Expatriate's Wednesday- Expat spouses:Acknowledgement and respect please !

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Here are the conclusions of a research carried out in the Asia-Pacific region in 2007-2008.

I found an article writen by Nina Cole, associate professor of human Resources Managements, Toronto.

Research funded by the SHRM foundation.  

Among 238 participants, 100 accepted to meet for a detailed discussion.

It is about families relocated following a work assignment.

Here are the main aspects the research pointed out :

About work

ü  Spouses that experienced an interruption or a cessation of their employment had significantly lower adjustment to interacting with local population than the spouses whose employment situation remained substantially the same. We know that interacting with local population is a key component of cross cultural adjustments. For example, a spouse that didn’t work previously should adjust more easily than a spouse that did work and has to stop.

ü  Female spouses with with a career orientation to work, had higher adjustments than males with respect to both interacting with locals and adjusting to cultural daily differences.

ü  Less than 20% of the spouses received employer-provided employment assistance.

There was no difference in adjustment between spouses who received such assistance and those who did not. And no difference in the proportion of spouses who found work between those who received emploment assistance and those who did not.

ü  Overwhelming message of the spouses : they need some basic asssistance to help them get started on a job search process in the expatriate location. Assistance with networking which is always crucial when searching for a job. List of employment agencies of Western companies that use English-speaking staff, jobfairs,  a person who could provide help with translation and local resume and interview norms.

ü  Expressed a desire for career counselling. Individualised asssistance, before moving regarding transfer of skills set

ü  Many spouses indicated a desire for a greater respect from employers. They express the fact that the employer needs to face reality that dual career couples are the norm in today’s Western societies.

ü  Specific help : obtaining work visa, paying fees associated with maintaining professional registration or re-qualification exams for the host location, providing

ü  Help in establishing a small business, local regulations, many of them think they need a spouse allowance to use for courses on how to set up a small business in the local setting.

ü  Point : if the relocation process goes smoothly they could start their job search more rapidly and with a more positive and confident attitude.

ü  Practical support immediately upon arrival and over the first weeks of settling-in. The spouses experienced many difficulties. Best source of support and assistance : another expatriate spouse already settled, a long term access to a go-to-go person.

ü  Before & when arrived in the host country, practical crossed-cultural information & more language training before and after moving. I haven many times, heard that the employee can have language lessons for the length of the assignment when the spouse usually has one year.

It is usually the spouse who has to go out everyday for organising social/cultural life for the children, do the house / food shopping etc … without speaking the language, it’s a challenge.

ü  Expat spouses want to be considered as a partner by the employer in the relocation process. Most of the time they feel they are not. Being included in the distribution of information during the planning stages for the assignment and the negociations of the details that would affect the family.  Spouses want recognition and aknowledgement of all the work of moving a family.

ü  I remember an expat spouse telling me how a welcome meeting had been organised by the employer of her partner : no place and no facilities for welcoming the children. When you have toddlers and you’ve just arrived in a country where you do not speak the language, you do not have a babysitting solution. So, that person said that as a consequence, the spouses frequently don’t show up.

I do think this research is interesting as it describes very clearly different needs of the expatriate spouses. I have myself created a questionnaire in 2008 that 200 families received, some of them living in South West of France others in deifferent parts of the world; about 80 answered.  I had an extended discussion with 20 of them.

I regret though that this research of Toronto does’nt insist on the human side of the situation which for me is unavoidable and should be the frame for all the other concerns. The help needed by the spouse, by each member of the family is different depending if occuring  before the move, just when arrived in the host country, after a few weeks/ months, near the next move which may be either go back home or move to a new host country. Every step has its very own challenges and those challenges are different for each family and each individual.  Schooling issues, health issues, language assimilation difficulties aren’t expressed there either. They do exist.

There is a serious need for the recognition of the spouse as a full partner in the relocation process. The children ahve very important specific needs as well that aren't taken into account either.

Organising practical and not necessarily expensive individual help can’t be avoided.

Spousal adjustment is a must have for employers. It is one of the major key for the assignment to be a success for the family, so for the employee and so of course for the employer.

Mrs Cole says that the research shows that there is a loss of $ 1 million for the company when the expatriate returns home before the end of the assignment . Some families do return as, generally the spouse doesn’t adjust to their new life.

v  There should be an internal spouse liaison employee to organise all what is relevant to the family issues. Individual help for identity issues, job search and practical daily organisation. By the way, I am looking for a regular job  ;o)

v  Lots of help is organised by the employer though some of it isn’t always very efficient because wrongly targeted and too general.

Spouses need recognition,  being part of the relocation process and helped individually . to be taken into account, not as a follower.

Assigments are not only about work, it is about the whole family changes to come ahead. A specific place has to be created for the spouse.

One more major point in case I haven't been clear enough : money can't resolve everything and help should be organised with the family, the spouse to be actively involved in the relocation process.

What do you think ?

What is your experience ?

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