Let’s say you are a multinational corporation with headquarters in Canada and plan to send an expatriate to your subsidiary in China. Who would you most likely send, a French Canadian manager, or an ethnic Chinese manager? I suspect you would pick the latter as we quite naturally assume that expatriates, who share similarities with […]
The Era of Protectionism and Populism is Upon Us
As the left-leaning media keeps saying, ‘it has really happened’; last Friday Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 45th president of the United States. How does it feel? I believe the best word to describe the current state, both in the US and around the world, is uncertainty… it feels uncertain. First there was Brexit, […]
Expatriation and Retirement
This is a Guest Blog entry. Author: Yvonne Quahe, Reimagine Life. Yvonne is a HR consultant and coach who helps individuals, couples and organizations with globally mobile populations to increase their engagement with life, manage their careers and attract and retain talent. Has it ever occurred to you that retirement is as inevitable as death and […]
Leadership Talent: How to Spot It if It Is Hidden?
I haven’t written about talent for a while here, yet this is not an indication of reduced importance of the topic in any way. Indeed, the Talent Shortage Survey by ManpowerGroup indicates that in 2016 employers globally reported the highest talent shortage since 2007. Based on the survey data it seems that employers struggle foremost […]
New Year, New Outlooks, New Utopias?
So, here we are. It is the first week of the new year, the holidays have ended and everyone is slowly getting back to their busy working mode…after all several resolutions have been written down and new goals have been set, right?! J I am also settling back into my work routines, catching up with […]
My Christmas Wish List
As the year comes to an end, it is about time to make Christmas wishes. I will certainly make my personal ones, but I would also like to provide some on behalf of the world of global business and global mobility – topics I work on and write so much about. Looking back at the […]
Globalization, Robots and a Future Scenario
We all understand globalization as the free movement of goods, ideas and people. Buying Chinese products in European stores, working together with foreign colleagues, and taking an online-course from a physically distant university are all results of globalization. Richard Baldwin, a Geneva-based economist, sees all these results as a consequence of a series of waves […]
When Global Businesses Can Provide Global Hope
Last week I wrote about global warming and the importance of acting upon it. I also mentioned the U.S. president-elect Donald Trump, who throughout his campaign denied the issue and planned to withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement on a global climate deal. While Trump seems to be slightly pivoting on the matter, much […]
Still Denying Climate Change?
Some people deny it and say it is a ‘Chinese hoax’, others believe it is one of the main global issues and the single greatest threat facing the planet. I would say that the first approach is an ill-informed opinion, while the second seems to be a fact-based judgment about climate change. Indeed, a recent […]
How Do You Get Global Mobility to Demonstrate Its Strategic Value?
Why do I spend much of my time at the bottom looking up? This is a question I pose at the beginning of a white paper that Santa Fe Relocation Services commissioned me to write. I find the question to be quite relevant and illustrative of the shift that HR and global mobility professionals are […]
Are We Bound to Feel Lonely in the Globalized World?
As social animals we have survived because we used to form bonds and be members of tribes. Several interesting studies show that we are wired to be social on such a deep level that social isolation is actually processed similarly to physical pain by our mind. Plenty of research shows that loneliness is bad for […]
‘Diversity’: Are We Talking About it AGAIN?!
Diversity is a decent word, isn’t it? It implies the notion of valuing differences, inclusiveness and equality. It stands against prejudices, discrimination and unfair treatment. We talk about Diversity in our effort to make all racial and cultural backgrounds equally matter, to provide women with fair opportunities, and to allow any other minorities feel safe […]
Corporate Volunteering: Better for the World (OR) AND for the Business?
Volunteering. What kind of ideas does this word evoke? I suggest the majority of us would think about local NGOs, student gap years and volunteering activities during retirement. Moreover, when thinking about international volunteering, wouldn’t we associate this quite naturally with lower-skilled activities, such as construction, farming or gardening, childcare and language teaching? In other […]
Moving Abroad? But Where to?
Have you ever considered moving abroad? If not, prepare yourself for a lot of deliberations (in case you will someday). If you already have, you probably ‘know the pain’… Indeed, relocating abroad, either permanently or temporarily, is a big decision in one’s life and there is a ton of details one needs to consider and […]
The SCARF in Global Mobility
In my last blog post I wrote about social neuroscience and the SCARF theory, which explains social behavior based on our brain principle known as ‘threat and reward response’. The theory posits that within social interactions our experience is influenced either by perceived threat or reward in one or several of five domains: status, certainty, […]
Want to Explain Social Behavior? Look into the Brain
Let’s start with a short mental exercise… Please try to remember and note down (for the sake of further discussion here) a recent social situation, be it at work, in your family or during leisure time, when you felt slightly concerned, worried or annoyed (e.g., your boss gave you critical feedback). Now, let’s do the […]
