The Difficulty in Reverse Expatriation

by
December 12, 2013

Moving to a new country can be exhilarating.  It’s new, it’s different, and having the opportunity to experience something unlike anything than ever before is an appealing thought.  So, when you ask your employee to relocate to Europe for 3 years, it will (hopefully) be music to their ears.  However, what many employers don’t think about is what will happen when their expat re-enters the country 3 years later.  

 

Adjusting To A New Country

Adjusting to the cultural life of a different country is no easy feat - I went through a similar experience when I studied abroad in Rome for a semester.  No matter how many books you read or language courses you take, nothing can quite prepare you for it.  Being immersed  in a place that is worlds away from home requires you to completely surrender everything that you know.  When I got to Rome, culture shock is an understatement of what occurred.  I got off the plane and immediately realized that “just figuring it out” was going to be a common thing that happens.  And it was.  

Employees whom are chosen to be relocated are probably comfortable in their career.  They likely have a good handle on things (hence why they are given the responsiblity of relocating) and operate with a certain amount of control - control they will have to initially give up upon becoming an expatriate.  In entering a new country, relying on co-workers (or in my case, fellow students) is necessary.  While some things you learn along the way (such as coffee shops closing in the middle of the day - culture shock), a lot of the pain in adjustment is cushioned by the help of others.  Whether it’s advice on fun places to go, a great local pizza place, or the way laundry works (uh, where’s the dryer, Italy…?) your expat will form relationships quicker than ever, seeing as that is essentially the only option they have for social survival.  

This being said, after a few weeks, things start working themselves out and little by little, life gets easier.  Reading the public transportation schedule no longer looks like gibberish and they’ve figured out what NOT to do and say - sometimes this is more important than what TO do.  Or, maybe they’re like me and finally discovered, 40 euros and a few mysteriously expensive bills later, that when restaurants put bread out on the table, they charge you if you do so much as touch it.  Who knew.

Before they know it, they’re living the life.  They have finally figured out the job, they probably made a few friends, they know their way around the city, and maybe they are are even hopping around to neighboring countries during the weekends.  How great!

 

Until...doomsday.  

 

Coming Home

The 3 year mark is up and the time has come to return back to the good ole’ U S of A.  While I was only gone for five months, it still took some adjusting to be back.  For instance, I had to remember that I once again have to be reachable at every waking moment, whereas people abroad are not nearly as technology addicted - I mean, ahem, dependent.  There is a whole new set of norms to re-adjust to, and a whole other slew of cultural habits to remember and re-develop.  Your employee has just spent the last 36 months trying to blend in as a local in a foreign place, and now they have to tirelessly try to break habits they forced themselves to develop.  This is where you as the employer can step in and lend a helping hand.

One of the biggest issues with repatriation is that the expat will return as an isolated member of their team.  They have just been abroad for 3 years with a whole different group of people who do completely different things.  They will come back to a group which was once tight knit to them, but now seems distant.  Not to mention, the workplace environment (culture, policies, new team members) is completely different - and they are the only person that sees it as so.  They will probably feel almost feel like a new hire again, but this time it’s worse because they are being re-immersed into an environment which was once a second home.  Finding your way back in can be difficult.  

 

Repatriation

There are a number of things that can make for an uneasy repatriation.  Reverse culture shock comes into play here, big time.  As said by Dean Foster of DFA Intercultural Global Solutions, “Reverse culture shock is experienced when returning to a place that one expects to be home but actually is no longer, is far more subtle, and therefore, more difficult to manage than outbound shock precisely because it is unexpected and unanticipated.”  Relationships have changed, lifestyle choices have changed, and most importantly, the person theirself has probably changed.  That’s a lot to come to terms with.  

A lot of other factors come into play here as well, such as salary.  Maybe they were making more money abroad and are coming back to a lower pay.  Maybe simply getting re-adjusted to the pricing and expense of things will be difficult (for example, wine is actually cheaper than water over in Europe.  Talk about a tough adjustment.)  Or, maybe someone that was once their equal has been promoted - a promotion that they might have landed if they were home.  

Many co-workers are not going to want to spend their lunch time hearing about how much fun Prague was or how cool it was to climb to the top of the Eiffel Tower.  Experiences that may seem noteworthy to your returning employee are going to appear as “bragging” to the rest.  However, your returning expat is probably coming home with some valuable tips and lessons that they learned abroad - tips that can be applied to your team in order to broaden their horizons.  Being internationally cultured is an invaluable asset, and it should be used to your advantage.

 

Help Your Returning Expat

One way that you can help your returning expat is by setting up a “lunch and learn” that gives your team a time to hear about the trip their co-worker has just been on.  Advise your returning expat to share valuable business practices or lessons they learn that can be directly applicable to their team.  This should not be a time to share photos of the family at the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but rather a time to educate and show what an impactful experience they had.  This will give your team some insider advice that is actually useful to them.  

Make sure you talk to your returning employee.  Ask them what is proving to the be most difficult for them.  Be in constant communication with them so they know that they have your support.  Maybe they are extremely tired because they no longer get a nap in the middle of the day (welcome back, no naps here.)  In that case, maybe lighten their work load and ease them back into the hustle and bustle of things.  

Another way you can help your expatriate’s return home is to make their comeback exciting! Throw them a “Welcome Back!” luncheon in the office to let them know how excited everyone is to have them back.  Remind your employee that they are still a valued member of the team, and that you are ready to bring them back up to speed.  Adjustment is hard for everyone, so being open and honest about things will help the rocky period move along.  

 

Give your expat some time to adjust.  They are likely going to be going through some personal hurdles as they come to terms with their experiences and how they have changed - and they will change.  Allow them time to re-acclimate themselves to their environment and remind them to share anything they feel is useful to the team. They should not be afraid to use what they learned.  Every country does at least one thing better than the other, and capitalizing on that can be extremely useful to your company.  

 

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