Dual-career families during expatriation - JKU ePUB

Submitted byMaria Peters

Submitted atDepartment ofInternationalManagement

Supervisora.Univ.Prof.inDr.in Erna Szabo MBA

April 2021

JOHANNES KEPLERUNIVERSITY LINZAltenbergerstraße 694040 Linz, Osterreichwww.jku.atDVR 0093696

Dual-career familiesduring expatriation:Support mechanismsto handle family issues

Diploma Thesis

to obtain the academic degree of

Magistra der Sozial- und Wirtschaftswissenschaften

in the Diploma Program

Wirtschaftswissenschaften

Sworn declaration

I hereby declare under oath that the submitted Diploma Thesis has been written solely by me

without any third-party assistance, information other than provided sources or aids have not been

used and those used have been fully documented. Sources for literal, paraphrased and cited quotes

have been accurately credited.

The submitted document here present is identical to the electronically submitted text document.

Maria Peters

Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, April 2021

ii

Eidesstattliche Erklärung

Ich erkläre an Eides statt, dass ich die vorliegende Diplomarbeit selbstständig und ohne fremde

Hilfe verfasst, andere als die angegebenen Quellen und Hilfsmittel nicht benutzt bzw. die wörtlich

oder sinngemäß entnommenen Stellen als solche kenntlich gemacht habe.

Die vorliegende Diplomarbeit ist mit dem elektronisch übermittelten Textdokument identisch.

Maria Peters

Johannes Kepler Universität Linz, April 2021

iii

Acknowledgment

First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my three supervisors. Thank you very much

a.Univ.-Prof.in Dr.in Iris C. Fischlmayr for giving me the first and the second chances, Dr.in

Katharina Puchmüller for believing in me and for helping with the organization of the empirical

research, and a.Univ.Prof.in Dr.in Erna Szabo MBA for understanding, supporting, and giving me

the time that I needed.

Along with my supervisors, I would like to thank the incredible women who kindly agreed to

participate in my empirical study. This work would not be possible and complete without your

readiness to share your experience and knowledge. Your example and your wisdom will always

accompany me.

Last but not least, my deepest appreciation goes to my family and friends. Thank you for being

always by my side. My dear Igor, thank you very much for the most fantastic journey of my life.

Your support and unconditional faith in me is a game changer. My dear Nika, you joined this

project along the way and kept inspiring me until the end. Please always find courage and

confidence to strive for what is important for you. I would like to say thank you to my parents,

Marina and Andrey, who always supported my ideas and my aspirations and made my studies

possible.

Thank you, Vielen Dank, Cпасибо!

iv

Abstract

The number of long-term international assignments as the most widespread approach of how global

staffing is organized is increasing, although it becomes more difficult to attract suitable candidates

due to their growing reluctance to relocate. Women in dual-career families (DCFs) as international

expatriates are under-represented in the pool of international managers. They still remain

responsible for the majority of home, family, and child-rearing duties, despite the pursuit of a

career. As a result, during expatriation stressors in both work and family domains increase in

numbers and intensity for women. As a result, the aim of the diploma thesis is to develop an

understanding of DCFs’ issues in the international relocation context from the female expatriates’

point of view and to find out how female expatriates, being a part of dual-career families, arrange

and coordinate career and family life during expatriation. The empirical research based on semi-

standardized guided interviews shows that women try to remain a loving wife and a reliable

childcare provider and to continue a career during expatriation. To achieve this goal, they rely

considerably on emotional, instrumental, and informational support. The most valuable sources of

support are husbands and children, social network and government in a host country, and

organizations.

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Table of contents

1. Introduction......................................................................................................................................1

1.1. Research questions.................................................................................................................3

1.2. Literature review and problem discussion.............................................................................3

1.3. Structure of thesis...................................................................................................................6

2. Dual-career families (DCFs)............................................................................................................8

2.1. Definition of dual-career families..........................................................................................8

2.1.1. Career...........................................................................................................................8

2.1.2. Family..........................................................................................................................9

2.2 Facts and statistics.................................................................................................................10

2.3. DCF's lifestyle in comparison to the traditional role model................................................12

2.4. Challenges of DCFs.............................................................................................................14

2.4.1. Work-family conflict.................................................................................................14

2.4.2. Roles distribution and inequality...............................................................................16

2.4.3. Identity and normative expectations..........................................................................18

2.4.4. The importance of children........................................................................................20

2.5. Career development and family issues affecting companies...............................................22

3. International relocation of dual-career families..............................................................................24

3.1. Statistics and recent trends...................................................................................................24

3.2. Potential problems during expatriate assignments...............................................................28

3.3. The role of the trailing spouse..............................................................................................33

3.3.1 Challenges for trailing spouses...................................................................................33

3.3.1.1 Career prospects and discontinuance...........................................................34

3.3.1.2 Social identity and networks........................................................................36

3.3.2 Benefits for trailing spouses.......................................................................................37

3.3.3 Differences between male and female expatriates and their trailing spouses............39

3.4. Cultural context....................................................................................................................42

4. Support mechanisms for DCFs during expatriation.......................................................................46

4.1. Types of support...................................................................................................................46

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4.2. Family support.....................................................................................................................47

4.3. Governmental support..........................................................................................................49

