When a house is a doorway to a culture
Build a Flourishing Life, Hit the Ground Running on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at 1:54PM by Trisha Carter How important is the house you live in to your satisfaction with an overseas assignment?
Intuitively we would say of course it’s important! Just how important was shown in research conducted by Dr Anne P Copeland of the Interchange Institute last year which found feeling settled in their homes was consistently related, not just to the expatriates’ positive perceptions of the assignment but also to their mental health, their happiness levels, their loyalty to their employers and their intention to accept future overseas assignments.
This research raised a number of interesting issues around homes, highlighting the importance of making the right choice of home, settling in quickly, and the style of house which influence assignment satisfaction. Many of these factors impact on organisational aspects such as housing policies, or strategies expats and those assisting them can adopt to encourage a more positive overseas assignment experience.
But one factor leapt out at me.