foust mead dissb part 2
TRANSCRIPT
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Report of the Methodology
The data obtained from the pilot test met the reliability standard, as the type and
quality of the responses received from the international participants remained uniform
throughout the four month testing period. Furthermore, the data met the validity standard
as the survey instrument sought to identify, define and rank both the stress reduction
techniques and family and spousal problems of the subjects.
Instrument Design. It was discovered during the pilot study that there were three
typographical errors, which were corrected. It was recommended that a change in
terminology of Question 24, Part E. from ‘Marital Affairs’ to ‘Marital Infidelity’ would
improve survey accuracy. The researcher complied.
Distribution. Initially, the researcher sent the surveys to email boxes without
regard to ‘internet protocol.’ After receiving a suggestion from an informed friend, the
researcher added a step in the distribution process that asked for permission to send the
survey before actually enclosing the survey as an attachment to an email. This act of
‘internet courtesy’ may have been the reason for the high 40.54% response rate.
And finally, the survey was originally distributed as a ‘Windows’ software
document. Due to the chaos resulting from the ‘Melissa’ and ‘I Love You’ viruses that
attached themselves to Microsoft Windows documents, thereby corrupting the computer
hard drives of the recipients, the researcher began to send the survey instrument as an
‘RTF’ or Rich Text Format file. RTF files have not been so easily corrupted and therefore
proved a relatively safe environment for transmitting and receiving messages. The
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changes enacted by the researcher coincided with the mounting opposition against
frivolous email messaging and junk mail. In late July 2000, US Senator John McCain
introduced legislation called the Internet Privacy Bill (Sullivan, 2000). The Bill required
web sites to disclose what they do with personal data collected from visitors, a sign of US
Congress' growing interest in establishing new consumer protections for the digital era
and a sign that the public has grown weary of junk mail, viruses and lack of privacy that
the internet introduced to communications.
Instrumentation and Data Collection
The instruments for this study were comprised of surveys that were emailed,
personally distributed or distributed by the researcher’s referral network. Secondary
instruments such as emailed statements and open-ended comments, referrals, and written
feedback were utilized as well. For a sample survey instrument, please refer to
Appendices xx. Data were collected in five mannerisms:
Foreign Field Research and Club Announcement
During a General Meeting of the Membership, International Newcomer’s Club
(INC), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the survey was distributed. The rationale for selecting
Brazil was that the researcher resided in Brazil at the time of the field study and Brazil
was one of the five countries that presented the greatest assignment challenges to
expatriates (Windham 2000). Furthermore, according to the American Academy of
Management, Brazil was one of four countries in the entire world in which its culture had
no counterpart (Barbosa, 2000).
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The researcher met with the president of the club on January 5th, 2001, to discuss
the survey and to request permission to distribute to the INC population. A copy of the
talking points that were used to introduce the survey to the president has been attached to
this dissertation and included in Appendix XX. As a point of reference, the INC served
English-speaking women of all nationalities in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The INC
membership represented over 300 women who have arrived in Rio, a vast majority of
whom accompanied their partners on an expatriate assignment. At the time of the survey,
37% were of European nationality, 32% were of North American nationality, 24% were
of South American nationality, while 7% were from other parts of the world. Permission
for distribution of the surveys was granted after a meeting with the Executive Board on
January 7th
. Targeted date for the distribution of the surveys, by the INC president was
February 16th
. Fifteen completed surveys were submitted to the INC president who later
gave them to the researcher via hand delivery.
International Print Magazine Announcement
An announcement appeared in the December 2000, issue of the Woman Abroad
Magazine, Gildford, Surrey England. The Woman Abroad magazine was the world’s
first combined international magazine and website devoted to helping women living
away from their home country to develop their careers, improve their skills, cope with
third culture family problems and enjoy a new world of networking with like-minded
women. Almost 20,000 magazines were circulated worldwide. Europe represented the
bulk of the circulation base followed by North America; Australia, Asia and Far East;
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Middle East and Gulf States; and finally Africa and Central and South America. Woman
Abroad, formerly owned by Postmark Publishing entered into liquidation in January,
2002. At the time of the dissertation, a decision to re-introduce the website
(http://www.woman-abroad.com) became a possibility due to the overwhelming support
from its loyal subscriber base. For a copy of the announcement, please refer to Appendix
XX. Twenty-five completed surveys were received in this manner via email and
facsimiles.
Group Computer-Mediated Communications (GCMC) and Email Referrals
Announcements were posted on 41 web portals catering to expatriates and their
families. The researcher received referrals from about ten email subscriber groups. For a
listing of the resources used, please turn to Appendix XX. As a secondary method, the
researcher also developed a web site (http://www.expage.com/expat) specifically for the
purpose of announcing the study to the general public. For a copy of the website contents,
please turn to Appendix X.
The respondents who participated in the survey based on Web portal
announcements and email referrals were sent a copy of the survey (at the request of the
potential respondent) (a) after they had read an announcement on an expatriate web portal
such as http://www.virtualvienna.net , (b) after they had received a personalized message
from the researcher asking for their participation, please refer to Appendices for a sample
message requesting permission to send a survey, (c) after they had read an announcement
in the online magazines Expat Advisor or Nexxus, or the researcher’s website designed
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for the sole purpose of announcing the survey, (d) after they had been referred by a third
party expatriate and expatriate friend, or (e) after they had received a message from a
subscriber group.
Although respondents were given the option to mail the survey by parcel post or
to send in the survey by facsimile; the web email addresses of the author represented the
primary repository for data collection for this particular type of data collection. Three
email addresses of the author ([email protected]; [email protected];
or [email protected]) were used to limit the possibility that correspondence
would not be received because of a full email box.
Web Portal Interview and Computerized Self-Administered Questionnaire (CSAQ)
The participants who partook in the study became interested in the study after
reading an interview of the researcher by the owners of the web portal of one of two web
portals devoted to expatriates in Brazil. The study commenced on April 1st and the
audience was given until May 15th
to submit their responses via an on-line survey. As the
response was low, the deadline was extended by one month. Two surveys were
completed using this method.
At every stage of data collection, the potential subjects had the opportunity to opt
out of the research and the researcher had the discretion to exercise the option to omit
particular participants from the subject pool (n=88). This occurred when an email address
was spotted on a guestbook located in an expatriate web portal, an introductory email was
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sent, and the potential respondent would reply, that ‘I am just a traveler.’ Or, ‘I am
considering moving to or retiring in x country.’ In all cases, the researcher sent a
message to the potential respondent asking them to pass the survey along to someone
who more adequately met the published description of the desired subject.
Within the three types of distribution methods utilized: club announcement during
a general meeting of the membership; magazine announcement and web portal and
subscriber group announcements; the researcher did not try to follow through with the
individuals who either (a) did not request a copy of the survey, (b) requested a copy of
the survey but failed to submit a completed form. There was an attempt, however, to
collect completed surveys from potential respondents who had indicated that they
completed the survey or were working on the survey but for one reason or another
(vacation, lack of time, occupied with other tasks) were delayed in returning it to the
researcher before the deadline.
Global Connections and Foreign Language Postings
The editor of Woman Abroad magazine, Joanna Parfitt; the author of two
relocation books, Culture Shock!: A Wife’s Guide and Shock!: A Parent’s Guide, Robin
Pascoe; co-founder of a web portal serving expatriates, http://www.virtualvienna.net,
Renée Jones; and co-founder of a web portal and e-subscriber group Expats in Israel,
Jennifer Baumeister sent emails to personal contacts announcing the survey. Furthermore,
postings in the German language to attracted multi-lingual expatriates appeared in
European web portals serving Germans.
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Documentation
Several procedures for documentation were established to prevent data
contamination. For instance, the researcher conducted the following processes of
documentation during the data collection phase of the research for dissertation.
Maintained a handwritten (List A) of all web portal resources used for
generating possible subjects. If the web portals turned out to be ineffective or
inappropriate for the survey, the researcher immediately crossed out the web portal
address.
Indicated the date on (List A) in which an announcement or posting
regarding the survey was made on a particular web portal.
Constructed a separate sheet (List B) that included the email addresses of
possible subjects that were obtained from the web portals. Also indicated the date in
which possible subjects were contacted. If and when the potential subjects contacted the
researcher to request a survey, the researcher would make a ‘highlighted’ check next to
the potential subject’s name and the date indicating when the requested survey was
mailed.
Maintained a separate (List C) of possible subjects who self-initiated contact
with the researcher due to advertisements in expatriate magazine, bulletin board posting
or through referrals. In all cases, the name of the potential subject and corresponding
email address was noted. Sent a survey and identified date mailed.
On List C, if and when the potential subjects completed and returned the
survey to the researcher, a ‘highlighted’ check near the subject’s name and date
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indicating when the survey was received . The researcher also attempted to identify the
source (web portal, magazine, and referral) and notated it on Blue Sheet attached to List
C. Assigned the completed survey a number in order of receipt.
If a subject decided not to complete the survey mailed to them, but provided
comments. Assigned the comments a number in order of receipt.
Maintained (List D) which is a handwritten attachment to the researcher’s
daily calendar that included date, number and location of web posting; date, subject
name and numerical assignment of the survey received.
Participant Demographics
The survey instruments and the distribution procedures for the study were
developed and pilot tested to determine reliability and validity. The pilot was tested from
August 15, 2000, through December 17, 2000. Approximately 116 surveys along with
informational paragraphs by the researcher, the dissertation topic and the promise of
anonymity were distributed and 45 were received resulting in a response rate of 40.54%.
The demographics of the final study include the following:
Eighty-eight expatriates and/or accompanying partners participated in the final
study. The (Mean) average age ‘AGE’ for the subjects was 38.8 years (standard
deviation= 8.65). The (Mean) average number of years spent overseas ‘YRS OS’ was
6.24 years (standard deviation= 7.00). Thirty-four percent of the participants were
American, 30% were European; 14% were Australian or New Zealander; 7% were
Indian, Asian or Nigerian; 6% were Canadian; and 6% were Dutch.
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Figure 2. Age Range of Survey Participants
Age Range of Survey Participants
0
10
20
30
40
50
20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-69
Number o
f Particip
ants
Age Range
Figure 3. Years Overseas with Expatriate or Expatriate Family Status
Years Overseas
with expatriate family status
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
Not Indicated Zero to Four Years Five Years to Nine Y Ten Years to Fourte Fifteen Years to Nin Twenty Years or Mo
Num
ber
of P
art
icip
ants
Range of Time Spent Overseas
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Figure 4. Nationalities of Participants
Nationalities of Participants
By Percentages
American (34)
European (30)
Australian or New Zealander (14)
Asian, Indian or Nigerian (7)
Canadian (6)Dutch (6)
Industry Representation
There was a wide cross section of participants representing various sectors, as
expressed by the variable ‘SECTOR’. Nineteen participants were from the Oil, Gas or
Energy. Thirteen were from the High Technology and Information. There were seven
respondents employed in the Chemical and Mining or Environmental Sectors and seven
from the Finance, Treasury, Commodities and Investment Banking Sector. Six
respondents from each of the following Sectors: Food, Consumer Goods, Pharmaceutical
Sector and Mass Media, Communication and Publishing Sector were represented. Five
respondents from Professional Services to include Legal, Research, Consulting, and
Administration; five from Educational Institutions and five from Transport to include
Automotive, Aviation and Aeronautical participated. Four participants from NGO and
International Development, two from Health and Medical Professions and two from the
Military were garnered. The remaining five participants did not provide industrial
representation data.
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Figure 5. Industry Sectors Represented
Industry Sectors Represented
Oil, Gas & Energy (21.6%)
Technology (15.9%)
Professional Services (8.0%)
Education (8.0%)
Chemical & Mining (8.0%)
Media/Communication (6.8%)
Food & Consumer Goods (6.8%)
Finance & Banking (6.8%)
Transport & Construction (5.7%)
NGO & Int'l Development (4.5%)
Not Indicated (3.4%)
Health & Medical (2.3%)Military (2.3%)
Gender
Eighty-six percent, (n=76) of the respondents ‘GENDER’ were female while
fourteen percent (n=12) were male.
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Accompanying Children
Fifty-five expatriate couples (62.5%) chose to bring children. Thirty-three
participating expatriates or accompanying partners (45%), as demonstrated by the
variable ‘KIDS’ of this study, had no accompanying children. For a concise distribution,
of the expatriate families with accompanying children, 16 had one accompanying child;
18 were accompanied by two children; 9 brought along three accompanying kids with
them to their overseas assignment; 3 were accompanied by four children. Just 2 families
had five accompanying children. Of the families with accompanying kids, the most
frequent combination was families with two kids (15% of the sub-segment with
accompanying children) of both genders from ages 6 to 12.
Figure 6. Families with Accompanying Children
Families with Accompanying Children
Number and Distribution
0
10
20
30
40
No Children One Child Two Children Three Children Four Children Five Children
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Location
At the time of the survey, 34% of the respondents were posted in Europe; 18% in
one of the five challenging countries (Japan, Brazil, India, Russia, and/or China); 14% in
Asia; 8% in North America (USA or Canada); 7% in Africa or Middle East; 4% in
Australia or New Zealand; 4% in Central and South America. Eleven percent of the
participants chose not to identify location of their overseas posting.