4.4. Organizational support and family-friendly policies...........................................................51

4.4.1. General concept of organizational support................................................................52

4.4.2. Family friendly policies and services........................................................................55

4.4.2.1. Flexible working arrangements...................................................................55

4.4.2.2. Partner support............................................................................................56

4.4.2.3. Childcare.....................................................................................................59

4.4.1. Formal versus specialized support system for DCFs.................................................60

5. Methodology...................................................................................................................................64

5.1. Sample selection and description.........................................................................................65

5.2. Structure of the interview guide...........................................................................................66

6. Empirical Data................................................................................................................................69

6.1. Category A - General information.......................................................................................69

6.2. Category B - Expatriation and DCF-related issues..............................................................72

6.2.1. Challenges to combine work and family during expatriation....................................72

6.2.1.1. Finding a position for the trailing spouse....................................................73

6.2.1.2. Work influences family, family influences work........................................73

6.2.1.3. Reconcile both careers during expatriation.................................................76

6.2.1.4. Relationship with the spouse.......................................................................77

6.2.1.5. Distribution of tasks and duties...................................................................79

6.2.2. Raising children during expatriation in Austria........................................................80

6.2.2.1. Childcare.....................................................................................................80

6.2.2.2. Maternity leave............................................................................................81

6.2.2.3. Challenges to raise children during expatriation in Austria........................82

6.3. Category C - Sources of support for women in DCFs during expatriation..........................84

6.3.1. Family........................................................................................................................84

6.3.2. Social network...........................................................................................................86

6.3.3. External instrumental support....................................................................................89

6.3.4. Governmental support...............................................................................................89

6.3.5. Social acceptance.......................................................................................................91

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6.4. Category D - Organizational support for women in DCFs during expatriation...................94

6.4.1. General awareness of the DCF-related challenges....................................................94

6.4.2. Current organizational support..................................................................................96

6.4.2.1. Career-related support for trailing spouse...................................................96

6.4.2.2. Work-place flexibility.................................................................................98

6.4.2.3. Support from mentors..................................................................................99

6.4.2.4. Help with childcare organization................................................................99

6.4.2.5. Supportive services...................................................................................100

6.4.3. Perception of support...............................................................................................101

6.4.4. Potential areas for improvement..............................................................................102

7. Conclusion....................................................................................................................................106

7.1. Discussion and major findings...........................................................................................106

7.2. Answering the research questions......................................................................................113

7.3. Limitations and future outlook...........................................................................................116

References........................................................................................................................................118

Appendix A – Interview guide.........................................................................................................132

Appendix B – Coding template........................................................................................................134

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Table of tables

Table 1. Percentage of responding companies by total expatriate population...................................25

Table 2. Framework of potential organizational assistance for expatriates and their families..........53

Table 3. Personal data of interviewees...............................................................................................70

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Table of abbreviations

CAE company-assigned expatriate

CV curriculum vitae

DCC dual-career couple

DCF dual-career family

HCN host county national

HRM human resources management

IHRM international human resources management

MNC multi-national corporation

NGO non-government organization

SIE self-initiated expatriate

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1. Introduction

Nowadays, the world faces a transformation and a fundamental shift in the business environment

which affect the way of conducting work and leadership. Rapidly developing global business world

becomes more connected and interdependent. The number of multinational corporations (MNCs),

global, international or transnational corporations which are aimed at global markets is increasing.

However, international business operations are not possible without well-educated, highly

professional, and experienced employees (Caligiuri & Bonache, 2016; McNulty & Selmer, 2017).

These international managers are responsible not only for knowledge transfer, but also for handling

and solving all the problems, complexities, and challenges which might appear in MNCs across

countries due to cultural differences, organizational peculiarities, operating systems' and strategies'

orientations.

The most widespread approach of how global staffing is organized is long-term international

assignments, which are utilized by nearly 70% of companies (KPMG International, 2020, p. 9).

However, it becomes more difficult to attract suitable candidates due to their growing reluctance to

relocate (van der Velde, Bossink & Jansen, 2005; NetExpat & EY, 2018). Partly due to the fact that

the majority of potential international assignees belong to dual-career families (DCFs), where both

partners pursue their own careers and have at least one child (Permits Foundation, 2009). A decade

ago nearly half of the companies indicated the partner resistance as one of the most critical family

challenges, which expatriates experience, followed by family adjustment and children's education

(Brookfield GRS, 2011, p. 46). Nowadays, nearly 80% of companies face a situation when an

international assignment is rejected by a potential assignee due to the partner’s unwillingness to

move due to career (NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 4). Furthermore, family adjustment is the third most

challenging factor of managing assignments after compliance/risk management and containing costs

(Brookfield GRS, 2016, p. 38).

Women in DCFs as international managers are of a particulate interest due to their under-

representation in the pool of international managers especially considering their high level of

education and career aspirations (Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012; Silberbauer, 2016; Varma &

Russell, 2016; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Although the number of female assignees has been

increasing during the last 20 years, it is still relatively moderate and makes up 29% of all assignees

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(NetExpat & EY, 2018, p.7). Nowadays, career and personal development gain importance for

women and they are provided with greater access to higher education and improved career

opportunities. At the same time, they perform remarkably at least not worse than men during

expatriation (Bastida, 2018). Thus, this under-representation implies an oversight and lost potential

in the pool of international managers. According to McNulty (2014, p. 2), women in DCFs should

be viewed by the international organizations as "a new and emerging source of viable global talent".

