Liisa Mäkelä

Career coordination strategies among dual career expatriate couples

The combination of two trends common in working life – international work and a dual career situation – is challenging for both genders. In order to cope with the situation, international dual career couples have to be able to coordinate their careers. The purpose of this article is to identify how dual career expatriates view their career coordination strategies with their partners, and how these views differ between the genders. Semi-structured interviews were carried out among 39 expatriates on assignment who had a partner working, at least before the assignment. Our findings identify three career coordination strategies applied by dual career couples, and confirm gender plays an essential role in the formation of those strategies. Male expatriates predominated among the group adopting a hierarchical strategy and female expatriates predominated among the group adopting an egalitarian and a loose coordination strategy. Strategies also seemed prone to change over time. Companies should pay attention to both the career development of the partner and the relationship coping skills of the couple to maximize the chances of dual career expatriate assignments being successful.

Pregnancy and leader‐follower dyadic relationships: a research agenda

Women are, in increasing numbers, participating in the labour market and are an important part of an organisation’s human resource pool. Nevertheless, women still face inappropriate treatment at work. One cause of this is family‐related issues. In particular, pregnancy and child birth present special challenges for working women. Discrimination towards pregnant women is commonplace in work settings. Problems are often related to individual work relationships, for example, the one between the pregnant follower and her manager. It is important to understand problems that impact on women in working life that can disturb their job satisfaction, their performance and willingness to give their best for the organisation. Therefore, for the benefit of both employer and employee, existing practices in leader follower relationships during pregnancy are worth studying in more depth. In leadership studies, the Leader‐Member Exchange (LMX) theory is focused on dyadic leader‐follower relationships and is thus used here...

The career competencies of self-initiated and assigned expatriates: assessing the development of career capital over time

Abstract Building on a modern careers approach, we assess the effects of working abroad on individuals’ career capital. Given the dearth of longitudinal studies, we return to a sample of economics graduates in Finland eight years later. We measure changes in three dimensions of career capital; ‘knowing how’, ‘knowing whom’, ‘knowing why’ and find that company assigned expatriates learn more than self-initiated expatriates. All three career capital areas benefit from international experience and all are increasingly valued over time. Based on our findings, we conclude that a dynamic notion of career capital acquisition and use is needed. Managerial implications include the need for a wider view of talent management for international businesses.

The Work-Life Interface of Self-Initiated Expatriates: Conflicts and Enrichment

Research interest in self-initiated expatriation has been increasing steadily due to the globalization of business life and job markets. The emerging research tradition has already covered themes including career motives, development, adjustment, HR support, repatriation and careers. There is, however, limited research on the work-life interface (WLI) of self-initiated expatriates (SIEs), despite the fact that international work affects not only expatriates’ working lives but also their whole life situation. Moreover, if expatriates have a family, moving and living abroad is at least as challenging for their spouses and children as it is for them (Shaffer & Harrison, 2001; Richardson, 2006). Issues affecting spouses and family are also important to the repatriation process since repatriation adjustment has been found to be challenging. Spouses often have to interrupt their own careers in order to follow the expatriate abroad, and the job-related arrangements of the spouse are among the key challenges reported by repatriates (Riusala & Suutari, 2000). If companies are seen as unsympathetic to the problems faced by repatriates and their families, individuals will be even more reluctant to accept the offer of foreign assignments in future (Scullion, 1993). From these perspectives, it is unsurprising that work-life balance (WLB) concerns (Makela & Suutari, 2011; Hearn, Jyrkinen, Piekkari & Oinonen, 2008) rank highly among the key challenges related to international careers. It has even been argued that such careers would be too challenging for most individuals and their families (Forster, 2000). At the same time, it has been found that international jobs may also have positive WLI outcomes — known as work-life enrichment (Makela & Suutari, 2011).

The relationship between international business travel and sleep problems via work-family conflict

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study well-being among the internationally mobile work force by exploring the relationships between international business traveling, work-family conflict (WFC), and health issues. In this study, these relationships are examined on the basis of the health impairment process of the job demands-resources model. More specifically, the study examines the role of WFC as a mediator between international business travel and sleep problems using a full panel design. Design/methodology/approach – The data for this study are drawn from Finnish employees whose work involved international business travel (n=868) and who answered two surveys with a one-year time lag. Findings – The results showed that international business travel in terms of the number of travel days per year, while not predicting sleep problems directly over time, did significantly increase WFC, which in turn increased sleep problems. Thus, WFC functioned as a mediator in the relationship between business tr...

