants knew of someone who had departed early. 29% of the survey participants did not know of anyone who had departed early. The reasons given for early departures were: 31% wrote that there were Work-Related, such as: difficulties with the employer, the corporation restructured, the work demands were too great, or that there was a mismatch between the  corporate needs or skill requirements of the employer and those held by the expatriate accepting the assignment.  19% indicated that the reason for early departure was Spousal  Problems such as the wife was unhappy, bored unemployed and missed her/his independence.  15% penciled in, as a response to the open-ended question that the reason for leaving was Cultural Adaptation. Both the spouse and the expatriate felt homesick, couldn’t adapt and yearned for their native country. 11% withdrew prematurely from an overseas posting because of the extra demands caring for accompanied or unaccompanied children or elderly parents left at home (Children/Elderly Parents). 11% indicated that early withdrawal had a direct linkage to Marital Infidelity/Separation/Divorce. 5% left early because of Medical reasons. 4% left early due to Financial concerns. 2% did not complete their contract to full term  because of Substance Abuse or Alcoholism. The remaining 2% left prematurely because of concerns with Personal Safety.

 Table 2: Participant Quotations.
 

Premature departure is usually the result of a miss-match: the wrong person for the job. The reasons for the miss-match are often due to miss-communication. Someone wasn’t listening during the interview. American female with 29 years overseas experience in Africa, Asia, and Middle East.

“The fact that the guys are expected to work 80 hour weeks plays a huge part in the failure rate.”  Canadian female 4.5 years overseas experience in Taiwan and Israel.

“Yes, I know someone who left prematurely. Difficulties with employer, changes of contract, conditions of employment, salary reductions were the reasons. People who have jobs work hard, and are squeezed dry by employers (often this is the reason for leaving). I don’t know of anyone who left because of family problems (and I’ve been an expat for almost ten years). British female. Nine years overseas experience in New Zealand, India, Saudi Arabia, and Duabi, UAE.

“I know someone who left prematurely, They couldn’t deal with the alien environment and the support base wasn’t sympathetic (not set up to deal with disaffected expats who are simply there to do a job).” Australian expatriate and accompanying partner with 5 years overseas experience in Hong Kong.

“I know of friends who left early from an assignment for various reasons. Usually its general unhappiness with the location combined with dissatisfaction with the job.” American female with 19 years overseas experience in Singapore, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Holland and England.

(b)        Early Departure Sub Group’s Perceptions of Corporate Support          

 
The Early Departure sub-group strongly disagreed with the statement that “Corporate office alleviated  relocation issues. When comparing response across expatriate groups,   Early Departure dissatisfaction was statistically significant from that of the other  9 groups tested.

 Furthermore, while not statistically significant, Early Departure experienced the highest mathematical mean and  expressed their disagreement with the statement, “I am pleased with the corporate support offered to my family.”

 Table 3: Participant Quotations.

 

“We will be leaving from this assignment due to the lack of support of both the stateside and local companies.” American female with 10 years overseas experience in Brazil, Japan, Canada, Germany, Turkey, and Morocco.

“[Reason for early departure] not enough support from head office back home.” American female with six years overseas experience in Argentina, Peru, Nicaragua, India, Romania, and Brazil.

 
( c )      At-Risk Sub-Group for Early Departure

 The secondary purpose of the research was to identify (i)  stressors associated with an overseas assignment (ii) rank the stressors, (iii) record, compile the descriptive statistics, and (iv) compare mathematical means across the sub-groups. Based on this evaluation,  Expatriate Families without Accompanying Children was the most likely group to depart from an early assignment.

Expatriate Families without Accompanying Children, experienced the highest stress means for 12 family and spousal problems (in ranked order) when compared with the other groups for the following family and spousal problems: (a) poor communication between expatriate, company, spouse, family, and/or locals; (b) isolation; (c) marital infidelity (tied);  and (d) inattentiveness of expatriate spouse; (e) distance from family and friends; and  (f) expatriate executive’s or spouse’s lack of understanding (tied); (g) unprepared for the host country’s culture; (h) expatriate executive too involved in work; and  (i) expatriate spouse wishes to resume career (tied);  (j) dual career problem; (k) host country’s culture too different from the home country’s culture; (l) expatriate executive too demanding of spouse.

