Work-life balance – a neglected issue among Austrian female expatriates

Abstract

Previous research has highlighted the importance of subjective well-being and the expatriate's supportive personal environment for the success of an international assignment. As studies focusing on work-life balance of expatriates are still very rare, and research dealing with this topic from a gender perspective seems to be almost non-existent, this study emphasizes the work-life balance situation of female expatriates on foreign assignments. After having interviewed 10 female expatriates, results clearly support the existing state of the art in this field. Thereby work intrusion into family life, for example, has proven to have stronger impact on an expatriate's life than vice versa. Furthermore, several issues so far neglected in the literature have been revealed that influence women's work-life balance abroad. The importance of leisure time, social networks, sports and personal confidence can be determined. Additionally, as work-life balance has an individual meaning, support measures offered by companies are thus also required to be tailored individually. This paper reports on narrative interviews with female expatriates and provides more insight into the subject of work-life balance of international women managers. It begins by reviewing the literature on work-life balance and expatriation before analysing the specific matters of work-life balance of female expatriates and asking how women deal with the additional stress and pressure arising on an international assignment. Then, the underlying Grounded Theory Method is discussed before presenting the findings and discussing their implications in terms of future research.

Keywords:

• expatriation
• female expatriates
• grounded theory method
• international assignments
• qualitative research
• work-life balance

Notes

1. If the definition of ‘“expatriate failure” is expanded to include not only the incidents of premature return but also poor work performance, sociocultural adaptation, and psychological health’ (Stahl 2001, p. 2).

2. See Table 2 – State of the art: Expatriates and work-life balance or e.g., Harzing 2004.

3. This is also true for studies of corporate work-life balance actions – such as flexible working time models, family friendly policies and childcare options – since their primary reference point is always the individual.

4. Jedinger (2008) ‘Female Expatriates on International Assignments – Support Measures concerning Work-Life Balance’, Johannes Kepler University, Linz, unpublished thesis. In contrast with Jedinger who focused on a bridge-building between the issue of work-life balance and female expatriates by finding parallels and links, this article deals with the applicability of work-life balance concepts for female expatriates.

5. Interviews were originally conducted in German and translated by the authors for the completion of this article.

6. For example, the practice of maternity leave differs strongly from country to country – while in Austria maternity leave lasts up to 3 years, it is more than common in the to US return to work shortly after childbirth by using day care centres.

7. Psychological distance refers to the perceived differences in values and attitudes of another culture in comparison to one's own one (Kogut and Singh 1988; Nordström 1991).

8. As mentioned previously, this is one of the main reasons why female expatriates tend to be single in contrast to their male colleagues (Adler 1987; Forster 1999; Fischlmayr 2001).