Figure 7. Survey Participant Distribution by Region
Survey Participant Distribution
by Region
Europe (34.1%)
Challenged Countries (18.2%)Asia (14.8%)
North America (8.0%)
Africa/Middle East (6.8%)
Australia/New Zealand (3.4%)
South/Central America (3.4%)
Unknown (11.4%)
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Analysis of the Results
An analysis of the results was conducted in a chronological fashion and in
accordance with the outline presented in the questionnaire with the exception of the
‘Communication Section.’ As it was deemed by the researcher that some component of
communication proved to be a critical factor in some of the areas studied (if not all)
within this dissertation, i.e. behavioral (stress reduction techniques), corporate support
systems, family and spousal-related problems, medical and psychological;
communication was therefore analyzed concurrently with the other six areas studied. It
has been presented most extensively as elements of corporate support systems and family
and spousal-related problems. The interrelationships that occurred among the variables
and communication, did not support the development of a separate section.
Table 3.
Participant Narrative.
“I am not sure that I am able to discern what it is I feel exactly. I seem to feel a bit lost.
Not sure what to do with myself. Not sure it I am happy or not. Not sure what happiness
feels like really. Why can’t we know? Why can’t we re-live things we’ve felt in the past?
There are things that we only get the chance to live only once—and that is somehow
tragic and sad to me. Keep on moving and relive those experiences with different people,
different places, but would there ever be peace within? So maybe that means we are
meant to take the experience and grow. Bring them to another level. But does that mean
that only the ‘right’ experiences will grow toward a feeling of peace and the ‘wrong’
ones will grow anxiety?”
Note: Personal Journal Entry February 16, 2000. Singaporean/New Zealander
Female. Expatriate Spouse with overseas experience in Argentina and Brazil.
This excerpt was taken from a personal diary of an expatriate spouse. It summed
up the ambivalent and conflicting feelings typical of an accompanying partner. Highly
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educated, professional, upwardly mobile with or without accompanying children, these
partners endure years of international travel, multiple relocations and cultural
adjustments. To gain a better understanding into this select group of individuals, the
following research questions were tested and analyzed. The resulting findings have been
summarized in subsequent sections of this Chapter.
Research Questions
In the course of conducting the research, the following questions pertaining to
stress reduction techniques were tested and analyzed and the results were as follows:
Stress Reduction Techniques
1. Is there systematic evidence to support the belief that expatriates and or their
spouses use stress reduction techniques at all? Yes.
To determine if this statement was true or false, three questions were instituted to
identify (a) whether the habit of using stress reduction techniques were instilled before the
overseas assignment- occasionally, (b) whether stress reduction techniques were used more so
during the overseas assignment as compared to before the overseas assignment, 60% did
increase their usage of a stress reduction technique, and (c) to reveal if new stress reduction
techniques were acquired as a result of the overseas posting, 53% reported that they learned a
new stress reduction technique while on assignment.
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(a )The ‘Mean’ average response for the ‘USE SRT’ was 2.0 or, the respondents
occasionally used stress reduction techniques to relieve stress associated with an
overseas assignment. The standard deviation= 1.05. 25th
Quartile=1.0, Median= 2.0, 75th
Quartile 3.0.
For the very first question of the 61-question survey, “I use stress reduction
techniques to relieve stress associated with an overseas assignment,” in many instances,
the respondents answered ‘never’ or ‘occasionally.’ In contrast to their responses to the
second question, they would contradict themselves by indicating that they used an
assortment of techniques, i.e. club membership, prescription drugs, meditation,
counseling, hypnosis, travel or spent time with spouse. It is believed that the participants
applied a more strict definition to the term ‘stress reduction technique’ at the onset of the
survey and gradually relaxed their understanding as the survey progressed, making their
personal definitions more inclusive. If could have been, the researcher hypothesized, that
the survey instrument itself served as a catalyst for reducing one’s inhibitions and
allowed the respondents to relax their preconceived notions about acceptable and
unacceptable behavior.
(b ) Did the use of stress reduction techniques increase ‘SRTINC’ as a result of an
overseas assignment? Nine participants did not respond to this question while n=53
(60%) did divulge an increase; n=26 respondents (30%) did not report an increase in
usage of a stress reduction technique while overseas. Mean= 1.19, Standard Deviation=
0.60, 25th Quartile= 1.0, 75
th= Quartile= 2.0
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(c ) Did the respondents disclose to the researcher via the survey instrument that they
learned a new stress reduction technique ‘NEWSRT’ as a result of an overseas posting?
Here is a response that typified the feelings and exemplified the behavioral patterns of
many accompanying partners,
Table 4.
Participant Narrative.
“ I enjoyed your survey enormously, and want to ad that the big advantage about living
overseas is that it does open your eyes and make you more broad-minded too. So, you try
out what you need. You try new things like Yoga, Reflexology and Massage when you are
stressed, which work brilliantly and you would have scoffed at it back home. Never
having needed them in one’s cozy ‘natural habitat’.” British Female. Two years
expatriate experience in Belgium.
Seven participants did not answer the question. Forty-seven participants (53%) indicated
that they learned a new stress reduction technique while on assignment. Thirty-four
(38%) ventured that they did not learn a new stress reduction technique. Mean= 1.30,
Standard Deviation= 0.60, 25th Quartile= 1.0, 75th
= Quartile= 2.0.
2. Type of Stress Reduction Technique Practiced (Ranked Order).
Social, group and club membership (20.12%) were the primary means of reducing
the stress associated with an overseas assignment. This was closely followed by husband-
centered activities (17.38%). These activities were defined as intimate diners and partner
get-a-ways. The third most popular type of stress reduction technique used by expatriates
and/or their spouses was travel (14.02%), i.e. excursions, weekend and day trips. Travel
in its various forms included the following activities: (a) solitary travel and site-seeing,
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(b) travel with tour groups, and (c) travel with expatriate partner and/or family without
interaction and involvement with a tour group.
Other methods for reducing stress indicated by the respondents were physical
(12.50%) to include aerobics and exercise; spiritual (10.06%) such as prayer, meditation,
and positive thinking; Eastern-oriented activities (6.10%) like yoga or tai chi. Alternative
therapeutic activities that the respondents (4.27%) took part in ranged from massage,
reflexology, and acupressure to aromatherapy. Separately, other groupings like creative
(working, cooking, listening to music, painting, enjoyment of nature); counseling
(professional therapy, life coaching); technological (internet surfing, email, web site
support groups); intellectual (reading, writing letters and journals); family-centered; and
medical (prescription drugs) were indicated less than 2% of the time by respondents as
preferred methods of stress reduction.
Table 4.
Type of Stress Reduction Technique Used
Type of Stress Reduction Technique Used Frequencies Percentage
Social 66 20.12%
Husband-Centered 57 17.38%
Travel 46 14.02%
Physical 41 12.50%
Spiritual 33 10.06%
Eastern 20 6.10%
Alternative 14 4.27%
Creative 9 2.74%
Counseling 8 2.44%
None Listed 8 2.44%
Technological 7 2.13%
Intellectual 7 2.13%
Medical 5 1.52%
Family-Centered 4 1.22%
Philanthropical 3 0.91%
Total Frequencies 328
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3. Combination of Stress Reduction Techniques Practiced.
To determine whether expatriates and/or their partners relied upon a combination
of stress reduction techniques, or if they concentrated on just one alone, the researcher
counted the number of stress reduction techniques selected by each respondent. There
was ample evidence that the participants employed a combination of stress reduction
techniques. Ninety percent relied on one technique to relieve stress, 85% used two types
of techniques, 71% utilized three types, 53% enjoyed four stress reduction techniques,
29% used five stress reduction techniques, 15% practiced six stress reduction techniques,
9% reported that they did not use any type of stress reduction technique to relieve the
stress associated with an overseas assignment.
Table 5.
Combinations of Stress Reduction Techniques Used
Combinations of Stress Reduction Techniques Used Count Total
No. of
Subjects
Percentage
SRT1 Used 80 88 90%
SRT1 and SRT2 Used 75 88 85%
SRT1 and SRT2 and SRT3 Used 63 88 71%
SRT1 and SRT2 and SRT3 and SRT4 Used 47 88 53%
SRT1 and SRT2 and SRT3 and SRT4 and SRT5 Used 26 88 29%
SRT1 and SRT2 and SRT3 and SRT4 and SRT5 and
SRT6 Used
14
88
15%
No SRTs Used 8 88 10%
More than six SRTs Used 3 88 3%
4. Recommend a Stress Reduction Technique to a Friend.
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An overwhelming majority of the respondents would recommend a stress
reduction technique to a friend. The following recommendations were elicited from the
respondents (in ranked order):
Table 6.
Stress Reduction Technique Recommended to a Friend
Stress Reduction Technique Recommended Number of Occurrences
Sports, Exercise, Aerobics and Tai Chai 25
Group, Club membership and Social Activities 19
Yoga 11
Prayer and Meditation 9
Club Membership with other Expatriates 5
Arts, Crafts and Music 4
Travel 4
Find an Activity you Enjoy and Do it 4
Walking, Nature, Biking 3
Volunteer, Charity 2
Reading 2
Professional Counseling and Coaching 2
Total Number of Occurrences 90
Expatriates and accompanying partners listed a number of sources of
information about stress reduction techniques. When asked, “How did you find out about
the stress reduction techniques?”, a majority indicated that they embarked upon the
journey to learn more about a stress reduction method through self-initiative and that they
were already using the preferred stress reduction technique before their overseas
assignment. Please find the chart below which itemizes the methods of discovery in
ranked order.
Table 7.
Methods of Discovery: Stress Reduction Techniques
Methods of Stress Reduction Techniques
Discovery
Number of Occurrences
110
Myself, personal experience, hobby, habit, self-
initiated
38
Friends, other expats, work colleagues, contacts 17
Reading, research, internet, advertising, video,
development courses
17
Family Doctor 2
5. Expatriate Executives Involvement in use of Stress Reduction Techniques.
Did the expatriate executives themselves play a formal role in the stress reduction
techniques practiced by the spouse? The results were inconclusive. Perhaps, unknowingly,
however, a good indicator of the expatriate’s participation in the spouse’s use of stress
reduction techniques was the high number (44 of 88) of respondents who selected ‘social
activities with spouse’ when selecting the stress reduction technique option used as indicated
in question 2 of Part A: Behavioral, “Please circle the [stress reduction] techniques you have
used.”
Comparison with Previous Research
Ineffective stress management, during the course of the literature review and
summarized in Chapter 3, was found to be one of the factors that adversely affected work
performance, work and/or life transition, to include family and partner relationships.
Latack (1984) hypothesized that the magnitude of the transition, intervening role variable
such as role ambiguity and role overload, and coping strategies utilized by the person in
transition combine to explain outcomes of the transition process. Furthermore it was this
researcher who, while using the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Homes and Rahe,
1967) estimated that the typical expatriate may experience 458 points in a twelve month
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period. With such a high rating, the expatriate, partner or family member runs an 80%
risk of becoming gravely ill or vulnerable to depression.
The specific findings of this study affirm the research and findings Cohen (1977),
Black and Gregersen (1991), and Brewster (1995) in that expatriates resorted to
expatriate clubs as a means of coping. What was significant in this research, though, was
the dedication and commitment on the part of the accompanying partner to partake in
husband-centered activities. Such activities were the second most popular method for
relieving stress. These findings closely mirror those of Kurotani (1999), irrespective of
nationality or personal goals of the spouse.
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The third most popular stress reduction technique was travel. Although not
considered as a popular technique for relieving stress by this researcher prior to this
study, these findings corroborate earlier research on leisure, travel and stress undertaken
by Coleman and Iso-Ahola (1993) and Iwasaki and Mannell (2000).
In upcoming sections, the researcher has presented in detail and at length the fact
that participants of this study who were also members of the ‘left early’= Group 1 (left
early from the current or previous assignment) self selected to assign higher
mathematical mean stressor scores (1= not stressful, 2= somewhat stressful, 3=stressful,
4=intolerable) for certain stressors when compared with the stress scores across Groups.
Therefore, the researcher deduced that stress management, applied proactively, may
indeed thwart early departures.
Early Departures
The second component of the research specifically examined the phenomenon
of ‘early departures’ and sought to determine if the subjects in the study, (1) agreed with
the statistic that 69% of all early departures were due to family and spousal problems, (2)
identify specific causes of early departures based on second hand information, and to (3)
identify specific causes of early departures based on first-hand knowledge of those who
experienced ‘early departures’ within the participant group.
1. Agreement with the Statement “Sixty-nine percent of all early departures
are due to family and spousal problems.
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Were the expatriates and/or spouses in agreement with the oft cited statement that
69% of all early departures are due to family and spousal problems? A majority replied
yes. Fifty-five respondents agreed or tended to agree that early departures were due to
family and spousal problems. Only14 disagreed or tended to disagree. Nineteen chose
not to respond to the question. Mean= 1.56, Standard Deviation= 1.15, 25th Quartile=
1.0, 75th= Quartile=2.0.
Table 8
Participant Narratives.
“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.
Personal Knowledge of an Early Leaver
Seventy percent (n=62) of the participants when responding to variable ‘F
EARLY’ indicated that ‘Yes’ they knew of someone who left prematurely, while 25
percent (n=22) replied ‘No’. Four percent (n=4) left the answer blank. Mean= 1.20,
Standard Deviation= 0.50, 25th Quartile= 1.0, 75th
= Quartile= 1.75.
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Where did the Early Leaver Go After Leaving Assignment Prematurely?
Forty-seven went back to their home country. Nine took on another overseas
assignment. Five left their current job with their present employer and signed
employment contracts with another firm. Two retired.
Table 9.
Participant Narratives.
“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 Dubai, 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.
