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Finding Balance Abroad

Overseas life can be stressful, but few employers are helping expats achieve work/life balance.

Traditional concerns about the expatriate community have, for the most part, revolved around housing, compensation and the plight of the increasingly professional, male-trailing spouse who must try to continue her career abroad.

Many expats made their moves before -- or just as -- work/life balance became a growing concern back home. When it came to merging the two and addressing work/life concerns among the expat community, however, it was -- and continues to be -- largely a matter of "never the twain shall meet."

"It's very stressful to be taken out of your normal circumstances and put into an entirely different environment and be expected to function normally, as if nothing has changed," says Mila Lazarova, assistant professor of international business at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia.

According to the 2007 Expatriate Work/Life Balance Survey, the most recent by New York-based ORC Worldwide, 65 percent of expats report feeling the strain of managing the demands of work and home.

Among the findings: Expats are working longer hours abroad than in their home country -- an average of 13.4 more hours per week -- and are plagued by late-night phone calls, text messages and e-mails, extensive regional travel, and language and cultural differences.

Yet, just 21 percent of expats say their organizations have either formal or informal policies addressing work/life balance. Perhaps even more alarming, three-fourths of respondents believe their organizations are not committed to helping them achieve a healthy balance between work and home.

Proper Preparation
Much of the problem lies in inadequate preparation, according to Siobhan Cummins (ORC). "Companies aren't very good at briefing expats," she says. "Very often, they will rush them off to the assignment location without providing any destination services or cultural andlanguage orientation."

Organizations must provide expats with these kinds of preparatory steps and, in doing so, must be realistic about the situation, so there are no surprises when expats touch down in new countries.

Part of the reason so many expats report problems with work/life balance is that they "don't think it all the way through" prior to going on assignment, says Buckley. By giving employees a realistic picture of what life in a foreign destination will be like, employers increase the likelihood of a successful assignment because those who think it will be too much tend to self-select out. 

The Self-Policing Factor
While it is incumbent upon employers to provide services that help expats achieve an acceptable level of work/life balance, respondents said they realize they, too, have a role to play in managing their own stress. This kind of self-policing often involves learning when to say no.

While work/life balance may seem like a foreign concept in some host locations, such as China, other locations might actually be more focused on the issue than the expats themselves. In those instances, it may be the expats who have difficulties adjusting to the work/life balance already in place.

LEX posted only an abridged version of the article.

Source: www.hrexecutive.com
Date of publication: the 13th of August 2009

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