DCFs suffer more from stress and tension than traditional couples due to the greater number of roles

they perform (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992; Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). Striving for a career

progression and family happiness, DCFs experience overload and work-family conflict, ought to

handle not only the questions of role distribution and equality within a family, but also confront the

discrepancy between couple's norms and social expectations (Mäkelä, Saarenpää, Suutari & Wurtz,

2012; Schütter & Boerner, 2013). As parenthood implies additional responsibilities and a more

chaotic and turbulent life, DCFs find it more difficult to structure and coordinate work and family

roles. During expatriation, the DCFs' issues become more prominent and crucial (Silberbauer,

2016). Women are concerned with a partners' career, being afraid of its disruption in a host location.

Furthermore, women are preoccupied with childcare and child-rearing issues, being deprived of the

established support system at home. To find the balance between work and family domains during

expatriation, women in DCFs may resort to the following sources of support: family, friends,

government, and organizations. Family members, i.e. partners, children, and members of an

extended family, friends, and host-country nationals may provide emotional as well as instrumental

assistance. Governmental support implies the supply of public institutions and facilities to

accommodate children, family allowances, and parental leave rights. Organizational support may

include career-related support for a trailing partner, workplace flexibility, e.g. flexible work

scheduling, job autonomy and telecommuting, emotional support from formal and informal

mentors, colleagues, and supervisors, and different supportive services, e.g. organization-sponsored

childcare facilities (Tzeng, 2006; Varma & Russell, 2016).

Due to the importance of the family domain for women in DCFs and its influence on many work

decisions including expatriation, organizational support provided for this sphere is of paramount

importance for a potential assignees' willingness to relocate, for their efficient adjustment and

successful accomplishment of an assignment (Collings, Doherty, Luethy & Osborn, 2011;

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Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013; Harvey & Buckley, 1998; Ullrich, Pluut & Büttgen,

2015). However, researches show that companies underestimate the role of corporate assistance

provided to women in DCFs and their trailing spouses as a major tool of successful attracting,

retaining, and deploying the most suitable international managers, and at the same time avoiding

assignments' refusals and costly assignments' failures (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Linehan &

Scullion, 2001; Eby, Douthitt, Noble, Atchley & Ladd, 2002; Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004;

Brookfield GRS, 2016). The focus on organizational support is based on its relevance and

effectiveness, the wide spectrum of significant resources companies possess and may apply and

change freely and rapidly. Furthermore, workplace characteristics hold the capacity to directly

affect the degree of work-family conflict employees experience.

1.1. Research questions

The aim of the diploma thesis is to develop an understanding of DCFs' issues in the international

relocation context from the female expatriates' point of view. Hence, the research question is

formulated as:

How do female expatriates, being a part of dual-career families, handle family and

career issues during international expatriation?

The following sub-questions are aimed at the elaboration of the research question:

• Which factors and family issues do influence women's relocation and adaptation process?

• How difficulties women encounter trying to combine family and career in a host country do

influence family and work domains?

• Which types of support and in which areas do help women to deal with family issues in a

host country?

• How does organizational support in a host country help and potentially may help female

expatriates to handle DCFs' issues and facilitate adjustment during expatriation?

1.2. Literature review and problem discussion

The phenomenon of dual-career couples (DCCs) and dual-career families (DCFs) was first defined

and described by Rapoport & Rapoport (1969). The appearance and wide acknowledgement of this

3

phenomenon in 1970s reflected a greater social understanding and acceptance of new developments

in gender roles, family structures and compositions, and recognition of its influence on

organizational processes (Hall & Hall, 1979; Sekaran, 1986). Many authors conducted empirical

researches on DCCs and DCFs in order to find how they tend to organize decision-making process,

approach gender-role attitudes, divide household duties, and perceive marital equality (Bartley,

Blanton & Gilliard, 2005), how partners comprehend professional identity and cope with work and

family challenges (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992; Elloy & Smith, 2004; Bird & Schnurman-Crook,

2005), how spouses influence each other career decisions (Lysova, Korotov, Khapova & Jansen,

2015). While analyzing how workplace practices may support families in balancing work and

family, authors come to a conclusion that organizational support for work-family issues is perceived

to have a positive influence on job performance and life satisfaction (Haddock, Zimmerman,

Ziemba & Lyness, 2006; Haar & Roche, 2010; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020).

As the presence of women has become more prominent on the labor market, the number of dual-

career families has been increasing, family issues tend to have a more significant influence on all

the organizational processes including expatriation. As the interconnection of work and family

domains during expatriation becomes more prominent, researchers analyze the challenges of

pursuing two careers in a host country (Permits Foundation, 2012), the antecedents and perception

of the work-family conflict and balance during expatriation (Schütter & Boerner, 2013), and coping

mechanisms to deal with work-family conflict during expatriation (Mäkelä et al., 2012).

A group of researchers focuses on the relocation dilemma, in other words examines how family and

spouse-related factors in DCFs influence the decision-making process of DCFs whether to relocate,

motivational factors, and gender differences (Bielby & Bielby, 1992; Harvey, 1995; Challiol &

Mignonac, 2005; van der Velde, Bossink & Jansen, 2005; Dickmann, Doherty, Mills & Brewster,

2008; Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013; Ullrich, Pluut & Büttgen, 2015). Furthermore, some

studies specifically examine the variety of spouses’ roles during international assignments and their

influence on expatriates and companies (Lauring & Selmer, 2010; Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari,

2011; Davoine, Ravasi, Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013).