“The kids were high school senior and college freshman so they were left behind in the
States but the wife worried constantly and felt they abandoned them. Family dog was 13
years old so rather than subject her to a long quarantine it was put to sleep. The husband
traveled constantly. The wife got terribly lonely and took up going to bars alone.
Husband recognized her depression and took her home. This he had perceived as his
great opportunity so he resented returning home.” American Female. Fourteen years
experience in the Netherlands, England, and Singapore.
115
Reasons for Early Departures
2. In response to the question, “Of the early departures of which you are aware,
what were the reasons for the early departure ‘RFEARLY’?” 29 percent (n=26) did not know
of anyone who had departed early. Of the open-ended responses received, 31% wrote that they
were Work-Related, such as: difficulties with the employer, the corporation restructured, and
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.
Nineteen percent indicated that the reason for early departure was ‘Spousal Problems’, such as
the wife was unhappy, suffered from boredom, was unemployed and/or missed her/his
independence. Fifteen percent 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. Eleven percent withdrew early from an
overseas assignment because of the extra demands required to care for (Children/Elderly
Parents) accompanied or unaccompanied children or elderly parents left at home. Eleven
percent indicated that early withdrawal had a direct linkage to Marital
Infidelity/Separation/Divorce. Five percent left early because of Medical reasons. Four percent
departed prematurely due to Financial reasons. Two percent left because of Drugs/Substance
abuse/Alcoholism. The remaining two percent left prematurely because of concerns with
Personal Safety/Security.
116
Chart 3.
Reasons Friends Left Early
Reasons Friends Left Early
By Percentages
Work (30.8%)
Spouse (19.6%)Adapt (15.0%)
Child/Parent (11.2%)
Infidelity (11.2%)
Medical (4.7%)
Financial (3.7%)Drug Abuse (1.9%)Safety (1.9%)
117
It must be stressed here that a majority of the respondents knew of several friends and
associates who had left early from overseas assignments and the details of such departures were
vividly relayed to them. For the purposes of this research, all reasons mentioned and described
by the respondents were tallied in the final statistics.
First Hand Experience as an Early Leaver
3. The participants were asked if they had departed early during the course of
their expatriate career or time spent as an accompanying partner. Seventy-five percent
(n=66), during their expatriate career, or period spent abroad as an accompanying partner
have never left early from an assignment, depicted by the variable ‘UEARLY’. Almost
15% (n=13) indicated that they had left early. One response was disqualified as having
left early because, in the margins, the partner mentioned that she ‘had left early [from her
job] to accompany her husband abroad’. Nine respondents or 10% did answer this
question. Mean= 1.64, Standard Deviation= 0.65, 25th Quartile= 1.25, 75th
= Quartile= 2.0
Table 10.
Participant Narratives.
“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.
Of the expatriate families with firsthand experience with early departures, 50%
indicated that the reasons for premature departure were Work-Related, i.e., corporate cut-
backs, corporate re-direction, expatriate difficulties with the employer and/or direction
118
the office was headed. Comprising this segmentation were also two additional
respondents who mentioned ‘career prospects’ such as the expatriate and/or the spouse
received a better job offer or promotion back home as a reason for departing prematurely.
Seventeen percent of the subject population indicated that their decision to depart early
from an assignment was from a purely Financial standpoint, or that the couple was not
reaching their financial goals. The remaining 33% was divided evenly among four
categories: Children/Elderly Parents, or Medical, or Marital
Infidelity/Separation/Divorce or Cultural Adaptation.
Chart 4.
Reasons You Left Early
Reasons You Left Early
By Percentages
Work-Related (50.0%)
Financial (16.7%)
Cultural Adaptation (8.3%)
Marital Separation/Divorce (8.3%)
Medical (8.3%)
Children (8.3%)
4. Marital Infidelity accounted for just 8.3% of the reasons why respondents
in the subject group left prematurely and just 11.2% of the reasons why the friends of the
respondents in the subject group left early from an overseas assignment.
119
Comparisons to Previous Research
While 55 of the 88 participants (62.5%) of this project agreed or tended to agree
that family and spousal problems account for 69% of early departures, an analysis of both
the ‘FEARLY’= friends left early and ‘UEARLY’= you left early detected the contrary.
The principle reason for an early withdrawal from an overseas contract was work related
(31% for ‘FEARLY’) and (50.0% for ‘UEARLY’). The second highest mentioned reason
for early departures among the friends who left early were spousal problems (19%). The
second highest mentioned reason for premature departures for ‘UEARLY’ was attributed
to financial worries (16.7%). This researcher noted the contradictions in the qualitative
narrative responses versus the quantitative results. Therefore, due to these
inconsistencies, a comparison to previous research was not formulated. Taking a different
tact, this researcher was inclined, instead to presented possible reasons for the
discrepancy.
Reasons for this discrepancy are numerous. They have been discussed in two
parts. The first part was from the viewpoint of gender-based reasoning and outlined in
items 1 through 6. The second part was attributed to the views of the corporation. Each
component has been analyzed by this researcher and expressed below.
Gender-based. First, female accompanying partners condoned and accepted blame
for assignment failure because they were more concerned with striking a balance between
work and family and were eager to promote a better understanding and acceptance of the
relationship between work and family than men (Powell and Mainiero, 1992). Second,
120
women did not comprise more than 16% (an increase from 12% in 1997) of the expatriate
workforce (Cendant, 2000), therefore corporate support policy for expatriates were less
likely to be positively affected by working women. Third, the gender stereotyping and
under-representation of women on international assignments has been extensively
researched and summarized by this researcher, see (Adler, 1990, 1994; Adler and Izaeli,
1993; Harris, 1993; Hardill, 1997). Fifth, Goodstein (1994) found that women were one
of the most important groups influencing companies to adopt better work and family
programs. Unfortunately, lack of representation has served to disincentivize MNCs to
develop innovative policies.
Corporate-based. Sixth, power politicking on the part of the corporation (DeCock,
1998) played a role as well. An employee’s reluctance (and therefore his/her partner’s
too) to voice dissention and mount resistance could have been driven by corporate trends
to decrease the number of married expatriates accompanied by a spouse. Windham
(1999) reported increased single status assignments of married expatriates.
And finally, most corporations had not involved the partner nor did they deem
that her voice (Belenky et al, 1986) to be a critical component of expatriate management
policy. As non-employee or external stakeholders (Gass et al. 1997) their power and
interest (Freeman, 1984), as well as importance and influence (Grimble and Wellard,
1996), have not yet been fully recognized by strategic planners crafting expatriate
management policy.
121
Family and Spousal Problems
Twenty-four 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, and (6)
infrequent contact with spouse (as viewed by expatriate executive or accompanying
spouse) were the primary stressors relating to an overseas assignment.
The arithmetical average of these aforementioned family and spousal problems
were in the range of 2.56 to 2.00 and directly related to the following factors: Work,
Intimacy, and/or the Inability to Cope with the exception of the host country sexism and
discrimination represented by the variable ‘DISCRM’ (related to environmental factors).
The top three stressors (isolation, unrealistic expectations, and no communication)
as indicated by the respondents, involved two or three factors operating in unison. Those
factors were ‘WORK and INTIMACY and COPING (isolation), or WORK and
INTIMACY (unrealistic expectations and poor communication).
122
Table 11
Participant Narratives
“We 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 their home-based work colleagues.
Generally, the participants of this study considered isolation, ‘ISOL’; unrealistic
expectations on the part of company, spouse, family and/or self ‘UREXPT’; poor
communication, ‘NO COMM’ on the part the of company, spouse, family and/or self; too
many problems all at once, ‘X2MPRBL’; too much work ‘X2MWRK’;, and infrequent
123
contact with the spouse ‘NO CNCT’ as the primary causers of stress. Some of the
following quotations summed up the feelings of expatriate spouses in regard to these key
variables.
Table 12
Participant Narratives.
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.
124
A ranked-order of the means of the perceived level of stress caused by 24 Family
and Spousal Problems as indicated by the following measurements, (1)= not stressful,
(2)= somewhat stressful, (3)= stressful, (4)= intolerable were recorded below.
Table 13.
Overall Family and Spousal Problems; Ranking by Mean – Arithmetical Average
23‘ISOL’ variable, Mean=2.56, Standard Deviation= .82 WORK + INTIMACY + COPING
3‘UREXPT’variable, Mean=2.53, Standard Deviation= .85 WORK + INTIMACY
2NO COMM’ variable, Mean=2.52, Standard Deviation= 1.00 WORK + INTIMACY
17’X2MPRBL’ variable, Mean=2.46, Standard Deviation= .93 COPING
1‘NO CNCT’ variable, Mean=2.46, Standard Deviation= .99 INTIMACY
13‘X2MWRK’ variable, Mean=2.44, Standard Deviation= .96 WORK + INTIMACY 15‘DISTFF’ variable, Mean=2.31, Standard Deviation= .86 COPING
24‘MRTINF’ variable, Mean=2.39, Standard Deviation= 1.51 INTIMACY
22‘WRKDIFF’ variable, Mean=2.29, Standard Deviation= .92 WORK
10’DISCRM’, variable, Mean= 2.29, Standard Deviation= 1.13 ENVIRONMENTAL
12‘NO ATTN’ variable, Mean=2.28, Standard Deviation= 1.06 INTIMACY
16‘NO UND’ variable, Mean=2.28, Standard Deviation= 1.08 INTIMACY
4‘UPRPCUL’ variable, Mean=2.22, Standard Deviation= .82 COPING
21’X2INVWRK’ variable, Mean=2.19, Standard Deviation= .88 WORK
6‘SPJOB’ variable, Mean=2.13, Standard Deviation= 1.02 NONMATCH OF GOALS + WORK
19‘LINC’ variable, Mean=2.12, Standard Deviation= 1.13 NONMATCH OF GOALS + WORK
5‘DJOB’ variable, Mean=2.07, Standard Deviation= .97 WORK 7‘CUL2DIFF’ variable, Mean=2.04, Standard Deviation= .88 COPING
14‘X2MTRVL’ variable, Mean=2.04, Standard Deviation= 1.00 WORK
18’EXP2DMD’ variable, Mean= 2.00, Standard Deviation= 1.00 INTIMACY
11‘NO OPPT’ variable, Mean=1.92, Standard Deviation= 1.01 NONMATCH OF GOALS + WORK
20‘CHG ROU’ variable, Mean=1.85, Standard Deviation= .79 COPING
8’SCHPRB’, variable, Mean= 1.78, Standard Deviation= 1.33 COPING
9’SOCZKID’, variable, Mean= 1.65, Standard Deviation= 1.24 COPING
ANOVA, t-Test and Multiple Comparison Table: Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison
Test
The means of the 24 variables of the perceptions of the level of stress caused by
family and spousal problems contained within eight independent groups were compared
with respect to one variable using the one-way or single factor analysis of variance to test
the following hypotheses:
125
Ho: The difference in the means of the groups was zero.
Ha: The difference in the means of the groups was not zero.
The 24 variables tested were ‘NOCNCT’= contact with spouse; ‘NOCOMM’=
Communication; ‘UREXPCT’= Expectations; ‘UPREPCUL’= Unprepared for Culture;
‘DJOB’= Dual Career; ‘SPJOB’= Spouse wants Job; ‘CULDIFF’= Culture too Different;
‘SCHPRB’= School Problems; ‘SOCZKID’= Kid’s Socialization; ‘DISCRM’=
Discrimination or Sexism; ‘NOOPPT’= Few opportunities for Women; ‘NOATTN’=
Spouse inattentiveness; ‘2MWRK’= Too much work; ‘2MTRVL’= Too much business
travel; ‘DISTFF’= Distance from family and friends; ‘NOUND’= Spouse’s lack of
understanding; ‘2MPRBL’= Too many problems at once; ‘EXP2DMD’= Executive too
demanding of partner; ‘LINC’= Lower household income; ‘CHGROU’= Change in
routine; ‘2INWRK’= Too involved in work; ‘WRKDIFF’= Work difficulties; ‘ISOL’=
Isolation; and ‘MRTINF’=Marital infidelity.
The groupings were as follows: Group1= Early Departures, Group 2= Non Early
Departures, Group 3= 5 Years Overseas but Less than 10 Years Overseas, Group 4= 10
Years or More Overseas, Group 5= Expatriates with Accompanying Children, Group 6=
Expatriates without Accompanying Children, Group 7= Challenging Location (China,
Brazil, Japan, India, Russia), Group 8= Regular Location, Group 9= Less than 5 years
overseas, and Group 10= Gender.
126
Of the twenty-four variables tested, none resulted in statistically significant
differences (small p-value, p<0.001) when compared to the Means occurring in other
groupings. There was no evidence of differences between Groups and their level of the
perception of stress felt regarding the 24 variables. The ANOVA and the t-test indicated
that there was no difference among the perception of stress felt by the 10 Groups when
recalling the 24 variables.
To identify which Group Means were significantly different from which other
groups, an examination of the multiple comparison test followed by the utilization of the
Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison Test at the 0.05 significance level was conducted.
A summary was later constructed in tabular format. For a summary table of the Means of
each of the twenty-four variables as categorized by the ten separate and distinct groups,
please see the table below.
127
Table 14
Mathematical Means of 24 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.
Gender
- 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
X2INVWR
K
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.
128
Observations
Although there were no statistical differences between the ten groups, some
observations have been made.
Group 1= Early Departure
This group experienced higher means for infrequent contact with spouse, ‘NO
CNCT’, unrealistic expectations ‘UREXPT’, host country sexism or discrimination,
‘DISCRM’, too many problems all at once, ‘X2MPRBL’, work difficulties, ‘WRKDIFF’,
and too much work ‘X2MWRK’.
