The good news is that organisations can provide services that facilitate successful adjustments. The cost of sending an employee and family on international assignment is substantial. For a minimal additional investment, corporations can provide pre- and post-assignment cross-cultural development programmes that reduce the stress of the move and meet the family’s needs. Specifically, such programmes help the family to understand the leaving process, the new culture(s), how to conduct themselves (socially, in business, and in daily life) more effectively in the new location, and how to manage culture shock and adjustment.

Cross-cultural programmes offer knowledge and support to the third-culture child. Many relocation companies contribute to the family’s international success by offering packages and programmes to the new assignee and family.

It is up to employers to promote the value of this to employees and their families, and to encourage them to make time for the training in the hectic schedule of an overseas move.

The employer’s organisation needs to support all the family members through the adjustment phase, which can take up to 18 months. The follow-through and tracking after the move is very important. Counselling services, coaching, mentoring, and, ultimately, a repatriation programme are other valuable options for third-culture children and their families.

Future of the TCK
As Anne Edelstam wrote in her 2004 global nomad article, “to be like a chameleon is a good tool to adapt to different cultures but it might become a burden when not knowing which culture is one’s own. I don’t think we global nomads can adapt to just one culture and stick to it. It will be a mix of everything.”

So, whether the international child is referred to as a third-culture child, a global nomad, a TCK, an expatriate, or a global soul, his or her shared special feature is the ability to compare international and local issues.

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