Lifestyles of Workers in the Expatriation Context

Abstract

Purpose: To highlight and analyze lifestyles of expatriate workers. Originality/gap/relevance/implications: Since the expatriation involves processes of deconstructing and reconstructing the self, it is important to recognize lifestyles invented or adapted during an international experience. Key methodological aspects: Exploratory research with qualitative approach. Data collection was carried out through focus group with managers of the same company who shared similar expatriation experiences. The transcribed material was submitted to content analysis. Summary of key results: The ways of moving around the city, the routine and the leisure activities, the sightseeing trips, the expatriation valuation and the abnegation as a way of life were observed according to control-stimulation perception. Such elements highlighted lifestyles based on the former life, in the control, in the abnegation and in the established period of validity. Proved to be consistent with immaterial labor logic that reaches the unprecedented life, requiring intellectual and affective mobilization of individuals to new situations and indicating both intensification of control and submission forms, with so far expected freedom. Key considerations/conclusions: The lifestyles, common to all research participants, were molded, intertwined and intensified in each other. They resulted from the daily shock between the non-normalizing prescriptions and the plurality of possible options lived in expatriation.

Mobilities in the Labyrinth: Pressuring the Boundaries of Women’s Careers

“…Despite the 'glamour' of international or global careers, geographic mobility usually only represents a period during the professional path, with results that are highly challenged, considering the indications of professional stagnation after repatriation (FREITAS, 2009;GALLON, SCHEFFER and BITENCOURT, 2013;PRESTES, GRISCI and FRAGA, 2016). In addition, career mobility is a source of distinction among workers (BERRY and BELL, 2012).…”

“…According to Andresen, Dickmann, and Suutari (2018), mobility has gained space in the discussion on global careers with an emphasis on studies focused on expatriation (BERRY and BELL, 2012;BARUCH, DICKMANN, ALTMAN et al, 2013;ROOS, 2013;RAMASWAMI, CARTER and DREHER, 2016) and migration (SANG, AL-DAJANI and ÖZBILGIN, 2013;ANDREWS and SHAHROKNI, 2014;RESSIA, STRACHAN and BAILEY, 2017;RIAÑO, 2016;SANG and CALVARD, 2019;TAPIA and ALBERTI, 2019). In the organizational space, there is an increasing appreciation of availability for mobility, which is an issue addressed in Brazilian studies focusing mainly on expatriate professionals (GONZÁLEZ and OLIVEIRA, 2011;GALLON, SCHEFFER and BITENCOURT, 2013;GALLON, FRAGA and ANTUNES, 2017;PRESTES, GRISCI and FRAGA, 2016). The relevance of the availability of mobility for career advancement form a scenario of 'involuntary nomadism' (GRISCI, CIGERZA, HOFMEISTER et al, 2006), where, according to Freitas (2009) mobility is a new indispensable symbolic capital in organizations and at work.…”

Estereótipo, preconceito e assédio nas trajetórias de expatriadas brasileiras

“…As condições internas do país de destino podem agravar os desafios que as expatriadas enfrentam (Nunes & Casaca, 2015;Bader et al, 2018;Kemp & Rickett, 2017). Alguns países como China, Brasil, Índia, Estados Unidos (BGRS, 2016;Fraga, Prestes & Grisci, 2019) e Emirados Árabes Unidos (Kemp & Rickett, 2017) são considerados como bastante desafiadores para a população expatriada, devido à distância psíquica entre país de origem e país de destino (Tanure, Barcellos, & Fleury, 2009;Prestes et al, 2016). Em países patriarcais, como os Emirados Árabes Unidos, as mulheres estrangeiras podem ter mais facilidade de trabalhar, especialmente no setor privado, por serem consideradas externas à sociedade local (Kemp & Rickett, 2017).…”

“…Historicamente, os homens compõem a maioria das pessoas expatriadas por organizações, ao passo que as mulheres formam, majoritariamente, o grupo de familiares acompanhantes (Brookfield Global Relocation Services [BGRS], 2016;Slobodin, 2019;Schnurr, Zayts, Schroeder, & Le Coyte-Hopkins, 2019). À parte as dificuldades inerentes à expatriação, como o equilíbrio entre trabalho e família, a comunicação, o ajustamento cultural e o isolamento (Calderon, Guedes, Malheiros, & Carvalho, 2016;Prestes, Grisci, & Fraga, 2016;Langinier & Froehlicher, 2016), as mulheres podem enfrentar outras barreiras pelo simples fato de serem mulheres em um mundo pensado e dominado por homens (Oliveira, Gaio, & Bonacim, 2009;Eccel & Grisci, 2011).…”

Expatriação e Processos de Aprendizagem Organizacional: um estudo de casos múltiplos

“…A especificidade da expatriação decorre de um conjunto de aspectos específicos, destacando-se uma noção de duração (finita) e um sentido de persistência da integração na organização em um momento posterior à mobilidade internacional (Coelho, 2017), uma vez que há a necessidade de mobilização intelectual e afetiva dos indivíduos a novas situações (Prestes, Grisci, & Fraga, 2016). Desta forma, para o sucesso de uma expatriação, Certo (2003) e Ramaswani et al ( 2016) destacam a importância do treinamento dos empregados a expatriar, como forma de qualificação e reflexão a respeito de conhecimentos, habilidades e atitudes.…”