Harvey (1995) examines how family and spouse-related factors in DCFs influence the outcome of

an assignment, predicting the tremendous importance of this influence for the majority of potential

4

expatriates in future. The absence of a possibility to work for an accompanying partner during

expatriation has a disruptive effect on mobility of international assignees (Permits Foundation,

2009; Brookfield GRS, 2016; NetExpat & EY, 2018). Furthermore, research shows that spouse and

family adjustment and spousal support is a crucial factor for an expatriate successful assignment

(McNulty, 2012; Ravasi, Salamin & Davoine, 2013; Lee & Kartika, 2014; van der Laken, van

Engen, van Veldhoven & Paauwe, 2019).

Furthermore, Harvey (1995) describes a model of social support for a dual-career family relocating

to a foreign location, where not only a family provides necessary support, but also an organization.

Other researchers (Pierce & Delahaye, 1996; Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997; Riusala & Suutari,

2000) examine not only DCF-related issues during expatriation, but also support practices provided

by the companies, and the perceived necessity of such practices. In these surveys, like it also

appears in the Harvey's study, job and career considerations of an accompanying partner, i.e.

difficulty in getting a job for a partner in the host country, were mentioned among the most

significant challenges faced by DCFs during their relocation process. According to the findings, the

corporate support practices are quite rare and there is an inconsistency between what is offered by

the companies as supportive practices and which practices considered to be the most necessary by

the recipients. While some researchers analyze the perception of an effective reward system for an

international assignment in general (Warenke & Schneider, 2011), others devote their analysis to

more specific topics, such as the role of the managerial support in convincing a DCC to accept an

international expatriate assignment (Eby et al., 2002) and intercultural communication training

provided to accompanying spouses (Kupka, Everett & Cathro, 2008). McNulty (2012) further

discusses how different types of organizational support for an accompanying spouse influence

spouse adjustment in a host country. Analysis (Permits Foundation, 2009; Silberbauer, 2016) shows

that both trailing partners and expatriates may profit from the dual-career organizational support.

Permits Foundation (2009) adds governmental practices which can support DCFs and bring benefit

for countries.

The research devoted to female international assignees focuses on their adaptation to a host country

environment and effectiveness (Selmer & Leung, 2003; Haslberger, 2010; Bastida, 2018). In

addition, researchers analyze critical issues, challenges, and success factors for an expatriate female

career (Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Selmer & Leung, 2002) and the importance of support for female

5

expatriates (Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Tzeng, 2006; Varma & Russell, 2016). While one research

reports that women in DCFs need different kinds of social support in order to balance family and

career responsibilities during expatriation (Tzeng, 2006), others underline that it might be

challenging for the companies to attract the most suitable female candidates for international

assignments and retain women as global managers without organizational support related to dual-

career issues (Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Varma & Russell, 2016).

Some studies analyze the challenges and opportunities women face trying to pursuit an international

career in general (Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012), whereas others focus on alternative to

expatriate assignment forms of global female careers as a more flexible option to combine work and

family. Studies devoted to international business travelers examine challenges and sources of

support for female travelers (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017) and gender-based differences in

work-family balance (Kollinger-Santer & Fischlmayr, 2013).

As a result, research devoted to women in DCFs during expatriation is limited. It is either rather old,

focuses on some particular issues or take the company’s perspective. Although previous research

analyzed challenges women in DCFs face as expatriate managers, it was not linked to the various

forms of support women may resort to in a host country in order to combine work and family. Still,

there is little research devoted to the individuals’ perception of types and sources of support.

Therefore, this thesis focuses on personal experience of women in DCFs undertaking an

expatriation to find out what are the main stressors and challenges they face and which types of

support they perceive as efficient. The research should help building an understanding of how

organizations may improve organizational assistance for women in DCFs during expatriate

assignments to help them to combine career and family duties and support them as caretakers

during an international relocation and secure a swift and successful adjustment and integration of

women, their accompanying partners, and children in a host location.

1.3. Structure of thesis

The diploma thesis is divided into the following two major parts: theoretical and empirical. After

the introductory first chapter, the theoretical part gives a thorough overview of previous research

devoted to dual-career families based on the books, research articles, statistics, and analytical

surveys. To broaden the existing research on challenges women face during expatriation and types

6

and sources of support which help women to overcome these challenges, the second part of the

thesis focuses on the practical research.

Chapter 2 presents an overview and analysis of DCFs' general issues. The chapter starts with the

definition of the term “dual-career family”, continues with an overview of the current situation and

statistics regarding DCFs, and concludes by describing the challenges DCFs face. To conclude the

chapter, it will be pointed out how career development and family issues of DCFs affect companies

nowadays. Chapter 3 focuses on the international relocation of DCFs. Within the framework of the

chapter statistics, recent trends, and potential problems which may appear during expatriate

assignments will be described. Since trailing spouses are the essential part of DCFs, their main

challenges are pointed out. Besides, potential benefits, such as personal enrichment and professional

development, are presented. The chapter continues with the differences between male and female

expatriates and their trailing spouses and finishes by the identification of the role of the cultural

context. The last chapter in the theoretical part is Chapter 4 that concentrates on the support

mechanisms for female expatriates in DCFs in a host country. The chapter begins with the

description of the main types of support. Then the following three main sources of support for

women in DCFs during expatriation are analyzed: family, government, and organization.

