Imagine the following: you are an employee who needs to improve communication and problem solving skills, as well as become more creative and organized in your job. Yet, instead of organizing training hours and educational materials for you, the employer books some plane tickets in your name and sends you away to travel… That sounds […]
Expats vs. Immigrants: (How Much) Do We Discriminate?
On the surface it seems that discrimination based on race, gender and sexual orientation is fading into the past. For example, the times of separated public transport, schools and eating establishments based on race, which were part of a philosophy of ‘separate but equal’ in the US, are long gone. Instead, today is about equality […]
Spinning the Globe and Picking a Spot?
The latest Mercer quality of life survey shows an updated global city ranking and suggests the best places for relocation. Yet, for global business, the destinations with new opportunities rarely sound familiar.
Gender Diversity in the Workplace: A Global Matter with No Progress?
Gender inequality is one of the global topics that is continuously spoken about, be it in terms of inequalities in the attainment of health, survival and education in developing countries, or differences in economic opportunities in the developed world. Naturally, gender diversity is a hot topic also for global business, where females are consistently underrepresented […]
Gamification in a Global Workforce
Play hard, work hard? Do we know the difference between play and work? Play is more fun and engaging, while work is more like something that ‘you have to do’? When we play football with friends in the park, when we spend evenings playing table games in nice company, when we compete in video games […]
Shared Language in Multinationals: Practical Implications
A couple of weeks ago I introduced the main premises of my latest academic research (forthcoming) on the benefits of shared language in multinational corporations in the blog. Based on an extensive international sample, my colleagues Harzing, Pudelko and I argue that shared knowledge is related to increased knowledge inflows from HQ to multinationals’ foreign […]
Localization: A Way to Deal with Expat Cost Pressures?
Expatriates are expensive, and this doesn’t come as a surprise. Indeed, according to the latest Brookfield Global Relocation Trends report (2014) expatriation cost pressures continue to be a predominant concern among multinational corporations. Although the majority of companies (98%) are still using long-term assignment policies, most probably with a balance sheet compensation approach, the continuous […]
Why I Would Want You to Trust Me
Dear manager, could you ever imagine trusting your employees that much as to hire them without any need to fire them again? Dear employee, what would it feel like having that amount of trust and safety in your workplace? In his very exciting Ted Talk leadership expert Simon Sinek suggests considering these questions, as he […]
Global Markets: Prospects for 2015
The most recent PWC Global CEO survey asked over 1,300 global leaders about their prospects for 2015. Given the currently intensified geopolitical uncertainty, CEOs are generally less confident in global economic growth this year compared to last year. Yet, the PWC survey results indicate that they remain confident of their own business prospects, as today […]
Unite to Make Diversity Work!
“Opposites attract” is an expression that has been popular for ages. I am sure we have all heard it in relation to romantic relationships, and reflected on whether the differences between people and the diversity in their personalities, interests, and backgrounds complement or challenge a relationship. A quick browse in the Internet reveals that there […]
‘Up in the Air’: Exploring the Philosophy
Once in a while it is good to revisit older movies – as is the case with Jason Reitman’s 2009 film ‘Up in the Air’. Naturally, as the film title already suggests, it has spurred both my personal and professional interests. The story has several facets to it, as the movie touches on the difficulties […]
How about some New Year’s resolutions?
We all make resolutions, don’t we? Some of us in a more structured way, others very informally, but I guess the majority of us mark the change of year by reviewing what happened and, more importantly, making new goals, promises and resolutions for the year ahead. For example, the scientific journal Nature shared the New […]
‘I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas… Just Like the Ones I Used to Know’
It is this time of winter holidays again – the time when everyone goes back home in one way or the other. I am sure this sounds very familiar to many expatriates, it sounds like an expat Christmas dream. Being an expat myself, I look forward to my home family visit for the holidays too. […]
Hardship Allowances in Expatriation: A Default Practice?
Be it for the purposes of business expatriation or self-initiated expatriation, when moving abroad one of the main factors that matters is the expat’s destination, namely the host location. According to the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) 2014 Global Livability Rankings, the top ten choices for relocation would be (ordered from highest to lowest rank) Melbourne, […]
Are We Really Living in a Globalized World?
I am an expatriate, with experience of living and working in six different countries. I am currently residing in Spain, working for a globally oriented institution, and frequently travelling abroad for business. When at work, I interact a lot with international students, foreign colleagues, and expatriate managers. On my way home from work I feel […]
Expat Health: When Illness is a Matter of Social Integration
It is fairly common knowledge that the more stress one experiences, the higher one’s susceptibility to illness. While the link is not that straightforward and many possible stress mechanisms continue to be under debate the relationship between stress and health is established by now. What I find even more interesting in light of this blog […]
