The Smells of Your Relocation

It’s been smoky here lately.  Bushfires surrounding Sydney have caused smoke to sit in the air leaving a haze in the sky and an acrid taste in the mouth.

I hate the smell of a bushfire.  At first awareness of the scent my heart beats faster, my mouth dries and I feel compelled to look around and locate the source of the smell. Past experiences have left me with an automatic threat response to the smell.

Smells, like sounds, are a sensory factor.  They lie in the background but can become strong associations in our psyche with people, places or events. 

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What if they don't want to move?

Whether its outsourcing, career development, or a problem that only one person can solve sometimes organizations want their people to accept an overseas assignment BUT they don’t want to go.  What can you do?

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Is it the end of the era of Western expatriate managers?

A recent article in the McKinsey Quarterly by Manpower CEO, Jeffrey A Joerres, argued that the era of the Western expatriate manager is ending. 

Reasons given included the “notoriously bad” cultural adaptation of Western expatriates, the career limitations placed on locals by having expats in senior positions, and a costly dearth of intimate local knowledge.  All are valid reasons.  And all things that nobody in the global mobility industry wants to see.

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The house makes a difference in expatriate assignment success

Housing is often seen as a necessary aspect to be arranged for expatriates.  Something to be taken care of quickly so they can then focus on the business needs.   And perhaps you may be thinking the house itself is less important but the location or the size of the house is more important.

Well you would be wrong!

Recent research conducted by Dr Anne Copeland of The Interchange Institute reviewed the links between expatriate housing decisions and aspects such as overall assignment satisfaction, loyalty to employer, decision to continue in the assignment or take another assignment as well as the mental health and well-being of the expatriates.

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This wasn’t what I signed up for

When the early days of an overseas posting go wrong

In the past month massive floods have inundated many areas of Australia. 

In Queensland alone the flood zone covers an area larger than France and Germany combined, or for those of you in the USA, an area greater than the state of Texas.   97 towns or cities have been affected by flooding or isolation. Since Christmas Eve tens of thousands of houses have been flooded to varying degrees with many uninhabitable. Around 6,000 people have moved to evacuation centres.  As at January 21^st 33 people have lost their lives with more still missing. 

These are the facts that describe much hardship and sadness for thousands of people. 

Like most people in Australia my thoughts and prayers are with those I know who are affected as well as those we have met through the tragedies shown through the media. 

In addition my thoughts are also with those expats who I know will have recently arrived in Australia to begin work with their employers, to set up their homes and establish their families in their new locations.

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