Posted under Career Management on October 10th, 2007
New research on expats provides more evidence to support the trend that work-life balance issues are becoming increasingly important to executives. A survey conducted by SHRM and careerjournal.com stated that organizations are not providing adequate support and communication to employees on expat assignments. Another SHRM article written by J.J. Smith (October 2007) stated that employees on international assignments are working more hours per week than their US counterparts and that a majority felt the extra work hours were disrupting their family life. Some of the findings from the study:
- Expats face additional stress from cultural and language differences.
- Female expatriates have higher levels of work-related stress than their male counterparts.
- Expatriates and HR staff have contradicting views regarding work/life balance policies and practices.
Of the expat workers surveyed, 79% of them stated that despite the stress created by a foreign assignment, their companies do not have work/life balance policies to respond to the pressures.
It is no wonder that executives are turning to external coaching to cope with the mounting pressures and increasing demands of their high level responsibilities in today’s corporations. And if HR departments aren’t responsive to their needs for greater work-life balance by providing supportive programs, more executives will surely choose to opt out of the rat race and find other career paths.
Posted by Julianne Franke
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