Job relocation: Stress and the role of the family

Abstract

Job relocation is an accepted feature of the career structure for an ever increasing number of employees. Moving from one work environment to another, coupled with relocating the family, can induce stress and so influence performance at work. This paper reviews the available evidence concerning possible roles the family may play in the relocation process. It is argued that a systemic approach is ideally suited to unravelling the complex relationship between work and home environments that underlies the process of individual and family adaptation to relocation. This relationship must be understood in order to provide constructive advice to employers concerning effective relocation policies.

Longer distance commuting as a substitute for migration in Britain: a review of trends, issues and implications

“…Job relocation has been likened to a`rite of passage' (i.e. a key change event in the life of an individual, which also has wider community implications) (Munton et al, 1993). As such it is a stressful experience for the individual concerned, involving separation from a given position (and associated status/role), the transfer to a new position (and associated status/role), followed by resumption of the old routine or adapting to a new`normal' routine; but it is an experience to which tangible bene®ts normally accrue.…”

“…Although recognised by employers as inhibiting factors discouraging employees from relocating (alongside housing issues like the dif®culties and stresses of selling the current home and concerns about ®nding something suitable in, and settling down in, the new area and reluctance to leave family roots and ties), the evidence suggests that the impact of partner employment and children's education on attitudes to relocation are underestimated. Indeed, despite the fact that the majority of individuals feel that career progression is likely to involve changing jobs (or at least a willingness to move), it has been argued that important attitudinal changes in the 1990s in which greater emphasis is placed on`quality of life' issues (Worpole, 1997) mean that individuals are increasingly less willing to make decisions about their labour market careers which will have any unfavourable impact on their families (Munton et al, 1993).…”

Associations between Lifestyle and Mental Health in a Group of Japanese Overseas Workers and Their Spouses Resident in Duesseldorf, Germany

“…Lifestyle factors have been reported to influence both physical health [1][2][3][4] and mental health 3,5,6) . Although living and working abroad has been shown to be associated with many challenges that could adversely affect their mental health [7][8][9][10] , the incidence of mental health problems among Japanese overseas workers and their accompanying spouses is not precisely known.…”

“…Increasingly however attention is being drawn to the importance of mental health as a public health problem 12) and more studies are now focusing on it 13,14) . Despite that, only few reports have been published about the mental health of accompanying spouses of overseas workers 7,8,13) even though going abroad with their partners no doubt affects their mental health as well.…”

Relocation attitudes and adjustment: A longitudinal study

“…The time between the relocation and the survey can average two years or more (cf. Munton, 1990;Pinder and Schroeder, 1987). Retrospective data are somewhat suspect, and when the interval is this long, great caution must be applied in interpreting the findings.…”