‘Too much work’ as represented by the variable ‘X2MWRK’ for Group 1 scored
the highest mean in the entire study for any variable studied ( 3.0=mean= stressful). The
lowest mean 1.50 of all means was ‘Expatriate Spouse wishes to resume his/her career,
as indicated by the variable ‘SPJOB’. In fact, the 1.50 mean score tied with Group 10=
Gender Male for the variable ‘CHG ROU,’ change of routine.
GROUP 2= Without Early Departure
When compared with other groups, this group did not experience higher means.
GROUP 3= Expatriates with 5-10 years of overseas experience
When compared with other groups, this group did not experience higher means.
GROUP 4= Expatriates with 10 years or more of overseas experience
129
When compared with other groups, this group did not experience higher means.
GROUP 5= Expatriates with Accompanying Children
This group experienced the highest means along with Group 7 (Challenging
Location) when compared to those of other groups for change of routine, ‘CHG ROU.’
GROUP 6= Expatriates without Accompanying Children
This group experienced the highest stress means for 12 of the 24 family and
spousal problems (in ranked order) when compared with the other groups for the
following family and spousal problems: (a) ‘NO COMM’- poor communication between
expatriate, company, spouse, family, and/or locals; (b) ‘ISOL’- isolation; (c) ‘MRTINF’-
marital infidelity (tied); and (d) ‘NO ATTN’- inattentiveness of expatriate spouse; (e)
‘DISTFF’- distance from family and friends; and (f) ‘NO UND’- expatriate executive’s
or spouse’s lack of understanding (tied); (g) ‘UPRPCUL’- unprepared for the host
country’s culture; (h)’X2INVWRK’- expatriate executive too involved in work; and
(i)’SPJOB’- expatriate spouse wishes to resume career (tied); (j)’DJOB’- dual career
problem; (k) ‘CUL2DIFF’- host country’s culture too different from the home country’s
culture; (l) ‘EXP2DMD’- expatriate executive too demanding of spouse.
Possible Correlation between Partner’s desire to work and Expatriate’s Over-involvement
with work. It was 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 this group (Group 6=Expatriates without Accompanying Children). More
130
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 her/his career.
Perhaps as the expatriate endeavored to spend less time at home and occupied much of
his time and thoughts with his job—his partner rationalized that a heightened desire to
work were in order and justified.
GROUP 7= Challenging Location
This group experienced the highest means along with Group 5 (Expatriates with
Accompanying Children) when compared to those of other groups for change of routine,
‘CHG ROU.’
GROUP 8= Regular Location
When compared with other groups, this group did not experience higher means.
GROUP 9= Less than 5 years of overseas experience
When compared against other groups, this group did not experience higher means.
The third lowest perceived stressor score was 1.48 assigned to ‘socialization problems for
children’ by this group.
GROUP 10=Gender= Male
When compared with other groups, this group experienced lower mathematical
means for these variables, school problems for kids, ‘SCHPRB’; socialization problems
for kids ‘SOCZKID’; and change in routine ‘CHG ROU’. Additionally, the lowest mean
in the entire study of the various 24 family and spousal problems was a stress perception
131
score of 1.33 for the ‘school problems for children’ indicated by this group. The next
lowest mean in the entire study was 1.41 within the same group, for the problem:
‘socialization problems for children’.
This group, (14% of total participant sample) did not consider ‘school problems
for the children’, nor ‘change in routine’ stressful and therefore assigned the lowest stress
scores to these variables (when compared against the other 9 sub-groups). This was
attributed to the traditional division of family responsibilities, i.e. male partner
concentrates on career while female partner rears children and manages the household. In
these cases, the male partner has been tested as ambivalent to the educational and
socialization problems of the children.
Top Five Family and Spousal Problems
The researcher also used the 'self identification' technique for eliciting an
identification of the top family and spousal problems as viewed by the expatriates and
accompanying partners. According to the participants of this study, the following family
and spousal problems were perceived to be the ‘Top Five Family and Spousal Problems’
(in ranked order).
Table 15
Family and Spousal Problems Ranked By Frequency
Family and Spousal Problem Number of
Occurrences
Problem Type
Feelings of Isolation 25 Coping + Intimacy
Distance from Friends and Family 20 Coping + Intimacy
Marital Infidelity and Affairs 20 Intimacy
Infrequent Contact with Spouse 18 Intimacy + Work
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Lack of Clear Communication 17 Intimacy + Work
Too Many Problems at Once 14 Coping
Spouse’s Lack of Understanding 14 Intimacy
School Problems for the Children 12 Coping
Unprepared for the New Culture 12 Coping
Spouse Inattentiveness 11 Intimacy + Work
Work Demands Too Great 11 Work + Intimacy
Unrealistic Expectations 9 Coping + Work +
Intimacy
As depicted in the chart, the third item ‘Marital Infidelity and Affairs’ was
considered to be one of the major stressors of an overseas assignment in addition to the
‘Feelings of Isolation’ and ‘Distance from Friends and Family’ but marital infidelity
alone, according to this researcher’s findings did not ultimately lure a majority of the
expatriate families away from their host country and overseas assignment. For the
eventual premature withdrawal from an overseas assignment (as discussed in the previous
section), the variable martial infidelity accounted for 8.3% of the ‘U EARLY’ and 11.2%
of the early withdrawals of the ‘F EARLY’).
Also, marital divorce and unplanned marital separations appeared to be major
problems occurring in the expatriate community. When asked the question, “Do you
know of any spousal separations and divorces that occurred as a result of stress and other
problems related to overseas assignments?” Forty-nine percent of the participants knew
of spousal separations and divorces that took place as a consequence of an overseas
assignment. Forty-five percent did not know of any marital separations as a result of an
overseas posting, while 6% chose not to answer the question.
133
When the respondents considered the above question, it must be stated that one
participant cautioned the researcher to be careful in making assumptions. “Careful here,
there is no way of knowing marital relationship prior to assignment.” While at the same
time, this participant selected ‘yes’ (along with 49% of her compatriots). This
researcher’s sentiment was best vocalized by this comment, “Divorce rates are high were
ever you live. In an expatriate community you know more people and know their
personal lives more intimately so you are aware of the marital problems. It is like living
in a small town in some ways.”
Marital Problems
Expatriate relationships were not immune from the typical marital problems
associated with money, extended family, career and personal goals, children as other
families have been. A quote that categorized the instability brought about by a constant
change in international abodes, however, was considered unique to the expatriate
experience and represented the ominous threat that couples faced when accepting an
assignment.
“I would be happy to help out [with the survey]. My third wife is in the process of
coming over right now.” American Male. Twenty years experience (locations
unknown).
134
It must be stated that one participant cautioned the researcher to be careful in
making assumptions. “Careful here, there is no way of knowing marital relationship
prior to assignment.” While at the same time, this participant selected ‘Yes’ (along with
49% of her compatriots), as an answer to the question, “Do you know of any spousal
separations and divorces that occurred as a result of stress and other problems related to
overseas assignments?”
The researcher’s sentiment was best expressed by this comment, “In an
expatriate community you know more people and know their personal lives more
intimately so you are aware of the marital problems. It is like living in a small town in
some ways.”
General recommendations ranged from (a) talk, (b) travel, (c) repatriate back to
one’s home country, (d) partner return home alone, and (e) seek counsel. A few
recommendations that were provided by expatriates for preventing, solving marital
problems and mending relationships compiled as presented as follows.
Table 29
Participant Narratives
“A marriage will fail if there is no commitment whether a family is overseas or not… be
committed to each other and the assignment.” American Female. Two years experience
in Germany.
“Remind oneself of why you applied for the overseas assignment and to focus on your
goal of achieving it.” New Zealander Male. Accompanying Partner in Australia and
American Samoa, length of service unknown.
135
“Ask which is more important to the couple, the job or the relationship? If it is their
relationship, go back to a place where they both feel comfortable. There are problems
enough associated with a foreign assignment. You won’t have the energy to deal with
marital problems with all the rest that takes your attention. Companies should take care
to note whether the employee is in a stable and supportive relationship when making
their decision for such a transfer. I think they should even interview the accompanying
spouse separately. American Female. Fifteen years experience in the Netherlands,
England, and Singapore.
“Determine if you need to choose—the job or spouse and if you choose one or the other,
be prepared to deal with it.” American Female. Six years experience in Germany and
Brazil.
“Both partners need to compromise (including the one who was sent abroad for work).
The couple needs to decide what is more important to them—If a spouse truly does not
want to leave home/family, etc., then that point of view needs to be respected. However, a
wary spouse should also, of course, do his/her best to support his/her partner as much as
possible (in all aspects of life—just not at the cost of his/her own happiness). American
Female. Two years as an accompanying partner (location not indicated).
“A) Try a marriage counselor. B) Try to identify the problem and take drastic measures
to relieve it. Don’t wait. C) And it these fail, go home! D) If you already have cracks in
your marriage, don’t take the assignment in the first place. E)Predict and avoid the
stresses within your ability. If you have always lived in a city, pick a home in the city. If
you don’t have any children, wait before you start on that! If you really must take on a
furnished flat in a new place at least take along a few treasures. There is a Linus within
each of us. I have met too many miserable expats with the point of view that they were
trying so many new things anyway, what difference would another one or two make.”
American. Female. Fourteen years experience as an expatriate partner to England,
Holland, and Singapore.
“Accompany your spouse as often an possible (easy for me, I don’t have any kids); make
yourself as independent as possible by reading up on the country before you arrive; get
the company to pay for an orientation seminar or course when you arrive so you know
how to do the simple things at least. Go away on vacation together without your kids and
find out how much fun it can be to be with your partner. If the problems are very serious
then talk to a counselor and find ways to compromise- reduce the length of the
assignment, spend more time together during the week, and keep talking to each other
about how you feel. Once you stop talking, that’s it.” Female. British. Seven years
experience in USA, Germany as an expatriate spouse.
136
Simple Linear Regression Model: Test Correlations among Variables
Several combinations of variables were run to test correlations and to establish
inferences about relationships between variables. The following combinations were
tested, ‘YRS OS’ and ‘KIDS’; ‘AGE’ and ‘MED PROB’; ‘AGE’ and ‘X VISITDR’;
‘SECTOR’ and ‘YRS OS’; ‘NAT’ and ‘USE SRT’; ‘NAT’ and ‘KIDS’; ‘NAT’ and ‘U
‘EARLY’; ‘KIDS’ and ‘U EARLY’; ‘KIDS’ and ‘FSPRBLM1’; ‘YRS’ and ‘CS
HAPPY’; ‘YRS OS’ and ‘USE SRT’; ‘NAT’ and ‘CS HAPPY’; and ‘CS HAPPY’ and
‘YRS OS’. The only combinations that tested positive for a direct linear correlation were
the following:
Table 16
Tested Positive for a Direct Linear Correlation
Y= YRS OS and X= AGE
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dependent variable is YRS_OS, 1 independent variable, 88 cases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Variable Coefficient St. Error t-value p(2 tail)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intercept -8.642885 3.0586974 -2.825675 0.006
AGE .3835843 .0769084 4.9875466 <.001
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
R-Square = 0.2244 Adjusted R-Square = 0.2153
Analysis of Variance to Test Regression Relation
Source Sum of Sqs df Mean Sq F p-value
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regression 969.20415 1 969.20415 24.875622 <.001
Error 3350.7326 86 38.962007
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 4319.9368 87
137
A low p-value suggested that the dependent variable YRS_OS
may have been linearly related to independent variable(s).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEAN X = 38.818 S.D. X = 8.701 CORR XSS = 6587.091
MEAN Y = 6.247 S.D. Y = 7.047 CORR YSS = 4319.937
REGRESSION MS= 969.204 RESIDUAL MS= 38.962
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pearson's r (Correlation Coefficient)= 0.4737
The linear regression equation was:
YRS_OS = -8.642885 + .3835843 * AGE
Test of hypothesis to determine significance of relationship:
H(null): Slope = 0 or H(null): r = 0 (two-tailed test)
t = 4.99 with 86 degrees of freedom p <= .001
Note: A low p-value implied that the slope does not = 0.
138
Table 17.
Tested Positive for a Direct Linear Correlation
Y= KIDS X=YRS OS
GRAPH:~KGRAPH.TMP
WINKS 4.62 Unregistered Evaluation Copy August 28,2001
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Linear Regression and Correlation C:\WINKS\DISSA1.DBF
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dependent variable is KIDS, 1 independent variable, 88 cases.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Variable Coefficient St. Error t-value p(2 tail)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intercept 97.094943 19.983002 4.8588767 <.001
YRS_OS 4.5323238 2.1287782 2.1290728 0.036
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
R-Square = 0.0501 Adjusted R-Square = 0.039
Analysis of Variance to Test Regression Relation
Source Sum of Sqs df Mean Sq F p-value
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Regression 88739.964 1 88739.964 4.532951 0.036
Error 1683591.3 86 19576.643
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total 1772331.27273 87
A low p-value suggested that the dependent variable KIDS
may have been linearly related to independent variable(s).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
MEAN X = 6.247 S.D. X = 7.047 CORR XSS = 4319.937
MEAN Y = 125.409 S.D. Y = 142.729 CORR YSS = 1772331.0
REGRESSION MS= 88739.964 RESIDUAL MS= 19576.643
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pearson's r (Correlation Coefficient)= 0.2238
The linear regression equation is:
139
KIDS = 97.09494 + 4.532324 * YRS_OS
Test of hypothesis to determine significance of relationship:
H(null): Slope = 0 or H(null): r = 0 (two-tailed test)
t = 2.13 with 86 degrees of freedom p = 0.036
Note: A low p-value implies that the slope does not = 0.
