Companies increasingly depend on their employees to invest their time and enthusiasm. With my colleagues Mette Strange Noesgaard and Snejina Michailova, we just published an article about the work engagement of assigned expats (AEs). This blog post summarizes our main contributions.
Unique challenges
We conducted e-interviews with 27 Nordic AEs in 16 host countries to explore which antecedents influence AEs’ work engagement during their international assignment. Our study shows that while elements such as responsibility, variety, and autonomy continue to drive engagement, the influence of the direct manager was less impactful for expats. Expats often feel a heightened sense of dedication due to the pride they experience from succeeding in a foreign context. Expats also experience unique challenges in maintaining vigor, such as adjusting to a new language and social environment, but also benefit from fewer distractions in their host location, allowing for deeper focus.
Expatriate-specific influences
Here are some examples for each of the expatriate-specific influences that affect expatriates’ engagement:
- Distance to HQ: “You can move on things quickly. It is possible to make quicker decisions with more direct impact. At the head office, you have many more layers of bureaucracy.”
- Pride in being chosen: “The thing is that I’m here because someone high up the ranks thought I deserved it and that I can bring a lot of expertise to the new team. This provides me with a lot of confidence and therefore also energy.”
- Culture: “Both of these changes influence my enthusiasm, sometimes in a positive and sometimes in a negative way, depending on the situation. For example, on a personal level, the people that I work with right now are much more friendly and we have a better relationship. However, in terms of actually working together, I have a harder time because of the cultural differences.”
- Fewer distractions: “There is not the level of pressure from family and friends, since it is simply not possible to participate in all the family and friends’ activities.”
- Success in a foreign context: “When talking to others about my job role after I moved all the way from the comfort zone in Group/Denmark to Malaysia, I feel more proud and enthusiastic.”
- Adjustment: “[. . .] the increased energy was actually well wiped out during all the local bureaucracy, like getting social security numbers, going to driving school [. . .], looking for a house, trying to get all the ‘normal daily’ processes running took some of the extra energy down.”
- Location: “When you are off work it is almost like being on vacation all the time, so it’s a good time to recharge.”
- Language: “Sometimes I find speaking English all the time drains my energy.”
Fostering work engagement
Expatriates are invaluable assets to global organizations. Understanding and fostering their work engagement can help multinational corporations better manage expatriate assignments. This is not just beneficial—it’s essential, especially considering the unique challenges and opportunities AEs face in international assignments.
To read the full article, please see the Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Van Bakel, M., Noesgaard, M. S., & Michailova, S. (2024). “Willing to go the extra mile”: an exploration of antecedents of assigned expatriates’ work engagement. Journal of Global Mobility: The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 12(3), 369-393. doi:10.1108/JGM-11-2023-0075