Published in December 2004, the study found that employees on international work assignments had significantly better work experiences when their accompanying partners were involved in pre-move decision-making and when the employer provided relocation services to help them adjust to the new country and its culture.

The study, based on an online survey, is the second installment of a five-year report covering a variety of international mobility topics. It examined the expatriate experiences of individuals and their families in the US on a work assignment.

Participants were passport holders of countries including Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and Venezuela.

A key finding was that the transferee's work experience (defined as loyalty to their employer, job satisfaction, productivity, family-related absenteeism, and overall enjoyment of work and co-workers) related directly to their partner's level of satisfaction.

Also significant, the study revealed, was poor adjustment on the part of partners who did not receive the cross-cultural counseling, language training or career assistance they needed. That in turn related to a poor work experience for the transferee.

Other important pre-move support identified by the survey respondents - who were mostly women - included networking with other expatriate families, a pre-departure trip to the host country, destination services and written materials about the host country.

"The results of this survey point to the need for human resources managers to play a role in the employee's family life to some extent before an international relocation. This, of course, is a new role and one that must be played very carefully," says Margery Marshall, president of Prudential Relocation.

"No-one wants to be intrusive in an employee's life and marriage, but the over-riding finding from our research and that of virtually every other research study available, is that most families appreciate - indeed demand - a company's concerns and involvement when they make an international move."

She adds that the survey overturns the current school of thought that an employer's sole concern is to ensure that a spouse is able to complete the daily tasks of living in the host country.

"Instead, it is spouses' deeper adjustment - their ability to take care of their families and themselves, and to communicate and radiate a sense of optimism and vigour - that is likely to have the most profound influence on the family and hence on employee's productivity," says Marshall.

Based on the results of the survey, Prudential Relocation recommends: 

• Sponsoring organizations should help families settle into everyday life and optimise their adjustment at the deepest level to most profoundly influence the employee's productivity.
• Employers should not assume that an employee would not consider an international assignment because of his or her family. Instead they should offer international assignments to those who could do a good job and then provide family support.
• Employers should not ignore a family's early difficulties when making a relocation transition, assuming that "time will heal all". The challenges families face are not addressed simply by the passage of time but by targeted consideration and planning.
• Employers should consult spouses about their own career plans during the international assignment and offer career planning assistance to those who want it.

Jack Keogh, vice president of global workforce development at Prudential Relocation adds: "This ongoing study allows us to tailor our mobility management solutions to meet the needs of our clients, their transferees and families. It helps ensure that our solutions effectively address issues related to productive employee adjustment and directly affect corporate return on expatriate investment."

Prudential Financial's relocation group is the second largest provider of comprehensive global relocation services in the US as of March 15, 2004, according to Relocation Information Services.
For more information, visit www.prudential.com.

To download a copy of the survey results, please visit www.prudential.com/referencelibrary

See also: Hong Kong Relocation Companies