The perception of work-life balance among expatriates : Are work and family allies or enemies while being abroad?

Abstract

Pressures of globalization force multinational corporations to conduct business internationally and rely on expatriates to do so. However, failure of expatriations is a prevalent problem. While the influences of work factors and individual characteristics on expatriate success are well-researched, research on the influence of the family on expatriate success, in particular the interaction between family and work during an assignment and factors that might lead to this interaction, remains rudimentary. The expatriates’ perspective of work-family interaction and potential factors of influence is particularly lacking. To address this, we investigate the work-family interface from the expatriates’ perspective adopting an exploratory approach. Using in-depth interviews with 15 expatriates, we show how expatriates perceive the work-family interaction. Furthermore, we identify 4 factors that could potentially lead to work-family conflict as well as to work-family enrichment: social support at work, development opportunities at work, family social support and family adjustment.