The Working Week 66

Instant communications may have made the world feel like a global village, but things often seem different on the ground for those whose jobs have taken them to live and work in a foreign country. So what makes for a successfull relocation?

With international assignments ever-more commonplace, Wayne Turmel is joined this week from Chicago by Isabelle Duguay from employee aessistance company Bensinger, DuPont & Associates , who is a specialist in helping organisations move their people around the world.

Yet the biggest cause of stress for expats, Isabelle says, is not the move but the challenge of the new job itself. And if an individual is not equipped for the new position, the relocation is likely to fail irrespective of any other issues that might arise.

But that's not to downplay the impact of the geographical and cultural change. The second major issue that Isabelle identifies is not being able to take part in activities that take place at home – anything from family birthdays to national holidays such as US Thanksgiving Day.

In a similar vein, the loss of support network – links with family, friends – as well as language and cultural differences – also take their toll on expats.

Another issue that is often forgotten is that relocation can affect an entire family. So there's no point in companies spending a fortune on a relocation package to soften the blow of moving to a new country while failing to take into account the impact it will have on a spouse or partner's career. As Isabelle notes, a spouse being unable to find work abroad is something that can derail even the most carefully-planned relation.

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