Expat wives shared a sense of bitter disappointment with their husbands' employers for failing to appreciate the impact of contending with an unfamiliar environment on the family unit, said a survey.

They expressed a sense of being left to tackle the challenging dynamics of establishing a home and intergrating alone, while the companies focused on getting their spouses settled into their new workplace as quickly as possible, the ‘Migration & Lifestyle’ survey conducted at theexpatsurvey.com revealed.

It provided a very detailed insight from those living outside their country of origin in almost 100 countires.

The initial part examined from where to where, why and when and now resident in their chosen community, what they like or dislike about their adopted home, what media channels they follow and use to stay in touch with friends, family and the outside world; and how easy or hard did they find it to integrate.  

The survey said that in some cases relocation specialists were involved in catering for the career moves, but stand accused of not truly understanding and meeting their needs.       

‘For some women, particularly those with children, the sheer stress of the corporate relocation bordered not only on being a career breaker, but almost a marriage breaker as well,” said Emma Wood, project director for the surveyor.

“These respondents are urging companies to take greater responsibility for getting the experience right not just for their employees, but their families too; and recommend that those contemplating a move use social media to contact other company employees, their spouses and other expats in their chosen destination to get the full lowdown on what their move might really entail,”  she said.

Despite the initial upheaval, 71 per cent of respondents intend to remain outside their country of origin; while 22 per cent disclosed that they are considering moving on to a new destination and 8 per cent have an active plan-of-action to achieve this imminently.

Respondents praised churches for providing a lot of practical and spiritual support. The South Korean Government was highlighted as being a superb relocation facilitator and integrator; while Japan and China are sited as places where securing a work permit is painful unless your employer has clout or you have the right connections. - TradeArabia News Service