Chapter 5 provides an introduction to an empirical research by giving a description of the sample

and the structure of the interview guide. For the thesis eight women were interviewed. Chapter 6

presents the findings of the empirical research in the following four categories: general information,

expatriation and DCF-related issues, sources of support for women in DCFs during expatriation,

and organizational support for women in DCFs. Chapter 7 provides the comparison of the previous

literature and the findings of the empirical research. Furthermore, the research questions are

answered, limitations are studied, and future outlook is given. Finally, the interview guide and the

coding template which are used to conduct and analyze the interviews are added in the Appendix A

and B.

7

2. Dual-career families (DCFs)

This thesis focuses on dual-career families during expatriation. While concentrating on men and

women who choose to combine career and family, the current chapter provides a definition of this

phenomenon and challenges families face due to their lifestyle.

2.1. Definition of dual-career families

The phenomenon of dual-career families was first defined and described by Rapoport & Rapoport

(1969). The development and wide recognition of this phenomenon from 1970s to 1990s reflected a

greater social understanding and acceptance of new developments in gender roles and family

structures. According to Pierce & Delahaye (1996, p. 905), a dual-career family is a family structure

which “deviates from established societal norms with regard to division of labor, gender roles, and

family life”. DCFs are families in which both husbands and wives consider their work to be a career

and have at least one child (Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997; Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016;

Harvey, Novicevic & Breland, 2009).

2.1.1. Career

The term “career” is one of two most essential parts in the definition of a DCF. Dual-earner families

are families in which both partners are employed outside the household to support the family and at

least one partner is not career-oriented (Harvey, 1995; Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997; Harvey &

Buckley, 1998). Therefore, at least one member of a family considers the job only as a possibility to

earn one’s living. It is the perception of work as a career what differentiates DCFs from dual-earner

families.

For DCFs the pursuit of a career should be a conscious choice and aspiration of both partners

(Cherpas, 1985). It should be characterized by psychological commitment, motivation, and

dedication (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009; Harvey, Novicevic & Breland, 2009; Rapoport & Rapoport,

1976). Besides, both partners should have a long-term perspective regarding their career

development including significant investments of time and energy in education, job training, and

self-development (Harvey, 1995). A career represents a developmental sequence, i.e. a sequence of

positions, actions, tasks, and experiences which allows evolving and unfolding the possessed

8

competencies of a person (Larsen, 2004). Furthermore, this investment serves as one of the main

sources of self-fulfillment for partners in DCFs (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011).

There is a discrepancy between authors' opinions concerning the occupations and positions which

can be related to the career path. According to the first publications on the topic (Rapoport &

Rapoport, 1976; Cherpas, 1985), by pursuing a career a person will achieve advancement in power,

status, pay, and responsibility over time. Pierce & Delahaye (1996) state that “career” implies an

attachment which should not and cannot be limited to certain occupations. Rusconi (2002) raises an

objection by proposing that careers should be exclusively related to high professional standards and

management. Bird & Schnurman-Crook (2005, p. 145) concurs by specifying that occupations on

the career path “typically require advanced education and specialized knowledge” which develop

and maintain a strong professional identity and complicate the change of fields. On the whole, it is a

subjective psychological attachment what turns a position into an acknowledged part of the career

path (Bird & Schnurman-Crook, 2005; Cherpas, 1985; Pierce & Delahaye, 1996). This attachment

is assumed to be accompanied by personal perception of occupation's importance and a feeling of

responsibility, and be supported by allocated time.

2.1.2. Family

The second most important component of the definition of DCFs is maintaining a family. DCFs do

not only pursue a career, but are also assumed to highly value their personal relationship. Both

partners attempt to combine the two worlds of family and career trying to find work-life balance as

achieving satisfying results in both spheres (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004; Ezzedeen & Ritchey,

2009; Pierce & Delahaye, 1996). For partners in DCFs it is essential to value and respect each

other's careers to be able to develop flexibility and mutual understanding within a partnership.

Families' own awareness of DCFs’ issues provoked by the interdependent nature of relationship and

a conscious goal to enact professional and family identities enable families to accommodate

stressors through the development of coping mechanisms (Bird & Schnurman-Crook, 2005;

Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011).

At the beginning of the development of the term “DCF” some authors identified a DCF only as a

married unit which should live as a domestic unit and have at least one child (Higgins & Duxbury,

1992; Rapoport & Rapoport, 1969). The presence of at least one child differentiates dual-career

9

families from dual-career couples in which there are no dependable children (Fischlmayr &

Puchmüller, 2016). Nevertheless, the first two limitations are not so strictly applied as families’

structures and arrangements become more complex and diverse. Nowadays, commitment to the

personal relationship regardless of marital status is considered to be sufficient in order to recognize

a relationship as significant (NetExpat & EY, 2018). Besides, there is no necessity for a family to

live together in one geographic location as one domestic unit in order to be acknowledged as a

DCF. The number of families maintaining two residences (usually in different geographical

locations) increases as alternatives to long-term expatriate assignments gain more attention and

popularity (Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012; Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). What is of

paramount importance is that a family should live in a stable and enduring relationship.

For a DCF, family and career represent two spheres of life which are highly connected and

interdependent. This strong bound between them requires both partners to provide and maintain a

significant level of flexibility, support, patience, personal involvement, and effort to make the

system work and to achieve a work-life balance. On the whole, being a part of a DCF implies a

conscious choice, subjective psychological attachment to both family and career, and personal

involvement (Pleck, 1985; Bird & Schnurman-Crook, 2005). As a result, the desire and the ability

to support this type of a lifestyle can provide meaning, self-fulfillment, and personal satisfaction for

both partners (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009).