Possible Correlation between Partner’s desire to work and Expatriate’s Over-involvement with work. It is worth noting that the two variables ‘expatriate spouse wishes to resume career’ and ‘expatriate executive too involved in work’ received the exact mean score for  Expatriate Families without Accompanying Children. More research needs to be undertaken to determine if there is a direct correlation between the expatriates’ involvement in work and the partners’ desire to resume their careers. As the expatriate spends less time at home and occupies time and thoughts with the job—the partner may feel a heightened desire to work.

 (d) Corporate Support

 Expatriates with Accompanying Children had the lowest mathematical mean (suggesting that they agreed or tended to agree) with “Corporate office alleviated relocation issues”. On the other hand, the Early Departures had the highest mathematical  mean (disagreed or tended to disagree).

 The mean for  Expatriates with Accompanying Children is statistically significant and less than the means for all of the 10 groups tested. These findings may prove the basis for evidence of a difference between Groups and their level of satisfaction or confidence in the “Corporate offices ability to alleviate the stress associated with an international relocation.” Diametrical positioning of the 2 groups were noted. Expatriates  with Accompanying Children are more likely to be satisfied with corporate support services offered to them than non-accompanied expatriates. Corporations are perceived to be adequately providing provisions for private educational needs of accompanying children. At the same time, there are perceptions that benefit plans for married Expatriates without Accompanying Children or single expatriates are not equitable.  This finding may mirror similar trends in the US whereby single executives are demanding equal benefits as their co-workers with families. Family oriented benefits may greatly aid expatriates with families but are of little use to single, childless expatriates.

Challenging Location strongly agreed with the statement, “Corporate office added to frustrations.” When comparing responses across expatriate groups,  their dissatisfaction was higher than those of the other groups tested.  

 In addition to higher group mathematical means for “Corporate office added to frustrations”, Challenging Location also expressed dissatisfaction with the transition assistance provided by the company and so verbalized this perception with the lowest mean score  for the question, “Did this assistance greatly aid you in your transition?”

 This may suggest that transition assistance for these select countries require greater flexibility and higher budgets for items such as: regulatory guidance, legal and bureaucratic assistance, cultural adaptation, orientation, language, safety and security briefings, plus educational seminars to include fact sheets on historical time line, governmental leaders, political ideology, gender differences and respected leadership traits.

 International human resource managers rationalize that standardized policies, plans, procedures, goals and objectives are globally applicable while situations in challenging locations like China, Brazil, Russia, India and Japan warrant individualized, flexible, and creative approaches to management.

 “Maintenance and On-going” corporate support was more highly valued among the study participants than pre-departure and early arrival assistance. The findings showed that 56% of the respondents mentioned corporate support provided in the on-going/maintenance phase as the most helpful corporate support services provided. 44% mentioned corporate support services that centered on pre-arrival/arrival phase. These findings are striking in that the typical industry standard for corporate support policies is to focus on pre-departure and immediate arrival. 

 Table 4: Participant Quotations.
 

The company sometimes focuses more on the employee when they arrive and leaves the spouse and family to get on in a new country without any support. There is no real transition period for the employee, he or she steps out of one job and into another and life goes on.” American female. Eleven years experience in Hong Kong, Thailand, and Singapore.

“No corporate resources available here in Samoa.” New Zealander male with 2 months overseas experience in American Samoa.

“The HR department was very unhelpful.” American female with 3 months overseas experience in Scotland.

“There’s little job security, you make a mistake and you’re on the next plane out (or in jail in my case) and that’s stressful. Contracts are not worth the paper they are written on, and employers change them unilaterally- it you challenge this you are sacked—either put up or shut up! Changing jobs can be hard, with clauses banning you from other jobs locally for 2 years, and you need a ‘letter of no objection’ to get another job in the same country. Everyone is on knife edge,  and salaries no longer compensate—mine has been the same for 6 years now.” American female with experience in the United American Emirates.

“The company didn’t trust the employees accounting of costs. The family was forced to live far below their accustomed standards and without personal advantages to offset the hardships.” American female. 15 years overseas experience in England, Holland, and Singapore.

“We believe most employers underestimate the stress of going abroad with a partner/family for the first time, and going to a new continent (or a new country with new language) and going to a hardship post. We believe the counseling they provide, usually from the internal HR department does not work as employees don’t trust their confidentially.”  Dutch expatriate couple with experience in Asia.