In summary, the results of these tests confirmed that there were more extenuating
factors involved in the decision to withdraw early from an overseas assignment (i.e.
corporate support policies, professional competence of the expatriate, current and
previous salary level, previous work experience, professional goals and capabilities of the
accompanying partner, corporate requirements and, future and present prospects, among
others) than the scope of this study allowed.
In addition to the 24 family and spousal problems identified, ranked and analyzed,
the general problems associated with an overseas assignment were offered by the
respondents via open-ended questions. The following responses were generated.
140
Chart 7.
Major Problems Associated with Overseas Assignments
Major Problems Associated
with Overseas Assignments
Language (14.5%)
Away from Support System (12.0%)
Career Uncertainty (9.5%)
Safety, Environmental (9.1%)
Cultural Adaptation (8.7%)Isolation (8.7%)
Daily Hassles (7.9%)
Changing Role (7.5%)
Financial Worries (5.8%)
Children, Elderly Parents (5.8%)
Work/Life Imbalance (5.4%)Finding new Friends (5.0%)
The researcher summarized the respondent-generated descriptions below.
Table 26.
Major Problems (In Ranked Order)
1. Language Barriers.
Lack of skill or mastery of the host country language restricts participation in other
activities and limits options.
2. Away from Support System to include family and friends.
An emphasis was placed on close friends and extended family. Lack of a support group
that was trustworthy, did not gossip and one in which the respondent and the friend had a
long history together was important to the subject population. Lack of corporate support
from the head office was also included within this numerical count.
3. Career Uncertainty.
Concerns with limited availability of opportunities, finding a job in the host country or
resuming the career once repatriated were expressed. Within this category were also
concerns regarding career uncertainty of the expatriate, contract duration, and career path
upon repatriation.
4. Safety and Environmental.
The general sense of unease regarding the health, safety, well-being and security of
family and partner while overseas was recognized by the researcher. They constituted
141
important issues for the respondents. The ranking in this category was enhanced by the
responses received from the subjects residing and working in ‘challenging’ countries.
5. Culture Adaptation to include culture shock.
Problems resulting from the differences in norms, customs, standards, even work ethic
were emphasized by many respondents.
6. Isolation.
Alienation, abandonment by the working expatriate, and being labeled as a foreigner or
‘outsider’ by the locals was of great concern to the respondents. The expatriate’s frequent
business trips and excessive time spent at the office aggravated these feelings (on the part
of the spouse).
7. Daily Hassles and lack of conveniences.
The tasks that should have been easy based on previous experiences were made harder
while living abroad, either through bureaucracy or poor services. Also, shopping was a
chore rather than a pleasurable experience. Current fashions were unavailable, there was
no variety of clothing that fit all body shapes, banking services and office hours were
limited, and constant car, appliance, apartment or home repairs that presented major
problems.
8. Changing Roles.
The feeling that the accompanying partners needed to serve as the domestic anchor was
paramount. The often necessitated a change of personality to be more ‘outgoing’ or
‘aggressive’ to get things done. This made the participants feel uneasy. Feelings of loss of
control, not knowing what to do, fear of not coping, loss of independence and freedom
were key psychological and emotional issues for the subject population.
9. Money- financial worries.
The actual expenses for relocating and/or living abroad and maintaining the same
standard of living in the host country as one’s home country were higher than expected,
maintenance of the house back in the home country, and unfavorable employment
packages were mentioned as major problems associated with overseas assignments.
10. Children and Elderly Parents.
The actual problems relating to children’s education such as poor standards of education,
questionable quality of the curricula, the disruption, home schooling and the care and
maintenance of elderly parents back home greatly tormented the participants.
11. Imbalance between Work and Home Life.
The fact that expatriate executives traveled constantly and/or were frequently exhausted
from overwork was not overlook as a critical issue.
142
12. Finding new friends.
Re-creating the same or similar level of social life experienced in home country was a
difficult task. . Included within this category was the constant upheaval resulting from the
disbandment of close relationships made with other expatriate families who were
required to take on another assignment or repatriate.
Two additional problems that were reported by the subjects to included, (13)
Disruption of life caused by dislocation and (14) Boredom- lack of motivation, reason for
‘waking up in the morning’, feelings of being unappreciated and undervalued, self doubt
and worthlessness. They were not included in the chart as together they were mentioned
by less than 5% of the subject population.
Problem Solving and Self-Initiated Coping Mechanisms
One principle finding of this study was that the expatriates and accompanying
partners were a very resilient group. In the absence of a strong support network from their
extended family back home, lack of locally based friendships, and minimal corporate
support, the subject population devised effective strategies that they shared with the
researcher (via questionnaires) for coping with the problems associated with an overseas
assignment.
Table 26
Participant Narratives
“Make the most of the time of you have together and travel with your family! Enjoy being
where you are because you won’t be there forever and you’ll regret not enjoying it when
you leave!” Canadian Female. Ten years experience in Turkey and Hong Kong.
“Get a grip. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get out and learn about your new country
and its people. If that doesn’t work, get involved with activities sponsored by your
143
child(ren’s) school, church, or you home country (embassy, chamber of commerce, etc).
Volunteering helps the less fortunate and takes your mind off your problems, while
boosting your self esteem and building skills.” American Female. Twenty-four years
experience in Austria, Philippines, Egypt, and Germany.
As individuals solve problems in a myriad of ways; the subject population proved
no different. However there was overwhelming unanimity regarding solutions for family
problems while living overseas and working toward the completion of an expatriate
contract. When asked the question, “When confronted with a family problem, how do
you solve it?” a great majority mentioned and resounding repetition that the
identification of the underlying issue, the communication with partner to be crucial. Some
specific recommendations that merited attention and touched upon proactive problem
solving as well as intervention were discussed below.
Table 27.
Participant Narratives
“Head on. Talking it through.’ American. Female. Eleven years experience in Indonesia
as an expatriate spouse.
“If your marriage isn’t rock solid, then I wouldn’t even suggest you attempt it. If it is
okay, then investigate all leads before you uproot. Talk to each other and if possible, talk
to others who have been through it before.” Female. British. Six and one-half years and
an expatriate spouse in Kazakhstan, Irian Jaya and Holland.
“Understand the likely problems in advance so that you can recognize them BEFORE
they become major, marriage-threatening issues. Also, know what you NEED in terms of
lifestyle so that you can try to make sure you have the things that are important to you
(bread, tea, Marmite, friends, whatever it might be for you.” British. Female. Four years
experience as an expatriate partner in the USA and Switzerland.
“My husband and I talk about it, come to a compromise and then make a plan on how to
reach this compromise ( we’ve only been married 20 months and we still believe we can
do this).” Female. Australian. Four-half months as an expatriate partner.
“Understand it, define it, and research it. Negotiate, take action and assess the results.”
New Zealander. Male. Almost ten years experience as an expat in the following
144
locations: Kenya, Nepal, Sudan, Ecuador, and Burkina Faso.
“Research the place thoroughly, talk to previous expatriates, try it for 6 months before
committing long term.” Canadian-Hungarian. Male. Eleven years experience as an
expatriate.
“Both parties need to agree on the time that they will spend overseas. While abroad,
make the most of it. Go off and do fun things together, explore and have fun. Don’t take it
seriously.” British. Female. Lifetime spent as the daughter of an expatriate. Now married
and accompanying partner in Brazil.
Comparison to Previous Research
The two variables, ‘Feelings of Isolation’ and’ Distance from Friends and Family’
have been a recurring theme throughout and from all corners of the international human
resources research field; academia, social action, and NGO sponsored. In this regard, this
study proved to be no different. Concerning ‘ISOL’, isolation, as it was liberally defined
in this study, ‘isolation from working expatriate, spouse, work colleagues, friends and
family, to include alienation from host country’s culture’, it was believed to have a
perhaps had more impact on the results than was originally anticipated.
After the aforementioned variables have been considered, the findings of this
study diverged slightly from the findings discussed in the literature review. For instance,
Windham (1999) stated that after family adjustment and children’s education, spouse
resistance, and spouse’s career were the most critical family challenges of the expatriate.
When taking the 88 participants as a whole, tallying the responses to the open-ended self-
selection questions that required respondents to list the ‘Top Five Family and Spousal
Problems’, the variables expressed as Family Adjustment, Children’s Education,
Spouse’s Resistance, and Spouse’s Career were absent from the ‘Top Five’ listing.
145
Moreover, they were not considered by the respondents as within the ‘Top Ten’ listing
either and therefore, they were not included by this researcher.
Once the participant pool was divided, however, into distinct groupings,
problems pertaining to ‘Dual Career’ and ‘Spouse wishes to Resume her/his Career’
variables were indeed key stressors for Group 6= Expatriates without Accompanying
Children (this group experienced the highest means for these two variables as well as ten
other family and spousal problems). This suggested that Group 6 represented the sub-
segment of the expatriate population most likely to leave early from an overseas
assignment.
Additionally, the family and spousal problems as represented by the following
variables: ‘Feelings of Isolation’, ‘Distance from Family and Friends’, ‘Martial
Infidelity’, ‘Infrequent Contact with Spouse’, and ‘Lack of Clear Communication’ were
considered as the ‘Top Five Family and Spousal Problems’ by the respondents of this
study. ‘Too Much Work’ received the highest mean stress score. Prior to this research
study, there were not any extensive studies that delved deeply into the family and spousal
problems.
Prior to this study, there have not been any studies in the international human
resources realm that identified martial infidelity, infrequent contact with spouse, too
many problems at once, too much work, or poor communication as chief components of
the family and spousal problem phenomenon so often referenced to in international
146
human relations studies. This study did confirm, with regards to the communication
variable (contained within the ‘Top Five’) the findings by Smith and Stevens-Smith
(1992). These researchers reported that communication, faulty communication patterns
and non-communication were often major factors in the prevention of healthy family
functioning.
With the exception of ‘Distance from Family and Friends’, the presence of each
of the aforementioned variables have shown to precipitate a deterioration of partner
intimacy. Partner intimacy, as argued by this research, was the bonding agent that kept
the commitment to the marriage union as well as the contractual commitment to the MNC
to complete the overseas to full term. Previous researchers in failure rate analysis
neglected to consider such an obvious factors in the decision to depart prematurely or
‘intent to stay’ on an overseas assignment.
With regards to the continuous cycle of (1) discontent or unease at work, (2)
stress brought to the household, and (3) unhappiness felt at home that could have been
initiated by problems at work and or adjustment problems at home, generally, this study
supported previous work by Shaffer (1999) and others who demonstrated that while work
factors dominated adjustment related to work transition, a combination of work,
interaction and general adjustment problems influenced adaptation in the family and
individual factors.
Corporate Support Policies
147
Were there differences in expatriates’ perceptions of corporate support policies
across groups? For instance, expatriates who had a history of early departures, had more
or less years of experience overseas, accompanied or unaccompanied, worked in certain
industry sectors, or located in challenging places? To answer this question, ANOVA, t-
Test and the Newman- Keuls Multiple Comparison Test were utilized.
Table 18.
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
ANOVA, t-Test and Multiple Comparison Table:
Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison Test
The means of five variables that pertained to the perceptions of the corporate
support policies across the 10 independent groups were compared with respect to one
variable using the one-way or single factor analysis of variance to test the following
hypotheses:
Ho: The difference in the means of the groups was zero.
Ha: The difference in the means of the groups was not zero.
148
The 5 variables tested were ‘CS HAPPY’= pleased with corporate support; ‘CS
FRUST’= corporate office added to frustrations; ‘CS ALLEV’= corporate office
alleviated frustrations; ‘TRANSASST’= transition assistance aided in relocation; and ‘CS
CNCLFT’= conflicting messages from corporate office.
The groupings were as follows: Group1= Early Departures, Group 2= Non Early
Departures; Group 3= 5 Years Overseas but Less than 10 Years Overseas, Group 4= 10
Years or More Overseas, Group 5= Expatriates with Accompanying Children, Group 6=
Expatriates without Accompanying Children, Group 7= Challenging Location (China,
Brazil, Japan, India, Russia), and Group 8= Regular Location, and Group 9= 0- 5 Years
Overseas (excluding the 14 that did not respond to this question).
149
Variable ‘CS ALLEV’ Tested Positive for Significant Differences by Groups
Of the five variables tested, only one variable ‘CS ALLEV’= ‘corporate office
alleviated relocation issues’ resulted in significant differences (small p-value, p<0.001)
when compared to the Means occurring in other groupings. As such, this evidenced a
difference between Groups and their level of satisfaction in the corporate office’s ability
to alleviate the stress associated with an international relocation. The ANOVA indicated
that there was a difference among the level of satisfaction with the corporate office’s
ability to alleviate the relocation stress by the nine different groups (Gender= Group 9
was not tested).
To identify which Group Means were significantly different from the means
computed from the other groups, an examination of the multiple comparison test
followed by the application of the Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison Test at the 0.05
significance level. The Results: the mean of Group 1= Early Departures was
significantly different than the mean of Group 5= Expatriates with Accompanying
Children.
