{"id":3602,"date":"2025-04-15T10:05:35","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T09:05:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/?p=3602"},"modified":"2025-04-15T10:05:35","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T09:05:35","slug":"rethinking-expatriate-adjustment-its-not-just-about-the-move-anymore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/2025\/04\/15\/rethinking-expatriate-adjustment-its-not-just-about-the-move-anymore\/","title":{"rendered":"Rethinking Expatriate Adjustment: It\u2019s Not Just About the Move Anymore"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_3603\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-3603\" style=\"width: 278px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-scaled.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-3603\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-200x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"278\" height=\"418\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-683x1024.jpg 683w, https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-768x1151.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-1025x1536.jpg 1025w, https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/files\/2025\/04\/bubba-OYz3Ow28RvI-unsplash-scaled.jpg 1708w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 278px) 100vw, 278px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-3603\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Bubba on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>For decades, the concept of expatriate adjustment has centered on the traditional long-term assignment: a 3-to-5-year relocation to another country, often with family in tow. Researchers and practitioners alike have focused on how well expatriates adapt to the host country\u2019s culture, their new workplace, and daily life abroad. But in today\u2019s world of global work, this view is increasingly outdated.<\/p>\n<p>The global workforce today is far more diverse and dynamic. We now see international business travelers, commuter assignees, flexpatriates, and global nomads\u2014professionals who may live in one country, work across several, and rarely \u201crelocate\u201d in the traditional sense. And even for those who do relocate, the lines between \u201chost\u201d and \u201chome\u201d countries are blurring. In this landscape, the concept of adjustment needs a serious upgrade.<\/p>\n<p>My colleagues and I have <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/2015\/11\/25\/towards-a-better-understanding-of-global-professionals-adjustment\/\">argued before<\/a> that we need a better understanding of global professionals\u2019 adjustment. In this post, I would like to take this one step further.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Adjustment Isn\u2019t a Phase. It\u2019s a Process.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rather than viewing adjustment as a single phase that begins with relocation and ends after a few months, we\u2019d be better advised to view it as a continuous, role-dependent process. Global professionals must constantly adjust\u2014not just to new geographies, but to a variety of new roles.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the types of roles they juggle:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Leadership roles<\/strong>, often in culturally diverse teams that require inclusive and adaptive leadership styles.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Boundary-spanning roles<\/strong>, where they mediate between headquarters and subsidiaries, or across functional and cultural divides.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Family roles<\/strong>, particularly when juggling dual-career challenges or navigating long-distance relationships.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Career roles<\/strong>, such as adjusting to new work expectations post-assignment, embarking on a more mobile career, or coping with reverse culture shock upon return.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Stakeholder roles<\/strong>, where they must align with new clients, partners, or regulatory environments.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each of these adjustments may require different resources, strategies, and timelines. Some are acute; others unfold gradually. Many occur simultaneously.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Beyond the Relocation: The Lifecycle of Adjustment<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Adjustment doesn\u2019t end when the suitcases are unpacked\u2014or even when they\u2019re packed again for the return. In fact, many global professionals face new waves of adjustment upon repatriation or reassignment. They must revise or redefine their professional identity, renegotiate their place in the organization, and often recalibrate their personal goals and relationships.<\/p>\n<p>This means that HR professionals, team leaders, and even the global professionals themselves must expand their mental model of what \u201cadjustment\u201d entails. It\u2019s not just about surviving in a foreign culture\u2014it\u2019s about thriving in complex, shifting global roles.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What Can Be Done?<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Organizations<\/strong> should move away from one-size-fits-all relocation support and instead provide ongoing, role-sensitive development.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Managers<\/strong> should recognize the different forms of adjustment their global team members face, even if there\u2019s no visible \u201cmove.\u201d<\/li>\n<li><strong>Global professionals<\/strong> should learn to expect and normalize adjustment as part of their long-term growth\u2014not a hurdle to clear, but a capacity to build.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In short, it\u2019s time to reconceptualize adjustment as a dynamic, role-centered, and career-spanning process. This shift will help global professionals navigate their complex journeys more effectively\u2014and help organizations support them in ways that truly matter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For decades, the concept of expatriate adjustment has centered on the traditional long-term assignment: a 3-to-5-year relocation to another country, often with family in tow. Researchers and practitioners alike have focused on how well expatriates adapt to the host country\u2019s culture, their new workplace, and daily life abroad. But in today\u2019s world of global work, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":345,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18330],"tags":[18332,18386,18397,44741,44817],"class_list":["post-3602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-views-and-news-about-expatriates","tag-adjustment","tag-business-travel","tag-expatriate-adjustment","tag-global-mobility","tag-global-workforce","megacategoria-mc-leadership-and-people-management"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/345"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3602"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3606,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3602\/revisions\/3606"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.iese.edu\/expatriatus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}