2.2 Facts and statistics

DCFs started to gain importance and attention as more women were able and eager to receive a

better education and were employed outside the home (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976; Gross, 1980;

Cherpas, 1985). Traditionally, it was a woman who was responsible for handling numerous

household responsibilities so the husband could devote all his time to work and career development.

However, the phenomenon of DCFs appeared due to the growing awareness of equal rights between

women and men (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976). As the demand for skilled employees has been

growing constantly and economic necessity became more obvious, women started to participate

more actively in social, political, and economic life, performing remarkably at least not worse than

men considering the level of education and work experience. Legislation secured equal

opportunities for both sexes, whereas public opinion became more accepting, also due to the

emancipation movement, reinforcing and inspiring women to increase their participation in the

10

labor market (Cherpas, 1985). Nowadays, as education, career, and personal development gain

importance for women and they are increasingly provided with greater access to higher education

and improved career opportunities, the traditional family model has given way to more complex and

less definite family structures. Much of the workforce has to deal with more complicated personal

logistics due to both spouses’ employment.

When the phenomenon of DCFs was first described, the perception of an education, work, and

career differed between sexes. In the USA in the 1970s, whereas the prevalent majority of men were

employed and attached to their work as the main source of self-fulfillment, women after marriage

and child-birth usually were expected to lose their interest in work and developing a career

(Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976). At that time, 34% of married women with children were permanently

employed and only 17% were committed to their work and considered it to be a career (Rapoport &

Rapoport, 1976). Nevertheless, it was the time when the situation started to change. In the USA,

where the phenomenon of DCFs has been developing rapidly, by the year 1981 nearly the half of all

families in which both a husband and a wife were present were dual-earner families (Pleck, 1985).

In 2019 in the USA, 64.2% of married couples with children under 18 were couples in which both

husbands and wives were employed (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2020). In Austria, in 2019

66.1% of all couples with children under 18 were couples in which both husbands and wives were

full-time and/or part-time employed, reaching the point of 76.8% when the youngest child was

between 15 and 17 years old (Statistik Austria, 2020a).

Furthermore, it is essential to mention that worldwide the number of women who are employed has

been increasing over the years. In 2020 in Canada and New Zealand, more than 61% of all women

participated in the labor force; in the USA, Australia, the Netherlands, and in the United Kingdom

more than 56% of women were employed (The World Bank, 2020). However, 10 years ago the

number of employed women did not exceed 60% in the countries mentioned above (U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics, 2011, p.33). In 2019 in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, and Germany,

the female employment rate was more than 71% (Eurostat, 2019). The visible trend of the growing

number of employed women, and, as a result, families consisting of two working partners, means

that the number of DCFs has a potential to increase in the future. It is doubtful that the trend of

dual-career families will be reversed. Therefore, the phenomenon will continue to have a major

11

impact on HRM policies of many companies on labor markets in many countries. The DCF-related

issues gain importance since more women and men set career as one of the prevalent life goals.

Although the phenomenon of DCFs gains attention and all the predictions are in favor of its

continuing growth (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976; Pierce & Delahaye, 1996; Mäkelä, Känsälä &

Suutari, 2011), there is no exact information concerning the number of DCFs in different countries.

It is relatively easy to estimate how many couples there are in which both partners are in the labor

force. However, it is relatively difficult to determine how many of these couples perceive their work

to be a career. According to unofficial estimations, in the USA at the end of 1980s about 20% of all

dual-earner couples were DCFs (Pierce & Delahaye, 1996, p. 906). Studies conducted in the UK

showed that the number of DCFs doubled between 1991 and 2001 from 1.2 million to 2.23 million,

comprising by 2001 10% of all households (Wheatley, 2008, as cited in Hardill & Wheatley, 2010,

p.240). Unfortunately, there is no up-to-date information about the quantity of DCFs in Austria.

As both partners in a DCF would like to pursue a career while maintaining a family, they both

become responsible for combining and sustaining these two spheres of life. As a result, these

families are complex arrangements with their own sources of motivation, rewards, stressors, and

strains. For partners in DCFs, professional identity becomes strongly linked with family identity.

This interdependence means that the standards and the quality of one sphere has a substantial

impact on the other. As a result, the rewards of career involvement consistently contribute to

personal and family advantages and vice versa (Bird & Schnurman-Crook, 2005).

2.3. DCF's lifestyle in comparison to the traditional role model

DCFs differ greatlyŝ from traditional families, where men are responsible for the work domain and

women stay at home to maintain the family domain. It is the involvement of both partners in the

labor force what sets up the base for significant differences. Therefore, DCFs represent a structure

which requires different allocation of resources in order to avoid stress and achieve balance between

two important domains: family and career.