The Mean for Group 5= Expatriates with Accompanying Children had the
smallest mean, while Group 1= Early Departures had the largest mean. The mean for
Group 5= Expatriates with Accompanying Children is statistically significantly less that
the means for all other Groups. The means from Groups 2 (Non Early Departures),
Group 4= 10 Years or More Overseas, Group 9= 0 –5 years overseas, Group 8= Regular
Location, Group 7= Challenging Location, Group 3= 5 years overseas but less than 10
150
years overseas, Group 6= Expatriates without Accompanying Children, and Group 1=
Early Departures were not significantly different from one another. However, the means
of these Groups were all significantly greater than the means of Group 5= Expatriates
with Accompanying Children.
These findings may have proven a basis for understanding the differences
between Groups and their level of satisfaction or confidence in the ‘corporate office’s
ability to alleviate the stress associated with an international relocation’, in particular
Group 1= Early Departures and Group 5= Expatriate Families with Accompanying
Children. These two diametrically opposing extremes signaled that Expatriates with
accompanying children= Group 5 were more likely to be satisfied with corporate support
services offered to them than those expatriates without accompanying families. As
corporations were perceived by the participants to be adequately providing services for
the private educational needs of accompanying children, it became apparent to the
married expatriates with no accompanying children or single expatriates that the levels of
corporate support services were not equitable for everyone. This finding mirrored similar
trends in the US whereby single executives have begun to demand equal benefits as their
co-workers with families. The benefits of time off, family leave, day care facilities,
sporting events have taken on the appearance to be greatly beneficial to executives with
families but were perceived of little use and therefore of no value to single, and/or
childless executives.
151
Observations
While not statistically significant, Group 1= Early Departures experienced the
highest mean for the variable ‘CS HAPPY’, and expressed their disagreement with the
statement, “I am pleased with the corporate support offered to my family.” Group 1=
Early Departures also expressed the highest level of dissatisfaction with ‘CS ALLEV’,
variable as expressed in the statement, ‘The company head office alleviated relocation
issues.”
Although not statistically significant, Group 7= Challenging Location,
experienced the highest group Mean for the variable ‘CS FRUST’, defined by ‘corporate
office added to frustrations.’ It was observed and postulated by this researcher that
corporate support officers, human resource personnel and line supervisors may have been
guilty of ethnocentrism or rationalizing that standardized policies, plans, procedures,
goals and objectives should have been globally applicable while situations in challenging
locations of China, Brazil, Russia, India and Japan warranted individualized, flexible and
creative approaches to management. Furthermore, this Group also expressed
dissatisfaction with the transition assistance ‘TRANSASST’ provided by the company
and so verbalized this perception with the lowest mean score of approval for the question,
“Did this assistance greatly aid you in your transition?”
152
Statistically Significant Differences by Sector
To determine if statistically significant differences occurred by Sector, the
following Groups were identified and tested: Group1= Sector 1 represented 21.6% of the
participant base (Oil, Gas and Energy); Group 2= Sector 2 represented 15.9% of the
participant base (Technology), Group 3= Sector 3 represented 7.95% of the participant
base (Finance and Banking), and Group 4= Sector 9, also represented 7.95% of the
participant base (Mining, Chemical and Environmental). The remaining sectors were not
tested as they represented, separately, less than 10 percent of the total subject population.
As such, inferences as to the population as a whole would have not been appropriate.
Table 19
Perceptions of Corporate Support by Sector
GR1 GR2 GR3 GR4
Corporate Support Issue Sector 1 Sector 2 Sector 3 Sector 9 All Subjects in
Study
N=19 N=13 N=7 N=7 N=88
CSHAPPY
STD
2.52
1.17
2.30
1.49
2.28
.95
2.28
1.70
2.42
1.33
CSFRUST
STD 2.73
.99
1.61
1.38 2.85
1.06
2.28
1.70
2.21
1.31
CS ALLEV
STD
2.10
.73
2.23
1.36
2.42
.97
2.14
1.21
2.28
1.15
TRANASS
STD
.1.21
.71 .84
.68
1.28
.75
1.28
1.38
1.05
.76
CSCNFLCT STD 2.57 1.16
1.76 1.30
2.57 1.27
2.71 1.70
2.17 1.39
ANOVA, t-Test and Multiple Comparison Table: Newman-Keuls Multiple Comparison
Test
The 5 variables tested were ‘CS HAPPY’= pleased with corporate support; ‘CS
FRUST’= corporate office added to frustrations; ‘CS ALLEV’= corporate office
153
alleviated frustrations; ‘TRANSASST’= transition assistance aided in relocation; and ‘CS
CNCLFT’= conflicting messages from corporate office.
Ho: The difference in the means of the groups was zero.
Ha: The difference in the means of the groups was not zero.
The groupings were as follows: Group 1= Sector 1 (Oil, Gas and Energy); Group
2= Sector 2 (Technology), Group 3= Sector 3 (Finance and Banking), and Group 4=
Sector 9 (Mining, Chemical and Environmental). In a comparison of the means relating
to the level of satisfaction of corporate support services and policies occurring across
industries, there were no statistically significant differences.
Most Helpful Corporate Support Services Provided
To determine the types of corporate support services typically offered during an
overseas assignment (pre-departure, arrival, on-going assignment management, and
repatriation), the researcher asked the question, “What were the most helpful corporate
resources provided to you and your family?”
The helpful corporate support services mentioned by the respondents were
divided into two camps. The first camp (combined total of 56%) indicated that the most
helpful corporate support services offered were within the on-going assignment
management phase of the posing. For instance, 16% mentioned the provision of local
contacts, peer sponsors, information corporate and or spouse network. 12% emphasized
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adequate and flexible budgets, extra stipends and financial assistance as a critical
component of corporate support policy. Eleven percent stressed the corporate assistance
for dealing with the local bureaucracy. Eight percent mentioned flexible annual trip leave,
5% underscored the assistance provided by a supportive boss and/or helpful spouse (of
the boss), while 4% considered the assignment of work projects for the expatriate’s
accompanying spouse as the most helpful corporate support service.
The second camp (combined total of 44%) felt that the most helpful corporate support
services offered centered on pre-departure and immediate arrival. For example, 30% of
the respondents identified relocation services, shipping of personal effects and finding
accommodations as most helpful, while 14% indicated that orientation sessions and pre-
location visits to host country were the most helpful corporate support services provided.
155
Chart 5
Most Helpful Corporate Support Provided (the percentages have been
rounded).
Most Helpful Corporate Support Provided
Relocation (30.0%)
Local Contacts (16.0%)
Orientation (14.0%)
Flex Budget (12.0%)
Govmt Asst. (11.0%)
Flex Leave (8.0%)
Supp.Boss (5.0%)Spouse Work (4.0%)
Table 16.
Most Helpful Corporate Resources Provided
Most Helpful Corporate Resources Provided Number of
Occurrences
Percentage
Relocation services, shipping of personal effects, finding
accommodations
22 29.7%
Local contacts, peer sponsors, informal corporate and/or spouse
network
12 16.2%
Orientation or pre-location visit to host country 10 13.5%
Adequate and flexible budget, extra stipend and financial
assistance
9 12.1%
Assistance with local regulations, permits, bureaucracy which
may have included the provision of an office or personal
assistant to handle necessary paperwork
8 10.8%
156
Flexible annual trip leave 6 8.1%
Supportive boss and helpful spouse, support from human
resources department
4 5.4%
Others: English speaking driver for 30 days; Assigned
Expatriate Spouse Project work within Husband’s company;
School, Books
3 4.0%
Total Number of Occurrences 74
Transition Assistance
Fifty-one percent (n=45) respondents believed that the transition assistance
provided by the MNCs greatly aided in the transition, eighteen or 20% did not think that
the transition assistance provided by the company greatly assisted them with the
transition. Twenty-four (27%) participants chose not to respond to the question. Only one
person (1%) felt that the transition assistance aided them during the transition
‘somewhat’.
The participant’s responses to the open-ended question regarding ‘the most
helpful’ corporate support services and the ‘self identified’ types of transition assistance
that ‘greatly’ aided in the transition supported one another, thus validating the responses.
As in the previous section (corporate support), the responses were divided almost evenly
into two camps: those who judged that the pre-departure and immediate arrival support
had been the most helpful and those who reasoned that the transition services offered
during the on-going assignment phase were the most helpful.
157
These findings were striking in that the typical industry standard for corporate
support policies was to focus on pre-departure and immediate arrival and therefore it has
been reasoned that the findings in this study could have been skewed to reflect even
higher percentages than justifiable in the first camp (the services provided during the pre-
departure and/or immediate arrival). While many of the participants would have liked to
have been offered an assortment of services to assist with the on-going assignment phase
and thereby could have rated their perceptions accordingly, few participants had the
luxury to be afforded many services during the on-going assignment phase. Therefore,
the researcher has concluded that more attention needs to be given to the on-going
management phase of an overseas assignment as they were, across the board, more
heavily valued by the expatriates and families than the support given during the pre-
departure and immediate arrival phases.
Table 20.
Ways in Which the Transition Assistance Helped Expatriates and their Families
Ranked order
1. House hunting, relocation assistance and moving personal effects
Setting up utilities, didn’t worry about safe shipment of personal effects, settle move
quickly, one less thing to do, reduced stress, got settled faster, made the move easier.
2. Local Contacts, Local Consultant hired as Guide, Corporate and/or Spouse Network
Someone always available to answer questions, oriented the family.
The local contact took us around for the first week, entertained us, and taught us a few
local expressions and customs. They referred us to English-speaking doctors. They
helped us reduce our fears that ‘we were not alone.’
3. Orientation/Pre-Location Visit
Practical information provided. “I knew my way around. Life was not completely
unexpected.”
4. Adequate Budget
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The provision of an adequate budget took the pressure off. We did not have to worry
about maintaining our lifestyle. They made it easier and faster to settle. In one instance,
the company reimbursed expenses incurred when expatriate executive telephoned daily to
his spouse. Allowed spouse accompany expatriate executive on business trips.
5. Assistance with Local Regulations
Speeded up formalities, smoothed transition, overcame bureaucratic problems, and
provided access to resources.
6. Language Assistance
One should be able to communicate to be successful and happy. Attending language
lessons provided a way for me to fill my days, in essence, to fill the idle time.
Comparison to Previous Research
Regarding the types of corporate support and transition assistance offered there were no
significant differences in the findings of this research and those of previous research. Basic
corporate policies for the expatriate included: reimbursement for medical expenses; assistance
with passports, visas, and work permits; ‘house hunting trips’, assistance with setting up bank
accounts; and assistance with legal issues. Furthermore, the findings of this study affirm the
findings of other studies in that rigorous training, preparation and corporate support programs
were woefully lacking (Black, et. al., 1992; Tung, 1981, 1982; Baliga and Baker, 1985). This
was the case even though the presence of such programs had an extremely positive impact on
the success rate of overseas assignments (Black and Mendenhall, 1990; De Cieri, 1989; Earley,
1987; Fish and Wood, 1987).
159
This research supported previous research by Buckley and Brooke (1992) in
particular that failure rates in developing, emerging and third world economies could
have reached up to 70%, reasons in previous studies were not provided. This study
offered plausible explanations and provided evidence of misguided and ineffectual
corporate support policies could have been a causal factor in the decision to depart early
from an overseas assignment. Concerning the level of satisfaction with corporate support
and the measurement of said variables by different Groupings and industry sectors, there
have been no studies, prior to this study.
With regards to the general lack of consideration for corporate support policy, one
possible explanation for the continued de-emphasis by MNCs according to this researcher
could have been due to inappropriate sampling and the manipulation of research. The
transitory nature of expatriation, remote locations, poor infrastructure and safety
concerns, has historically, not lent itself to in-depth expatriate research. While the
expatriate assignment has averaged two to three years, Windham (1999) reported that the
period has been declining when compared to previous years. Furthermore, the threat of
death, kidnapping and assault was very real for many expatriates. 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 have attempted to examine
expatriate acculturation and attitudes by circumventing the expatriate all together, and
instead have selected to interview IHRMs. The relative ease by which researchers have
been able to communicate with IHRMs in their native language; their accessibility by
160
phone, postal mail or fax; willingness to share information; and quick response time,
have made 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) have generally favored this technique.
Incorrect Inferences from Inappropriate and Biased Sampling. There were two risks
associated with this practice and identified by this researcher. First, incorrect inferences
about the expatriate population using biased and inappropriate sampling has introduced
doubt and questioned the creditability of the research findings, corporate support policy
implications and recommendations for improvement.
Second, the resulting findings might have been manipulated. The immediate past
chair of the Society for Human Resource Management, Libby Sartain, confirmed that her
organization's research has shown that companies have had low opinions of their human
resource departments. In this same study, so too, did the human resource professionals
themselves (as cited by Skapinker, 2002).
Therefore, the researcher of this study postulated that it would be relatively easy
to see how one might have been enticed to produce literature that limits concepts to those
for which one particular group was ideologically comfortable or to those that emphasize
variables that were easily manipulated by managerial interests (Watson, 1994). In failure
rate analysis, it was understandable that IHRM looked to various co-conspirators, in
161
conjunction with internal documentation to identify likely causal factors for such
outcomes. This proclivity was often exploited, particularly amongst relocation and
consulting firms.
Medical and Psychological
Two areas were covered in this segment of the study: medical and psychological.
Medical was reviewed first. Fifty percent the subjects in this study did not report an
increase in medical problems nor deteriorating health as a result of the stress, daily
hassles, or poor hygiene thought to have been associated with living and working abroad.
Please refer to the following summaries of (a) medical visits, (b) reported medical
aliments that worsened as a result of living overseas, and (c) medical professionals’
recommendations of stress reduction techniques to expatriate and family patients that
have been proven to be effective in combating medical conditions causes by overseas
assignment stress.
