{"id":1308,"date":"2013-03-20T15:26:37","date_gmt":"2013-03-20T14:26:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/?p=1308"},"modified":"2013-06-11T08:36:19","modified_gmt":"2013-06-11T07:36:19","slug":"trailing-spouses-in-need-of-organizational-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/2013\/03\/20\/trailing-spouses-in-need-of-organizational-support\/","title":{"rendered":"Trailing Spouses: In Need of Organizational Support"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HBIB\"<\/a>The topic of international assignments is rarely discussed without mentioning issues of the accompanying partners, or so-called trailing spouses. According to different industry surveys (e.g. Brookfield, 2012<\/a>; Cartus, 2012<\/a>) the adjustment problems and dissatisfaction of spouses\/partners, as well as dual-career issues<\/a>, top the lists of expatriation challenges, and quite often become reasons for refusing an assignment, or failing.<\/p>\n

Academic research on trailing spouses has been fairly extensive as well, concluding that the trailing spouse plays a key role<\/a> during expatriation, influencing assignment success, expatriate adjustment and performance (e.g. Lazarova, Westman, and Shaffer, 2010). However, in spite of the clear evidence for family-related issues, several data also indicate that companies are not providing enough support for accompanying spouses\/partners. In this regard, academic research continues to highlight the important role that effective organizational support can play for the adjustment of trailing spouses. More specifically, a recent study by McNulty (2012) examined three types of organizational support and their effects on spouse adjustment.<\/p>\n

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Trailing spouse organizational support \u2013 in theory<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The issues facing trailing spouses can stem from multiple sources. Firstly, there is the loss of a career, social network, and habitual lifestyle. Second, there is a need to adjust to new family roles and responsibilities, as usually in expatriation the trailing spouse fulfills the biggest role in upholding family life. Thirdly, as opposed to the expatriate him-\/herself, a trailing spouse is often not getting involved with a new working environment, so s\/he must adjust to the initial status of unemployment, find new ways of self-fulfillment, and start creating new social and professional relationships. Based on the range of possible challenges, the study by \u00a0McNulty (2012) looked into three different types of organizational support, namely practical, professional and social support.<\/p>\n