Lives of female expatriates: work‐life balance concerns

Abstract

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to analyze female expatriates' work-life conflicts and enrichments which take place during the international assignment. Design/methodology/approach -A total of 20 interviews were carried out with female expatriates. The interview data were content analyzed. Findings -The findings indicate that females have experiences of conflicts but also enrichment during international assignments. Both aspects -the effect of the personal life on the working life and vice versa -are shown to be important for females. Life and career stages appear to be integral to these experiences. This study utilizes four metaphors -airport, seesaw, stage, and harbor -as main headings to represent female expatriates' experiences in balancing work and their personal lives. Originality/value -This study expands our understanding of the experiences of female expatriates from the work-life balance perspective and contributes by analyzing both the work-life conflicts as well as the enrichment which takes place, broadening the view of private life to include aspects other than the family.

The expatriate’s family as a stakeholder of the firm: a responsibility viewpoint

“…Prior research has shown that family concerns represent key challenges for expatriates and play a critical role in the success or failure of the IA and the repatriation (Caligiuri, Hyland, Joshi and Bross 1998;Mäkelä et al 2011;Shaffer and Harrison 1998). Even if relations between the employee and her/his family tend to be seen as the preserve of the private domain in a national context, this can hardly be the case in an international context.…”

“…First, this stream of research on expatriation has typically focused either on the dyadic relationship between the employee and the employer or solely on the expatriate; and second, despite exceptions (e.g. Lazarova, Westman and Shaffer, 2010;Mäkelä, Suutari and Mayerhofer 2011;Shaffer, Harrison, Gilley and Luk, 2001;Smith and Tornikoski 2012), it has tended to neglect other stakeholders affected by international mobility. In addition research has mainly focused on negative issues, such as the failure of the IA itself.)…”

Benarkah Kompetensi Dan Budaya Organisasi Akan Meningkatkan Kinerja Karyawan?

“…Sedangkan (Suutari & Mäkelä, 2007;Mäkelä, Suutari, & Mayerhofer, 2011) career competency terdiri dari tiga faktor, yaitu 1) sumber kompetensi yang terdiri dari pencerahan karir, kepribadian yang proaktif, terbuka terhadap pengalaman baru, 2) siapa yang menjadi sumber kompetensi, terdiri dari jaringan, orang-orang yang bersedia menjadi mentor, dan hubungan perorangan, dan 3) apa yang menjadi sumber kompetensi terdiri dari keahlian yang sesuai dengan pekerjaan dan identitas dari karirnya.…”

“…Budaya perusahaan adalah norma dan nilai kebaikan, kepercayaan, pengertian agar dapat dibakukan dalam tindakan setiap anggota perusahaan agar menjadi komitmen bersama mulai dari pimpinan sampai seluruh bawahan dalam perusahaan tersebut (Mäkelä, Suutari, & Mayerhofer, 2011). Budaya perusahaan ini harus diwariskan dari generasi ke generasi selanjutnya sehingga perusahaan mempunyai ciri dan identitas tersendiri yang membedakannya dengan perusahaan lain (Mäkelä, Suutari, & Mayerhofer, 2011).…”

“…Budaya perusahaan ini harus diwariskan dari generasi ke generasi selanjutnya sehingga perusahaan mempunyai ciri dan identitas tersendiri yang membedakannya dengan perusahaan lain (Mäkelä, Suutari, & Mayerhofer, 2011). Begitu juga (Taslim, 2011) menjelaskan bahwa budaya organisasi hendaknya menjadi perekat antara pimpinan, karyawan dan organisasi, yang akan dibentuk melalui kondisi pekerjaan, hubungan interpersonal dan juga keyakinan yang dirasakan oleh semua anggota organisasi sehingga mempunyai identitas tersendiri.…”