 
According to the ANOVA, t-test and Multiple Comparison Table, there was no significant difference in the mathematical means of the perceptions for corporate support across  Sectors.

(e)        Family and Spousal Problems

24 possible family and spousal problems were tested. A ranking of mathematical means of perceived causes of stress (as reported by the respondents) showed that (1) isolation - from working husband ; from family and friends; work colleagues; and isolation/alienation from host country’s culture, (2) unrealistic expectations-on part of self, spouse, company, (3) poor communication- when dealing with company or spouse, (4) too much work- expatriate executive concentrated too much on job, (5) too many problems at once, i.e. daily hassles of work and home life (6) infrequent contact with spouse (as viewed by expatriate executive or accompanying spouse) were the primary stressors relating to an overseas assignment.

 Table 5: Participant Quotations.

 

e don’t know if this is correct, but certainly a significant marital stress and bitterness to the company. This is also true from the friends and associates I know who have completed expatriate assignments.” Australian expatriate couple who completed the survey jointly. Five years overseas experience in Hong Kong.

“We had a very strong marriage, and thought that we were equipped to handle anything. After 3 years of living on a compound that had few Westerners, fewer women, and even fewer families, it came down to us at each others throats.” American female with three years experience in Saudi Arabia.

“The pressures of a new country, new language, problems with the adjustment of your children, driving, and managing bills in more than one country can be overwhelming at times. Sadly, many times, married couples begin to blame each other for everything that goes wrong.” American female with experience in France.

‘Isolation’ was the family and spousal problem that experienced the lowest standard deviation and earned the highest average mean across sub-groups. This would suggest that on the whole, expatriates and accompanying spouses deem ‘isolation’ (in its broadest sense) to be a major concern.  As defined in this study, isolation on the part of the spouse from the working expatriate; isolation from the perspective of the couple from family and friends to include isolation/alienation from ‘host country’ culture; and finally, isolation from home-based work colleagues.

 Table 6: Participant Quotations.

           

Isolation and No Communication

“[What I miss is] family and being anonymous… not being stared at all the time like you’re a monkey in a zoo!” American female with twelve years experience in Indonesia.

“[Major problems are] social isolation from others and lowered sense of identity with your home culture.” Polish-Italian female with two years experience in Germany.

“The spouse who is going to attempt to relocate to a foreign country should be an independent individual. Family ties should be loose, i.e. living close to parents and/or siblings should not be a concern. The spouse (actually, both parties should enjoy change. This is probably the most important aspect of being able to adjust to new things. I guess it’s important not to be a clingy sort of person.” American female. Two years experience in Germany.

Too Much Work and Too Many Problems.

“Too often the wife is dumped in a new country and left to figure out stuff for herself. Hubby meanwhile is out at work 12-14 hours a day, working hard, having a ball, and probably doing lots of traveling, meeting new and interesting people.” Swiss female. Two years experience in Singapore.

“Being a ‘single’ more in a foreign country is a huge challenge even with household help.” Canadian female with almost five years experience in Taiwan and Israel.

Too Many Problems.

“Talk about stress: I am now in the process of negotiating-- from 6,000 miles away-- to move my mother, aged 86 years, from her independent living facility to one with more supervision; helping my daughter-- who lives 7,000 miles away-- plan her wedding; and encouraging my son-- who lives 9,000 miles away-- to get his act together. My husband, or course, is at work. Only the cat is here to keep me company and SHE’S asleep. American female. Twenty-four years experience in Austria, Philippines, Egypt and Germany.

 

Conclusion

In the field of IHRM, there is a depth of knowledge that can be derived from expatriates. As a participant group, they have been conveniently overlooked due to the transient nature of their employment contracts, safety concerns, poor infrastructure, and remote location. With the use of computer technologies such as GCMC, EMS, and CSAQ, their full participation in the development of expatriate management policy can be assured.

 Failing to uncover, acknowledge and address expatriate concerns coupled with corporate indecision, noncommittal communication, and insensitivity to inherent problems presented during an overseas assignment may exacerbate feelings of dissatisfaction prompting the expatriate and family to terminate the expatriate contract prematurely.