As far as personal and family benefits are concerned, career orientation of both partners enables

DCFs to substantially improve family climate (Vaiman, Haslberger & Vance, 2015). When both

partners have their own careers, they can better understand each other's motivational factors and

12

stressors, acknowledge and appreciate more fully each other’s achievements, and support in case of

a failure (Schreyögg, 2013). Through better communication and mutual respect partners do not only

become aware of their differences, but also develop similarities in beliefs, expectations, and

mutuality of purposes. Shared home chores foster the development of a balanced family

relationship. While dealing with challenges and overcoming problems and difficulties, which

appear from time to time, both partners enhance their sense of importance and confidence in their

competences (Sekaran, 1986). Transmitted to the work domain, these personal characteristics create

favorable conditions for further development. Support and feedback received from a beloved and

valued partner can boost self-esteem and professional identity, serve as one of the sources of

intrinsic motivation, and create psychic resources for personal development (Bird & Schnurman-

Crook, 2005). Besides, according to Schreyögg (2013), children in DCFs tend to be more

independent and self-sufficient than those in traditional families.

Furthermore, dual employment introduces financial benefits (Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard, 2005). A

family has a higher disposable income which enables to achieve a higher standard of living and to

have more money for personal interests. Financial freedom implies a broader choice of schools and

out-of-school activities for children, access to a variety of attractive vacation locations all over the

world, improved resources for insurances and pension plan, and more opportunities for practicing

hobbies (Schreyögg, 2013). This leads not only to an improved financial stability of a family, but

also to the balance of power and greater economic equality between partners in DCFs (Rapoport &

Rapoport, 1976; Schreyögg, 2013). Women themselves feel more independent and financially

secure, relieved of a stress of uncertainty and instability. Besides, it eases the tension previously

experienced by men as sole breadwinners, who were expected to be able to economically provide

for their families.

On the whole, having not only a family, but also a career in focus is assumed to make life more

diverse, challenging, interesting, and complete. Being not only a partner and a parent, but also

having a role outside home, allows individuals to “feel ‘independent’ and ‘whole’ and lead

‘healthier lives’” (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009, p. 389). Communication in a DCF is not limited to

the family unit. Partners have a wider sphere of interests. The deeper sense of fulfillment and

greater satisfaction at work and in a family may improve the quality of life. Nevertheless, DCFs

13

experience more pressure due to lack of time, role conflicts, higher expectations, and difficulties in

social acceptance. All these challenges will be discussed in detail in the following section.

2.4. Challenges of DCFs

DCFs in their attempt to combine career and family life and to find a satisfactory balance between

these two spheres face more challenges, pressure, and stress than single-career couples, dual-earner

couples or dual-career couples (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). Partners experience work-family

conflicts due to the intersecting nature of both spheres which require nearly the same resources, i.e.

time, energy, involvement, and money. Job requirements must be met, while daily routines are

constrained by this pressure (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992; Hardill & Wheatley, 2010). The number of

roles partners ought to perform increases in comparison to the traditional family model.

Nevertheless, the distribution of roles, tasks, and responsibilities between men and women is still

uneven, what puts additional pressure on women. Nowadays, women have to not only cope with

daily household tasks, but also succeed in developing a career (Rusconi, 2002; Bird & Schnurman-

Crook, 2005; Hardill & Wheatley, 2010). Likewise, social life of both partners is usually put under

pressure with social contacts other than the family being limited due to a lack of time and energy.

Besides, social expectations for DCFs are the same as for a traditional family, although the

resources DCFs possess should be distributed among more roles and tasks than in a traditional

family. The presence of children constitutes an additional important aspect and the source of

pressure and also reward in DCF's life (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009). All these challenges are

discussed in this chapter.

2.4.1. Work-family conflict

The valuable and limited resources, such as person's time, energy, and attention should be

distributed between the most significant spheres of life. However, it is not always possible to

equally allocate resources. As a result, more resources devoted to one domain inevitably leads to

less resources spent on the other. Thus, when striving for a career progression and family happiness,

DCFs experience additional pressure due to the conflicting demands of home and work (Bird &

Schnurman-Crook, 2005). The inter-role conflict caused by simultaneous pressure from these two

domains and their incompatibility in some respect is defined as work-family conflict (Jiang, 2012;

Schütter & Boerner, 2013). Due to the importance of both domains for a person and their

interdependence, the conflict may appear in both directions: the work domain influences the family

14

domain and vice versa (Mäkelä et al., 2012; Schütter & Boerner, 2013). Work-family conflict not

only diminishes job satisfaction, but also impairs the quality of family life (Jiang, 2012).

Work-family conflict can be classified as time-based, strain-based, and behavior-based (Mäkelä et

al., 2012). Time-based conflict appears when time, being a limited resource, should be distributed

between competing life domains. As a result, time spent on one role deprives other roles and tasks

of proper completion (Elloy & Smith, 2003). Among the examples and sources of time-based

conflicts are usually mentioned long working hours (Mäkelä et al., 2012), inflexible work schedule,

young children or other dependents, and large families (Elloy & Smith, 2003). Nevertheless, work-

family conflict appears not only when time spent on participation in one domain interferes with

participation in a competing domain, but also when stress and inability to cope with conflicts in one

domain have a negative impact on performance and behavior in the other domain (Vaiman,

Haslberger & Vance, 2015). This type of conflicts when the strain experienced in one domain is

transferred to the other is called strain-based conflict (Mäkelä et al., 2012). This situation occurs

when problems at home prevent partners from concentrating on work or when aggression in the

family is used as a method to cope with pressure, dissatisfaction or frustration at work. Behavior-

based conflict is defined as “a conflict stemming from incompatible behaviors demanded by

competing roles” (Mäkelä et al., 2012, p. 153). Required behavior in one domain is not always

appropriate in the other (Elloy & Smith, 2003). Furthermore, it is not always possible to distinguish

between two domains or to easily switch between two different behaviors in different roles.

