Transferees on their first assignments abroad — especially young, single expatriates — often are unaware of some of the more challenging effects of life without a support network of friends, family, and colleagues.

I have discovered a general feeling among global mobility professionals that back in the 1980s and even 1990s, ambitious executives clearly did not discuss or influence their career prospects by talking about the separation of work and personal life. It was a far more macho society, where ambition was all that seemed to matter. Today, most singles on the global mobility career path have a far more balanced view of the segregation of work and personal life.

Single transferees often assume that they have a trouble-free paradise in front of them. They not only have their youth, but they are on the first step of the career ladder — often without some of the physical and emotional baggage of their counterparts — and appear to be able to function without the network of home, family, and other social associations.

On the surface, it sometimes appears that it is relatively easy for young people to recognise country cultures and deal with life accordingly. Younger people seem to be able to capitalise on similarities without being too bothered by the differences. This is, of course, to the good; however, our younger transferees often are caught off-guard when cultural differences emerge and suddenly get in the way of doing business.

If we imagine that culture is an accumulation of life experiences spanning generations of families, the culture of constantly being on the move across borders has yet to be revealed.

Even though there is better-than-ever access to the Internet and other assorted resources, other than learning common facts and conventional wisdom, young people on the move sometimes do not engage themselves in cultural adjustment. They are driven by their ambition, an eagerness to travel, and the thrill of it all.
Being single usually means that these young people — perhaps on their first international assignments — often lack the emotional and logistical support of a partner. It will be their sole responsibility to handle all the details of relocation, learn the job, and build a social network on their own. It is somewhat of a special category in terms of relocation support, where their challenges are to juggle work, life, and relocation. With intense new cultural exposure — and possibly solitude and loneliness — it is no wonder that these employees are so devoted to their work in the early months after arrival. The workplace is, on first sight, the most comfortable aspect of the relocation process.

However, the combination of working all hours with few other outlets to occupy them away from the workplace can mean that their lifestyle is imbalanced which, in turn, easily can lead to burnout. Being seduced by the idea of a “new life,” professional advancement, and business expense accounts, our young mobile expatriates sometimes forgo the needs of a personal life away from the office.

Personal perspective
I recently coached a young woman from Finland who had just arrived in Holland on assignment. The team she managed was a mix of local Dutch employees and European expatriates. She was extremely worried and depressed, dealing on a daily basis with her own perceived inadequacies, her lack of support from the company, and her home life which, as she put it, was a complete mess.

It was obvious that this young woman (32) on her first assignment abroad needed some executive coaching to reinforce the strengths which she was hired for in the first place in the form of some cross-cultural training to understand the needs and values of her team, as well as the country in which she found herself. All this was lacking in her relocation package. In our work together, I tried to re-discover her strengths and determine her cultural values and how to best apply them to the situation at hand.

The young single professional needs to take a long look at the following areas to be certain they are going to get the best out of the position offered.

First, they need to make the right decision. Is this the job they want, the sort of work they are capable of doing, and a position in which they can grow? They should evaluate whether they are truly adaptable and have the ability to operate in a totally new environment and culture and, most important, deal with the unfamiliar on a daily basis. That is real pressure. They will have to leave friends, family, and their support network of trusted resources and advisors, operate independently, and live in a place where they may not personally know anyone else.

Often, these young singles are in personal, romantic relationships and the decision is whether to give them up or decide to take a fairly new and undetermined relationship abroad. Carried away with the excitement of it all, they may not examine their situation too closely if they truly have a strong, loving, and long-term relationship that can withstand the stress of moving. Often, these relationships cannot take the sustained tension that such a transfer will require. Those in long-term relationships find it hard enough, so building a life abroad on a new and somewhat unknown relationship is an area for trouble ahead.

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