 Two expatriate groups that require specific attention are expatriates without accompanying children and expatriates located in challenging countries. To address the specific needs of the former, suggestions to close the benefits gap of perceived inequities: spousal employment assistance, educational stipend, educational vouchers for future kids, spouse network, financial assistance for elderly health care, and/or financial support for non-accompanying children left at home.

Regarding the latter, IHRMs may rationalize that standardized policies and the like are applicable universally while situations in challenging countries like China, Brazil, Russia, India and Japan warrant individualized and flexible approaches to expatriate management. Transition assistance should be focused on the provision of regulatory guidance, legal and bureaucratic assistance, cultural adaptation, orientation, language, safety and security briefings.

And finally, more attention needs to be given to the on-going management phase of an international assignment contract. For it is through maintenance of healthy relationships and business processes that sustain the foreign subsidiary, individual expatriate and family for years to come.
 
Tonya Foust Mead, PhD, MBA, MA http://www.ishareknowledge.com is a consultant specializing in human behavior, school and social psychology. She can be contacted at: tonya@ishareknowledge.com

Appendix

Table 1: Mathematical Means of 24 Family and Spousal Variables by Group

	GR1	GR2	GR3	GR4	GR5	GR6	GR7	GR8	GR9	GR10
Problem	Early Depart	W/O Early Depart	5yros <10yr	>10yrs  o.s.	With Kids	W/O Kids	Chllng Place	Reg. Place	>5yrs o.s.	Male	All Subjects in Study
	N=12	N=76	N=23	N=20	N=48	N=40	N=16	N=72	N=31	N=12	N=88
NOCNCT  STD	2.66 1.07	2.43 .99	2.56 .94	2.35 1.13	2.33 .97	1.60 1.21	2.50 1.03	2.45 1.00	2.45 .96	2.41 .66	2.46
NOCOMM   STD	2.66 .98	2.48 1.01	2.60 .98	2.40 1.14	2.33 .90	2.72 1.08	2.43 .89	2.52 1.03	2.48 .92	2.50 1.08	2.52
UREXPT  STD	2.75 .86	2.50 .85	2.60 .89	2.50 1.10	2.37 .84	2.72 .84	2.43 .72	2.55 .88	2.48 .67	2.41 .79	2.53
UPRPCUL  STD	2.16 .83	2.23 .83	2.26 .81	2.10 .96	2.10 .80	2.37 .83	2.12 .61	2.25 .86	2.16 .77	2.00 .73	2.22
DJOB  STD	2.08 1.24	2.07 .97	2.17 1.15	2.15 1.04	1.93 1.09	2.25 .86	2.06 .99	2.08 1.01	1.96 .91	2.08 .79	2.07
SPJOB  STD	1.50 .90	2.23 1.01	2.13 1.01	2.15 1.18	1.97 .93	2.32 1.11	2.06 .92	2.15 1.05	2.29 .93	2.16 1.11	2.13
CUL2DIFF  STD	2.00 .73	2.05 .89	1.82 .88	2.00 .97	1.97 .86	2.12 .88	1.81 .75	2.09 .89	2.09 .83	1.91 .66	2.04
SCHPRB  STD	1.75 1.21	1.78 1.33	1.82 1.40	2.00 1.29	1.81 1.33	1.75 1.31	1.62 1.40	1.81 1.30	1.64 1.35	1.33 1.07	1.78
DISCM  STD	2.83 .93	2.21 1.12	2.47 1.20	2.50 1.10	2.14 1.09	2.47 1.13	1.81 1.22	2.40 1.07	1.93 .99	2.25 1.13	2.29
SOCZKID  STD	1.66 1.15	1.65 1.23	1.56 1.23	1.95 1.27	1.70 1.23	1.60 1.21	1.43 1.26	1.70 1.21	1.48 1.20	1.41 1.16	1.65
NOOPP  STD	2.08 1.08	1.89 1.01	2.00 .95	1.90 1.07	1.77 .90	2.10 1.12	1.81 .98	1.94 1.03	1.74 1.03	1.83 .93	1.92
NOATTN  STD	2.25 .75	2.28 1.10	2.21 1.20	2.10 1.02	2.08 .98	2.52 1.10	2.18 .91	2.30 1.09	2.38 1.05	2.25 .86	2.28
X2MWRK   STD	3.00 .73	2.35 .97	2.39 1.23	2.25 1.01	2.22 .90	2.70 .99	2.43 .89	2.44 .99	2.54 .80	2.58 .79	2.44
X2MTRVL   STD	2.25 1.21	2.01 .97	2.08 .99	1.90 1.07	1.81 .93	2.32 1.02	2.06 1.06	2.04 .99	2.03 .94	1.66 1.15	2.04
DISTFF  STD	2.41 .99	2.30 .84	2.21 .90	2.10 .91	2.20 .92	2.45 .78	2.25 .77	2.33 .88	2.58 .71	2.25 1.05	2.31
NOUND  STD	2.33 1.15	2.27 1.07	2.52 1.16	2.40 .94	2.14 1.01	2.45 1.15	2.31 1.07	2.27 1.09	2.09 1.10	2.16 1.19	2.28
X2MPRBL  STD	2.75 .62	2.42 .96	2.47 .94	2.25 1.11	2.25 .97	2.72 .81	2.31 1.01	2.50 .91	2.45 .92	2.50 .79	2.46
EXP2DMD  STD	1.75 .96	2.03 1.01	2.13 1.01	1.95 1.05	1.89 .97	2.12 1.04	2.00 .89	2.00 1.03	2.03 1.01	1.91 .99	2.00
LINC  STD	2.25 1.13	2.10 1.13	2.34 1.15	2.30 1.12	2.00 1.09	2.27 1.17	2.00 1.09	2.15 1.14	1.83 1.09	1.66 .77	2.12
CHGROU  STD	1.75 .86	1.86 .78	1.82 .65	1.65 .81	1.93 .80	1.75 .77	1.93 .68	1.83 .82	1.83 .89	1.50 .67	1.85
X2INVWRK  STD	2.08 .90	2.21 .88	2.30 1.01	1.95 .94	2.08 .91	2.32 .82	2.31 .94	2.16 .87	2.50 .57	2.00 .73	2.19
WRKDIFF  STD	2.50 .67	2.26 .95	2.04 .92	2.30 1.08	2.14 .92	2.47 .90	2.12 .95	2.33 .91	2.25 .95	2.16 .71	2.29
ISOL  STD	2.41 .79	2.59  .83	2.47 .73	2.25 .91	2.52 .82	2.62 .83	2.50 .89	2.58 .81	2.50 .57	2.58 .66	2.56
MRTINF  STD	2.50 1.50	2.38 1.52	2.43 1.50	2.25 1.58	2.20 1.47	2.62 1.54	2.12 1.40	2.45 1.53	2.50 1.73	2.50 1.62	2.39