Medical Visits
Thirty-three percent of the expatriates and accompanying partners indicated that
they rarely visited a medical professional. Twenty percent annually visited a medical
doctor, 18% bi-annually, 6% monthly, 5% quarterly, while 16% chose not to respond to
the question. The frequency of medical visits may have been influenced by the
expatriates and their families’ confidence in the quality of care received while on
assignment. Just a few participant narratives have been presented that sum up the
sentiment. When asked the question, “How often do you visit a medical professional?”
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Table 21.
Participant Narratives
“In Samoa- never.” New Zealander male. 1 year accompanying partner experience in
Australia and American Samoa.
“Have not yet visited a doctor in the Netherlands.” American female. One year
experience in the Netherlands.
Table 22.
Frequency of Medical Visits
Frequency of Medical Visits Occurrences Percentage
Rarely, only when necessary, Emergencies, or Never 29 32.9%
Annually 18 20.4%
Bi-Annually 16 18.1%
Monthly 6 6.8%
Quarterly 5 5.6%
Not Indicated 14 15.9%
Total Number of Occurrences 88
Medical Problems
Forty-four respondents (50%) did not disclose a medical problem, while 32
subjects (or 36%) did indicated that a medical problem had worsened as a result of an
overseas assignment. By an overwhelming margin, a dormant medical problem that
worsened while the respondent worked or lived overseas was not reported nor felt to have
been (as viewed by the participants) as a result of stress, rather it was directly linked to
the change in climate, environment, food, eating patterns, etc. Two respondents (2%)
reported that their health improved as a result of a posting abroad. Twelve percent chose
not to answer the question.
163
Chart 6.
Participants Reported Increase/Decrease in Medical Problems
Increase/Decrease in Medical Problems
0
10
20
30
40
50
No Problems & No Ans. Problems Worsened Health Better than Before
Num
ber
of
Part
icip
ants
Reponse
The following dormant and/or pre-existing medical problems became apparent as
a result of an overseas posting, as reported by 32 respondents (in ranked order).
Table 23.
Frequency of Medical Problem by Type
Type of Medical Problem Occurrences Percentage
Stomach, Back, Chest, Head, or Gum Pains 9 19.5%
Dry Skin, Acne, Psoriasis, Exeema, or Fungal
Skin Infections
9 19.5%
Clinical Depression or Anxiety Attacks,
Insomnia
6 13.0%
Problem Pregnancy, Difficult Labor or
Miscarriage
5 10.8%
Asthma 4 8.6%
Weight Gain 3 6.5%
Arthritis and/or Joint Pains 3 6.5%
Conjunctivitis 3 6.5%
Crone’s Disease or Intestinal Problems 3 6.5%
Viral infection 1 2.1%
Total Occurrences 46
164
Once again, the expatriates and their families’ confidence and satisfaction in the
medical treatment received while on an overseas assignment was dependent upon, in part,
to the expatriates’ point of reference (the medical care received in the home country as
compared to the care received in the host country). A few narratives that have provided a
snap shot of the participant’s beliefs follows.
Table 24.
Perceptions of Medical Care.
“None-[no medical problems experienced]—in fact I believe I have had better medical
treatment and access to medical facilities whilst overseas; I know I have been treated
more quickly and thoroughly here than at home—and I had a major genetic illness
diagnosed whilst on assignment. Treat and care excellent. Women’s health is taken more
seriously in my host country than my home country and the preventative screenings are
more frequent and more thorough.” British female. Seven years experience in Germany
and the USA.
On the opposite side of the spectrum, here is the viewpoint of an expatriate partner with
experience in Asia, “I acquired rheumatoid arthritis while living and studying in Asia. It
was active for six years. This disappeared magically within mire weeks of leaving Asia,
where I was stressed and depressed.” American female with 15 years experience in The
Netherlands, England, and Singapore.
“I had a problem with my back in the second year of the assignment, and the help here in
Holland was at best frustrating. I had to go back to India to get the attention I deserved,
but was simply not being prescribed by the health care professionals here. This meant
being out of the office for a few weeks and was heavily frustrating.” Indian male.
Overseas experience in the USA.
Medical Recommendations to Relieve Stress
If conditions indicated that stress was a major source of medical ailments for the
expatriates and their families, ten medical doctors provided recommendations for
alleviating stress and the resulting symptoms. A possible reason for such low referrals
was best demonstrated by the following quote that was a response to the survey question,
165
“Has a medical doctor suggested the use of any stress reduction technique to you or your
spouse?”
“-- if only! Perhaps Western medics are too straight-laced still.” British female.
Eleven years overseas experience in Norway, France, Algeria, Venezuela, USA,
and Egypt.
Table 24.
Medical Professionals’ Recommendations for Relieving Stress
Non-structured
Lifestyle
Active Lifestyle
+ Healthy Diet
Prescription
Drugs
Psychological
Therapy
36% 36% 21% 7%
Rest, Less airline
flights
Yoga, Meditation,
Spend
More Time With the
Family
Exercise, Sports,
Alternative
Sports, Walking,
or other Physical
Activity
Anti-depressant
medication
Blood Pressure
medication
Visit professional
psychological
counselor
Occurrences=5 Occurrences= 5 Occurrences=3 Occurrences=1
Just 2.44% of the respondents confessed that they regularly sought upon the
assistance of a professional counselor or therapist to relieve the stress associated with an
overseas assignment (as a stress reduction technique in Part A of the questionnaire).
Table 25.
Participant Narratives.
“We do believe most employers underestimate the stress of going abroad with a
partner/family for the first time, and going to a new continent (or new country) with new
language and going to a hardship post. We believe the counseling they provide, usually
from the internal human resources department does not work as employees don’t trust
their confidentiality. Therefore, staffs overseas don’t involve human resources until there
is an undeniable non-concealable problem, e.g. married expat has been caught sleeping
with local staff and told by police to leave the province in 48 hours for his own safety.”
Dutch Male. Over nine years of expatriate experience in Sudan, Ecuador, Kenya, Burkina
Faso, Nepal. Decided to return home to put kids through high school.
“My husband was a Navy man before going corporate. The Navy actually does seminars
166
for wives and significant others on separation anxiety, resentment, isolation from friends
and family [while on] overseas duty. “ American Female. Four years experience as an
expatriate spouse. Location information unavailable.
Although the response to this question was placed in the Medical Section of the
survey, the response was an embodiment of the increased likelihood that some if not all
of the accompanying partners within the subject population had suffered from ‘burnout’
“[I experienced] one period of clinical depression which was absolute
exhaustion after 7 countries in 9 years plus 3 children’s births.” British female
with eleven years overseas experience in Norway, France, Algeria, Venezuela,
USA and Egypt.
The above quotations spoke volumes. In addition to the hesitancy on the part of
corporations to provide outsourced psychological support, expatriates and families have
shown that they are just as hesitant to admit to using or needing such a service. Only six
participants acknowledged the use of a psychological therapist. Seventy-seven
participants did not regularly use a therapist. Two participants considered visiting a
therapist while three chose not to answer the question, “Do you regularly visit a
therapist?”
When asked the question, “What are some of the things you miss about home or
your previous life before moving overseas?”, the responses were not surprising. The
listing of responses, in ranked order follows.
167
Table 26.
Things Missed
1. Proximity to Friends and Family celebrations 32.14%
Close, lifelong, and dependable friends and parents, children, siblings, and extended
family were valued. A great significance was placed on family celebrations. The
respondents mentioned that they didn’t have to worry about gossip, they were
trustworthy, and there existed a high comfort level due to prior history based on mutual
trust and respect.
2. Work 13.09%
Participants longed for work colleagues, a sense of career certainty, and feelings of
accomplishment.
3. Conveniences 10.71%
Shopping, transportation, the salon, native fashion and cooking ingredients, wide
assortment and clothing sizes, high quality products at reasonable prices were missed.
4. Healthy and/or native Products 10.11%
Healthy food, restaurant hygiene, favorite brands, and native cooking ingredients were
missed.
5. Outdoor recreational facilities 6.54%
Fishing, boating, biking to local shops, golf, clean air, streets, availability of nature trails,
the need to ‘preplan’ everything, freedom to ‘rome around’, houses with gardens,
inability to be spontaneous was desired.
6. Cultural Familiarity 6.54%
Automatically knowing what is expected in daily living, how to get things done, how
daily life works, and knowing what was expected regarding relationships was wanted.
7. Weather 5.95%
Participants felt the need to experience the change of weather, the seasons, native
holidays, and long weekends.
8. Native language 5.35%
The participants felt the experience lacked the ease of communication that speaking,
communicating, reading and writing in one’s native language.
9. Entertainment 4.76%
Television programming- choices provided for entertainment, music and sports was
missed.
10. Lifestyle 4.76%
Owning a home, having a car, living in a smaller or larger city was missed.
168
Comparisons to Previous Research
There were numerous reports issued regarding ‘tourist diarrhea’, its causes and
prevention (Udesky, 1997; Shlim, 2001). Also one study in particular indicated that the
incidence of ‘tourist diarrhea’ lessened as the expatriate’s stay in the host country
progressed. And while DVT (“Study finds Clot Risk on Long Flights,” 2001) was a major
concern for travelers and federal aviation officials, this subject population did not address
DVT. With regards to previous research on the use of medical services or medical
problems (other than DVT, diarrhea), none were not located. No other research prior to
this study were encountered.
Regarding the psychological toil that an overseas assignment inflicts upon the
expatriate, accompanying partner and family, this research supported them all (Anderzen,
1998; Black, 1989; Brett, 1980; De Cieri, 1996; Mainwaring-Betts, 1993) with the
exception of Coyle (1993).
169
Data Computation and Analysis
Definitions of Values
Disssa1.dbf
AGE= Age of the respondent. The Actual number value as indicated by the respondent.
USE SRT=1=never 2=occasionally 3=often 4=always
YRS OS= Number of years overseas. The actual number value as indicated by the
respondent.
FS PROB1= The numerical value of the family and spousal problems listed in Section E
of the questionnaire.
KIDS= Digit 1= The number of accompanying children in expatriate household. Digit 2=
The gender of the accompanying children; 0= Female, 1= Male, 3= Both. Digit 3= Age
range of accompanying children in expatriate household; 1= 0-5 years, 2= 6-12 years,
3=13-18 years, 0= age not indicated.
SRT INC= 1=Agree 2=Disagree 0= No answer
NAT= 1=American, 2=British, 3= Australian, 4=Dutch, 5=Canadian, 6=Nigerian, Indian
or Asian, 7= Other European
CSHPPY=1=agree 2=tend to agree 3= tend to disagree 4= disagree
F EARLY== 1=Yes 2=No
U EARLY== 1=Yes 2=No 0=No answer
Dissa2.dbf
NEWSRT= 1=Agree 2=Disagree
CSFRUST=1=agree 2=tend to agree 3= tend to disagree 4= disagree
CSALLEV=1=agree 2=tend to agree 3= tend to disagree 4= disagree
170
TRANASST== 1=Yes 2=No
X69STAT=1=agree 2=tend to agree 3= tend to disagree 4= disagree 0=No
Answer
SEPRAT=1=Yes 2=No
THERP=1=Yes 2=No 0=No answer
DRSRT=1=Yes 2=No
XVISITDR=0= Rarely 1=Never, 2=Regularly, Annually, 3= Bi-Annually, 4=Quarterly,
5=Monthly, 6=No Answer
MEDPROB= 1=Yes 2=No
Dissa3.dbf
CSCNFLT=1=agree 2=tend to agree 3= tend to disagree 4= disagree
RFEARLY=1=Husband or Spouse received job back home or a promotion; 2= Financial,
not reaching goals, 3= Spouse unhappy, no job, bored, lack of independence; 4= Medical
Problems; 5= Government pressure, drug use; economic and social issues; 6= Kids,
Elderly care, kids education; 7= One, either or both could not adapt, homesick; 8=
difficulties with the employer, job or employer’s demands were too great,
corporate/expatriate mismatch; 9= marital/divorce
WHEREGO= 1=(a) Back to their home country; 2= (b) Another overseas assignment; 3=
(c) Another firm; 4=(d) Retired; 5= (e) Don’t Know
SECTOR= 1=oil, gas, energy; 2= technology; 3=finance, banking, treasury;
4=administration, professional service, consulting, research, legal; 5= NGO; 6=Consumer
goods, food, pharmaceutical; 7=education; 8=medical, 9=chemical, mining,
171
environmental, engineering; 11=media, 12=aviation, aero, transportation, auto; 13=
construction; 14=military; 15=Retail
GENDER= 0=Female 1=Male
TYPSRT1= 1= Social, 2= Medical, 3=Eastern, 4=Physical, 5=Spiritual, 6=Professional
Therapy, 7= Travel, 8= Spouse Centered., 9=Other, 10= Alternative
TYPSRT2= 1= Social, 2= Medical, 3= Eastern, 4=Physical, 5=Spiritual, 6=Professional
Therapy, 7= Travel, 8= Spouse Centered, 9=Other, 10= Alternative
TYPSRT3= 1= Social, 2= Medical, 3= Eastern, 4=Physical, 5=Spiritual, 6=Professional
Therapy, 7= Travel, 8= Spouse Centered, 9=Other, 10= Alternative
TYPSRT4= 1= Social, 2= Medical, 3= Eastern, 4=Physical, 5=Spiritual, 6=Professional
Therapy, 7= Travel, 8= Spouse Centered, 9=Other, 10= Alternative
TYPSRT5=1= Social, 2= Medical, 3= Eastern, 4=Physical, 5=Spiritual, 6=Professional
Therapy, 7= Travel, 8= Spouse Centered, 9=Other, 10= Alternative
TYPSRT6=1= Social, 2= Medical, 3= Eastern, 4=Physical, 5=Spiritual, 6=Professional
Therapy, 7= Travel, 8= Spouse Centered, 9=Other, 10= Alternative
Dissa5.dbf, Dissa6.dbf, Dissa7.dbf
NOCNCT= 1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
NOCOMM=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
UREXPCT=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
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UPREPCUL=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
DJOB=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
SPJOB=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
CULDIFF=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
SCHPRB=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
SOCZKID=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
DISCRM=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
NOOPPT=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
NOATTN=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
2MWRK=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
2MTRVL=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
DISTFF=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
NOUND=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
2MPRBL=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
EXP2DMD=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
LINC=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
CHGROU=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
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2INWRK=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
WRKDIFF=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4=
intolerable
ISOL=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
MRTINF=1= not stressful 2= somewhat stressful 3= stressful 4= intolerable
Definitions of Labels
Dissa.dbf
AGE= Age of the respondent.
