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Work and Family Interface in the International Career Context pp 117–138Cite as

Adjustment of Spouses of Self-Initiated Expatriates: Feeling Different vs. Feeling Welcome

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Abstract

Adjustment of spouses of expatriates is a highly relevant research topic considering the critical importance of this group of accompanying persons for work outcomes of their counterparts. Unfortunately, little is known about the adjustment of spouses of self-initiated expatriates who do not enjoy the support of an assigning organization and who are argued to be particularly exposed to the host culture and thus more dependent on the local context compared to the expatriates themselves as well as other types of expatriate spouses. Therefore, we surveyed 71 spouses of self-initiated expatriates in Denmark regarding two relevant self-perceptions and how they were associated with their adjustment. Our findings showed that feeling different, in terms of perceived cultural distance to the host location, was not associated with neither general adjustment nor interaction adjustment of the respondents. On the other hand, feeling welcome had a positive association with both of the studied dimensions of adjustment. The implications of these findings are discussed in detail.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It should be noted that in some situations expatriates may have used spouse maladjustment as a more acceptable excuse for terminating a relocation contract.

  2. 2.

    Public expatriates are foreign nationals employed by public organizations, e.g. embassies.

  3. 3.

    Inpatriates are subsidiary personnel that are relocated to work in the parent company.

  4. 4.

    Flexpatriates are short-term assignees also known as frequent business travellers.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Business Administration, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Jakob Lauring & Jan Selmer Ph.D.

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  1. Jakob Lauring
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  2. Jan Selmer Ph.D.
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Correspondence to Jan Selmer Ph.D. .

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  1. Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland

    Liisa Mäkelä

  2. Department of Management, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland

    Vesa Suutari

Appendix

Appendix

Feeling Welcome (Self-Developed)

  1. 1.

    The Danes we meet are welcoming towards us

  2. 2.

    The Danes we meet are interested in hearing about our background (deleted)

  3. 3.

    We feel welcome in Denmark

  • (1 = “Strongly disagree” to 7 = “Strongly agree”)

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Lauring, J., Selmer, J. (2015). Adjustment of Spouses of Self-Initiated Expatriates: Feeling Different vs. Feeling Welcome. In: Mäkelä, L., Suutari, V. (eds) Work and Family Interface in the International Career Context. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17647-5_7

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