Work-family conflict faced by international business travellers

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to examine the direct and moderating effect of gender and parental status on the relationship between international business travel days and work-to-family conflict (WFC) among international business travellers (IBTs) on the basis of the conservation of resources theory. Design/methodology/approach - – The study was conducted among 1,366 Finnish people in jobs demanding international business travel and a moderated hierarchical regression was utilised in data analysis. Findings - – An increase in the number of international business travel days and being a parent is positively related to WFC. Women with dependent children experience a lower level of WFC than do men with dependent children. However, a significant interaction effect between international business travel days, parental status and gender was found that indicates that the volume of travel days increases the level of WFC for those women who have children more than it does for women who do not have children. For men, increased numbers of travel days raises levels of WFC, as does having children, but there is no interaction between travel days and parental status among men. An increased number of travel days was least critical for WFC among women without dependent children and most critical for WFC among women with dependent children However, women with dependent children were able to travel to a considerable extent before their levels of WFC overtook those of men with dependent children. Practical implications - – The findings indicate that organisations should pay particular attention to developing policies and practices that take account of the family status of the traveller. In addition, to assist IBTs to cope with their WFC, attention should be paid to the intensity of work-related travel. However, gender seemed not to play a particularly important role in WFC, indicating that organisations need not be wary of recruiting both men and women into roles involving international business travel. Originality/value - – This is the first study focusing on IBTs WFC that simultaneously takes account of how the intensity of business travel and both gender and parenthood are related to it.

International business travelers’ psychological well-being: the role of supportive HR practices

Abstract This study examines the effects of the job demands and job resources typical of international business travel (IBT) on psychological well-being (job exhaustion, vigor and satisfaction with work-related travel) among 232 Finnish IBTs. The study is theoretically based on the job demands-resources model and both health impairment and motivational processes were examined alongside the interaction effects of job demands and job resources. Path analysis based on structural equation modeling showed that, of the job demands, workload and pressure experienced in work demanding IBT predicted job exhaustion, but risks related to travel destinations did not. Viewed as job resources, supportive HR practices for traveling (well-functioning and safe travel arrangements and an opportunity for post-travel recovery) predicted vigor and satisfaction with traveling work. They also provided a buffer against the negative effects of the risks of travel destinations on job exhaustion and boosted satisfaction with work travel under circumstances of high risk related to travel destinations. Our findings indicate that organizations should pay greater attention to the workload and the pressure under which IBTs work, and develop supportive HR practices, especially for IBTs who experience high safety and health risks, for example, at their destination.

International Business Traveler, Is Work Always on Your Mind? An Investigation of the Relationship Between Sources of Social Support and Satisfaction with Work-Related International Travel: The Moderating Role of Over-Commitment

The present study examines how supervisor support and family support are related to satisfaction with work-related international travel and what is the role of over-commitment, referring to individual’s inability to withdraw from work, in those relationships. The study was conducted among 200 Finnish employees in jobs requiring international business travel. A moderated hierarchical regression analysis shows that over-commitment and the support of one’s family were directly linked to satisfaction with work-related international travel. People who were over-committed at work experienced more satisfaction with work-related international travel if they received high levels of family support; however, no moderator effect was found for supervisor support. Our findings indicate that interventions aimed at reducing over-commitment and policies and practices that improve the work–life balance of international business travelers would help them to maintain important resources related to their satisfaction with work-related international travel.

Work-to-personal-life conflict among dual and single-career expatriates: Is it different for men and women?

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore if an expatriate’s career situation at the level of the couple (single career couple (SCC)/dual career couple (DCC)) is related to the expatriate’s work-to-personal-life conflict (WLC) and if the expatriate’s gender is related to WLC. The authors also investigate if the level of WLC is different for men and women in a DCC or SCC (interaction). Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted among 393 Finnish expatriates who were in a relationship and were working. A moderated hierarchical regression was utilized in the data analysis. Findings Gender or DCC/SCC status was not separately related to WLC but an interaction effect between gender and a couple’s career status on WLC was significant. In DCC couples, women experienced more WLC than men. In SCC couples, women experienced less WLC than men. Practical implications The findings indicate that organizations should develop practices to support both DCCs and SCCs, for instance, by providing mentors for expatriates and their family members, or through organizing family events for company employees. Couples should also negotiate their roles and responsibilities in both the personal life and work-life spheres before moving abroad and also during the time they live abroad, especially women involved in a DCC and men involved in an SCC. Originality/value This is the first study focusing on expatriates’ WLC that simultaneously takes account of how the gender and career situation of the couple are related to it.

Careers of Highly Educated Self-Initiated Expatriates: Observations from Studies Among Finnish Business Professionals

This chapter reviews existing literature about the careers of self-initiated expatriates and analyzes the different studies carried out among university level educated Finnish business professionals. A series of studies carried out among members of the Finnish Association of Business School Graduates during the last 15 years was cross-analyzed. The studies are based on three surveys and further interviews among their expatriate members (1999, 2004 and a follow-up study in 2012) also involving SIEs. Therefore, this chapter provide an overview of what we know about the careers of Finnish SIEs and show evidence of (1) their career motives, (2) the role of family considerations in the career decision making of SIEs, (3) the development of career capital and social capital during SIE-experiences, and also (4) longer-term career impacts of SIE-experiences. Based on the literature review and analysis of above mentioned studies we highlight the gaps in in the knowledge about SIEs and suggest areas where further research is needed.