 Note: Numbers in bold had the highest Means per variable by Groups.

Table 2: Corporate Support Policies: Expatriate Perceptions across Groups

	GR1	GR2	GR3	GR4	GR5	GR6	GR7	GR8	GR9
Corp. Support Issue	Early Depart	W/O Early Depart	5yros- 9yr os	> 10yrs  o.s.	With Kids	W/O Kids	Chllng Place	Reg. Place	< 5yrs  o.s.	All Subject  in Study
	N=12	N=76	N=23	N=20	N=48	N=40	N=16	N=72	N=31	N=88
CSHAPPY STD	3.08 .99	2.31 1.35	2.43 1.50	2.35 1.38	2.10 1.40	2.80 1.15	2.56 1.20	2.38 1.36	2.61 1.17	2.42 1.33
CSFRUST   STD	2.41 .99	2.18 1.36	2.21 1.27	2.20 1.36	2.25 1.40	2.17 1.21	2.75 1.06	2.09 1.34	2.06 1.26	2.21 1.31
CS ALLEV  STD	3.16 .83	2.14 1.13	2.39 1.30	2.25 1.06	1.97 1.10	2.65 1.12	2.31 1.01	2.27 1.18	2.25 1.09	2.28 1.15
TRANASS  STD	.83 .83	1.09 .75	1.26 .61	1.10 1.02	.89 .69	1.25 .80	1.50 .96	.95 .68	1.03 .65	1.05 .76
CSCNFLC STD	1.83 1.40	2.22 1.39	2.04 1.52	2.25 1.37	2.16 1.43	2.17 1.35	2.56 1.45	2.08 1.37	2.48 1.31	2.17 1.39

 

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