When assigned abroad, it’s natural for expats to seek the familiar, to help them feel more at home. But does this hinder their integration into local culture?
Familiarity not helpful
It turns out that familiarity does more than breed contempt. It can work against the success of an assignment, according to two professors at the University of New Mexico, who aimed to assess the impact that organisational cultural intelligence (OCQ) has on ‘intent to quit’ (ITQ). They believe the more expats are surrounded by things that remind them of home, the harder a company needs to work to keep them from packing up and heading home.
Benefits of local exposure
The results might be surprising to some who assumed familiar items would make being away from home more bearable or easier. On the contrary, the paper argues, organisations need to train expats to understand and appreciate the benefits of local exposure. This is no small matter for organisations when expatriate assignments require significant expenditure.
What of expat partners?
So do expat partners also benefit from being in a less familiar environment? It’s an interesting question to consider. More than ever before, we’re often able to find our favourite foodstuffs on the far side of the world and unwind in the evening while watching the same Netflix shows online that we would watch back home.
Connections with host culture
But as it gets easier and easier to not engage with the local culture, perhaps expat partners need to be mindful that their own assignment will benefit from shunning the familiar and seeking more connections with their host culture.
Source: University of New Mexico
Photo: Jeffrey and Shaowen Bardzell – Flickr