USE SRT= Use of stress reduction technique.
YRS OS= Number of years overseas. .
FS PROB1= The top family and spousal problem stressor.
KIDS= Digit 1= The number of accompanying children, gender and age range in
expatriate household.
SRT INC= Use of stress reduction technique increase because of overseas assignment.
NAT=Nationality
CSHPPY= Pleased with the corporate support given to expatriate and family.
F EARLY=Knowledge of someone leaving early from an overseas assignment.
U EARLY= Respondent left early from an overseas assignment.
Dissa2.dbf
NEWSRT= Learn and use new stress reduction technique as a result of the overseas
assignment.
CSFRUST= Corporate office added to the frustration of the overseas assignment.
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CSALLEV= Corporate office alleviated relocation issues.
TRANASST= Transition assistance greatly aided family.
X69STAT= Level of agreement with 69% of all failures are the result of family and
spousal problems.
SEPRAT= Knowledge of marital separations due to an overseas assignment.
THERP= Regularly visit a therapist.
DRSRT= Medical doctors recommendation to use a stress reduction technique.
XVISITDR=Frequency of doctor visits.
MEDPROB= Medical problem made worse as a result of an overseas assignment.
Dissa3.dbf
CSCNFLT= Conflicting messages from head office cause more stress than relocation
itself.
RFEARLY= Reasons acquaintance or friends left prematurely from an overseas
assignment.
WHEREGO= The destination of the acquaintance or friends who departed prematurely.
SECTOR= Industry of employment.
GENDER= Gender of respondent.
TYPSRT1= Type of stress reduction preferred
TYPSRT2= Type of stress reduction preferred
TYPSRT3= Type of stress reduction preferred
TYPSRT4= Type of stress reduction preferred
TYPSRT5= Type of stress reduction preferred
TYPSRT6= Type of stress reduction preferred
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Dissa5.dbf, Dissa6.dbf, Dissa7.dbf
NOCNCT= contact with spouse
NOCOMM= Communication
UREXPCT= Expectations
UPREPCUL= Unprepared for Culture
DJOB= Dual Career
SPJOB= Spouse wants Job
CULDIFF= Culture too Different
SCHPRB= School Problems
SOCZKID= Kid’s Socialization
DISCRM= Discrimination or Sexism
NOOPPT= Few opportunities for Women
NOATTN= Spouse inattentiveness
2MWRK= Too much work
2MTRVL= Too much business travel
DISTFF= Distance from family and friends
NOUND= Spouse’s lack of understanding
2MPRBL= Too many problems at once
EXP2DMD= Executive too demanding of partner
LINC= Lower household income
CHGROU= Change in routine
2INWRK= Too involved in work
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WRKDIFF= Work difficulties
ISOL= Isolation
MRTINF=Marital infidelity
Definition of Groups
Group1= Early Departures
Group 2= Non Early Departures
Group 9= Less than 5 years overseas
Group 3= 5 Years Overseas but Less than 10 Years Overseas
Group 4= 10 Years or More Overseas
Group 5= Expatriates with Accompanying Children
Group 6= Expatriates without Accompanying Children
Group 7= Challenging Location (China, Brazil, Japan, India, Russia)
Group 8= Regular Location
Group 10= Gender.
Definition of Sectors
Sector 1= Oil, Gas and Energy
Sector 2=Technology
Sector 3=Finance and Banking
Sector 4= Professional Services, legal, consulting, research
Sector 5= Non Governmental Organizations
Sector 6= Consumer Goods, Food, Pharmaceutical Products
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Sector 7= Educational Institutions
Sector 8= Medical
Sector 9=Mining, Chemical and Environmental
Sector 11= Media, Publishing, Journalism
Sector 12= Transportation, aviation, aerospace and automotive
Sector 13= Construction
Sector 14= Military
Sector 15= Retail
Sector 0= Industry not Indicated
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Conclusions
To conclude the principle findings of this study, the researcher refered back to the
expatriate spouse who was visited at the beginning of this study on page 8. She and her
husband left their posting approximately 6 months later.
Table 29.
Participant Narrative
‘Here in Rio, I am not sure what my role is. ‘Wife’ I do not want to be. Not sure that else
I can do here. The weird thing is not what x [husband] makes me feel. It’s just sometimes
he acts the ‘husband’. I know he works all day and is tired. When he gets back from work
but he could still help out with cooking and cleaning. I never feel I can REALLY say all
that much because hear I am, not working or earning my keep... The reality is that I
don’t have anything of my own. X [husband’s name] doesn’t mean to make me feel this
way but I have guild and wants and needs. If he left me, I wouldn’t have anything. God
that sounds spoilt. I’ll have had wonderful abroad experiences. I learned Spanish. I’ve
experienced Argentina and Brazilian culture. I’ve traveled. But somehow I feel I haven’t
taken full advantage of being abroad. There’s the fear again. I wish X [husband’s name]
could know what this feel like. How would he feel if the positions were reversed?
Knowing him he would probably be productive which is probably why he can’t
understand how I feel.
Note. Personal Journal Entry February 16, 2000. Singaporean/New Zealander Female.
Expatriate Spouse with overseas experience in Argentina and Brazil.
In the field of IHRM, there was a depth of knowledge that could have been
derived from expatriates and accompanying partners. As a participant group, expatriates
have been conveniently overlooked due to the transient nature of their employment
contracts, safety concerns, poor infrastructure, and remote location. Concerning
accompanying partners, it has been theorized by corporations, due to their peripheral and
‘indirect’ stakeholder status, they have had to continually bare the brunt of the blame in
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expatriate failure analysis while simultaneously locked out of the process for designing
and developing effective corporate support policy for expatriates. 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 has been shown to exacerbate feelings
of dissatisfaction prompting the expatriate and family to terminate the expatriate contract
prematurely.
Two expatriate groups that required specific attention were expatriates without
accompanying children and expatriates located in challenging countries. This research
study addressed the specific needs of the former, and suggested that to close the benefits
gap of perceived inequities the following should have been introduced by MNCs
sponsoring expatriates overseas: spousal employment assistance, educational
stipends/vouchers for accompanying partner and/or future kids, spouse network, financial
assistance for elderly health care, and/or financial support for non-accompanying children
left at home.
Regarding the latter, there has been evidence that IHRMs might have rationalized
that standardized policies and the like were applicable universally while situations in
challenging countries like China, Brazil, Russia, India and Japan warranted
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individualized and flexible approaches to expatriate management. Transition assistance
should have been focused on the provision of regulatory guidance, legal and bureaucratic
assistance, cultural adaptation, orientation, language, safety and security briefings.
And finally, more attention should have been given to the on-going management
phase of an international assignment contract. For it has been demonstrated that through
the maintenance of healthy relationships and business processes, the financial livelihood
of the foreign subsidiary, and the psychological livelihoods of both the individual
expatriate and family can be virtually guaranteed for years to come.
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Policy Implications and Recommendations
In spite of the family and spousal problems accompanying partners and
expatriates encounter while overseas, they were a very resourceful and resilient group.
This adventurous, emotionally and physically healthy group was not prone to withdraw
early from an assignment, unless said posting involved the following characteristics:
Increasingly deteriorating level of intimacy among expatriate and partner,
Seemingly insurmountable work difficulties with no apparent solution,
Future career opportunities appeared to dim in comparison to previous prospects
before the assignment,
Non-responsive, ineffective or absence of corporate support systems applicable to
resolve specific concerns of said assignment,
Expatriate and/or accompanying partners’ inability to cope with the common
difficulties and the stress associated with completing an overseas assignment.
As a review, based upon the findings of this study, early withdrawals occurred
when the problems incurred during an overseas posting intersected these three factors:
WORK + INTIMACY, INTIMACY, or INTIMACY + COPING. Therefore, the
mitigation of early withdrawals could be commenced through the following
recommendations.
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Corporate Support Policy
1. Incorporate professional counseling seminars into orientation program to
prepare expatriates on the methods of stress management and the simultaneous juggling
of divergent tasks, goals and responsibilities.
2. Require expatriates to undergo an annual marriage counseling session in
conjunction with annual medical check ups.
3. Offer a menu of family and spousal benefits whereby expatriates may
select from a myriad of options. Some possible options for inclusion: (a) private
education for accompanying children which is the mainstay of current policies, (b)
educational voucher for future children while employed within same company, (c)
educational stipend, or (d) career and life planning assistance for accompanying partner.
4. Conduct exit and/or re-entry interviews of repatriated executives to record
observations, opportunities, hidden agendas, operational hints, and obstacles to success.
These interviews will serve as the institutional memory banks for future reference should
the repatriated executive terminate employment with said company.
5. Recognize that the most important aspect of corporate support policy goes
beyond ‘pre-departure’ phase to the ‘on-going assignment management and maintenance’
phase.
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6. Effective two-way communication will aid in maintaining smooth satellite
operations. Therefore, at the very least, initiate open-door policy, encourage phone, fax,
email contact and other forms of communication with overseas affiliates.
7. Publish an in-house expatriate alumni directory. Maintain database that
identifies and records personnel with stints abroad. Make available to current expatriates.
If the human resource budget is too small to employ a full-time staffer to facilitate
requests from abroad, alumni serve as a cost effective resource.
8. Contract a career coach, life planner, or outplacement professional to
counsel expatriates and accompanying partners 6 to 9 months prior to repatriation.
Work Issues for Expatriate and Employer
1. Resolve as many work-related issues as possible prior to departure.
2. Revise and adapt performance evaluation process to incorporate inherent
challenges of an expatriate posting.
3. Insurmountable work conflicts arise when there is a miss-match between
employer expectations and employee capabilities. Employer expectations and employee
capabilities are directly influenced and affected by the hidden desires of the ‘host
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country’ joint venture partner. In many cases, host country joint venture partners have
a vested interest to maintain the status quo. Gerrymandering, turf wars, corporate
insurgencies, and secret side deals, are just a few of the many ploys used to create
conditions in which the satellite office will fail. If the venture partners sense expatriate
weakness, multinational wavering, and generous or inept interpretation of contractual
clauses, these symptoms become just a few more reasons to retain absolute control of the
‘local’ national market.
4. Therefore, maintain active involvement in the host country satellite
operations. Offer immediate corporate support. Be open to change course as situation
dictates. And finally, to ensure goal attainment and ward off joint venture ‘vultures’; be
quick to lend multi-national weight, credibility and legal muscle to fledging satellite
operations.
Expatriate and Accompanying Partner
1. Resolve to undertake these activities to firm your marriage foundation: (a)
husband-centered activities such as local sight-seeing, travel and intimate dinners, (b)
realistic alignment of personal and professional goals with those of expatriate, (c) pledge
to serve as a catalyst for keeping lines of positive communication open between spouse,
family, friends and corporate colleagues, (d) accept the role of ‘social butterfly’ and
firmly integrate expatriate and family into the social fabric of the host country, (e) seek to
reduce the stress associated with overseas assignment by building and maintaining a local
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country support network, (f) use newly established expatriate friends, accompanying
partners as a sounding board for discussing personal doubts and seeking possible
solutions. And finally, (g) maintain a tranquil home environment.
2. For the childless expatriate couple (the most vulnerable to early
withdrawals and marriage dissolution), avoid inadvertently creating and increasing the
emotional chasm that occurs when partners’ interests and activities diverge. The gap most
often happens when the expatriate is perceived (by the partner) as working too much,
detached in family matters, and too involved with work. To fill the emotional void, the
partner reacts by maintaining a full schedule independent of spouse. During the posting
both individuals should work aggressively to maintain and build intimacy.
3. For the accompanying partner, pare down expectations. Yes, you can have
it all. You will find a divine position, at the most opportune time where your innate
talents match the demands of the job, the right location, and in the country where your
skills are valued the most.
4. If the decision is made to relocate overseas, make a commitment to allow
the expatriate’s career to be placed ‘first’ for a set period of time. This commitment does
not mandate that the partner forgo attempts to maintain a professional identity, rather a
pragmatic approach to life overseas. Use down time to improve skills, obtain expertise in
an unrelated discipline, study the arts and literature, explore one’s creative side,
volunteer, or embark on a journey of self discovery.
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5. Before relocating, hire a personal assistant, give ‘power of attorney’ to a
trusted relative with the following tasks: check and answer mail, maintain ‘home county’
abode, discipline non-accompanying teens, visit elderly parents, pay bills, oversee
investments and home repairs.