Expats are the focus of much research in global mobility because they are often strategically important and costly. But what about the host country nationals (HCNs) they work with? In our recently published article, my co-authors Anthony Fee, Snejina Michailova and I put them in the spotlight.
Important stakeholders, but often neglected
HCNs are the forgotten partners in global mobility. Published studies on expats have outnumbered those on HCNs by a ratio of 50 to one. When HCNs have been studied, it is often from the perspective of how they contribute to expatriate success. This is reflected in the short rap that ChatGPT wrote for us last year, suggesting that HCNs “teach”, “guide”, “show the ropes”, “unlock the culture”, “bridge the gap, break down walls” and “show the world through their eyes” (see below). The lyrics take the expat perspective despite being prompted to ‘write a short rap about HCNs’. However, HCNs are the largest group of employees in multinationals, and we also need to focus on their own experiences.
Working with expats
Although HCNs are not crossing any geographical or organisational boundaries, they are working with expats on a daily basis. This places specific demands on them, which often go under the radar. We distinguish three types of demands:
- Productivity losses: The interactions with expats are intercultural and often in a different language, which introduces challenges and uses up time and energy that HCNs cannot use for other work tasks.
- Extra-role behaviours: HCNs are often expected to support expats with their adjustment to a new host country, but this is usually not in their job description.
- Psychological burdens: HCNs may experience extra stress because of the presence of expatriates. For example, HCNs also need to adjust to working together with expats, and they might also resent expats who are perceived to get a higher salary or more career opportunities.
Meeting these extra demands
HCNs can draw on several resources to meet the demands that come from working with expats. These resources can be personal, such as technical knowhow, interpersonal skills and general goodwill towards expats, but also external, such as support from co-workers and the organization. Organisations can help increase these resources for HCNs, for example by offering training and mentoring, or redesigning HCNs’ jobs to include their support function for expats.
Multinationals should also support HCNs
It is clear that HCNs face extra demands when working with expatriates and that they can be better prepared for this role. Multinationals should not only train and prepare their expats but also the HCNs the expats will be working with, especially when a large cultural distance increases the intercultural barriers between expats and HCNs.
To read the full article, please see the Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Fee, A., Michailova, S., & van Bakel, M. (2025). Expert Review Series: Global mobility’s forgotten partner: the case for supporting host country nationals. Journal of Global Mobility, 1–23.
“Yo, I’m in a foreign land, gotta make a plan
Working with the locals, I gotta understand.
Host country nationals, they hold the key,
To unlock the culture, the language, the history.
With open arms, they show me the ropes,
Teach me the customs, give me new hopes.
Host country nationals, they are the guides,
Showing us the world through their eyes.
Bridge the gap, break the walls down,
Together we rise, wear the global crown.”
ChatGPT’s response to the prompt: “Write a short rap about host country nationals”
Image by Tilemahos Efthimiadis on Flickr.