DCFs face work-family conflict due to the necessity to perform different roles, i.e. worker, partner,

and parent, simultaneously (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992). As each role requires time, energy, and

commitment, overload is one of the most obvious and frequently appearing stress factors for DCFs

on their way to find balance between significant life spheres (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1969). Being

committed to their careers, partners in DCFs usually strive to find necessary resources for

household tasks. According to the traditional role distribution in a family, it was the woman's role to

provide a man with domestic support, so that he can fully devote himself to a career. Although in

DCFs both partners need this type of support, none of them is able to be responsible for full-time

household back up (Gross, 1980). Overload occurs when “the total demands on time and energy

associated with the prescribed activities of multiple roles are too great to perform the roles

adequately or comfortably” (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992, p. 393). Overload and expanded work and

15

family responsibilities put additional pressure on a family and serve as stress factors for both

spheres of a person's life.

Although some studies prove that partners in DCFs experience more stress, overload, and work-

family conflict than that of traditional families (Elloy & Smith, 2003), others emphasize the

importance of a positive effect, also called a neglected side effect, which development in one

domain can have on the other (Molino, Ghislieri & Cortese, 2013). While occupying multiple roles

requires prioritizing, constant decision-making, and application of coping strategies, enrichment of

one domain improves significantly the quality of the other (Mäkelä et al., 2012; Molino, Ghislieri &

Cortese, 2013). Work-life balance occurs when the distribution of resources allows managing the

most important spheres in life thoroughly and successfully. Hence, work-life balance may have a

positive influence on job and life satisfaction (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004).

2.4.2. Roles distribution and inequality

Being part of a DCF, partners combine and perform different roles, each of which requires handling

certain responsibilities. Men are no longer solely breadwinners and women are no longer

responsible only for the domestic tasks (Pierce & Delahaye, 1996). Partners in a DCF share both

roles, and need to perform a balancing act of responsibilities. To maintain work-life balance,

partners in a DCF should develop an understanding of the importance of each other’s career.

Appreciation of each other’s aspiration for career means that partners are ready and flexible enough

to support each other during rough times and value each other’s achievements (Fischlmayr, 2011).

Support also implies shared household responsibilities. Involvement of both partners in domestic

tasks and childcare is a prerequisite for a balanced relationship. According to Higgins & Duxbury

(1992), in DCFs women are likely to expect more involvement of men in family labor.

In an ideal world both partners in DCFs are assumed to equally participate in domestic tasks, their

careers should have equal importance, and both partners should have equal votes in decision-

making process. However, it is not always the case. Although both partners pursue a career in a

DCF, one career still may have a priority over the other one. Usually, it is the man whose career is

considered to have a primary importance (Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard, 2005). In this case, the time

a man spends fostering his career is regarded as time spent for the family. As a result, pursuing the

primary career allows the partner to participate less in household activities. Furthermore, the time

16

the partner with the less important career spends at work is considered as less valuable in terms of

contributing to the family. According to Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard (2005, p. 73), although 61.2%

of women are employed, men's careers still tend to have a higher status even if they are not higher

on the organizational hierarchy.

Even if both careers in a DCF are perceived as equally important, it does not necessarily mean that

partners are equally involved in domestic tasks. Despite women's success in education and career,

household and childcare still remain mainly women's responsibilities (Rusconi, 2002; OECD,

2016). According to Haddock et al. (2006), men become more involved in household and childcare

tasks. However, their involvement is usually limited and insufficient, and appears as occasional help

rather than taking over a significant part of responsibilities from a woman. Haddock et al. (2006, p.

210) state that employed mothers still spend three times more hours on childcare duties than fathers

do. According to statistics (OECD, 2016; ILO, 2016), working mothers spend twice as much time

on childcare and housework than fathers. Usually, women are also responsible for caring for ill and

elderly family members (Haddock et al., 2006). To devote more time to a career, women often

spend their earnings on household support to accomplish tasks which they are not able to perform

themselves due to the time pressure and/or which they prefer to have outsourced in order to spend

more time on other priorities. Thus, decisions concerning career development are usually more

dependent upon family stage and commitments for women than for men (Hutchings, Lirio &

Metcalfe, 2012).

Men’s inadequate housework and childcare participation increases pressure on women who would

like to combine career and family. Many women still experience a situation when giving a priority

to one sphere, they encounter stress and significant troubles in the other one (Rusconi, 2002).

Furthermore, enjoying the development of a particular domain, women are usually frustrated by the

inability to devote more time and energy to the other domain (Sekaran, 1986). Lack of support

which usually helps to cope with stress and to find balance between two spheres of life may lead to

significant difficulties in a partnership within a DCF. The perception of equality in a couple may be

attributed to the distribution of domestic tasks and responsibilities. A relationship is considered

equal when both partners have a fair share of household tasks (Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard, 2005).

Lack of sufficient support from one partner lowers the level of happiness in a family, what may lead

to separation and divorces (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009). As Pleck (1985) states, it is not the number

17

of roles which creates stress, work overload, and tension, but absence of sufficient help and support

from both partners. “Dysfunctional coping mechanisms” (Sekaran, 1986, p. 183) are also mentioned

as the primary fundamental reason of the overload and conflicts.

Although both partners may equally participate in household and childcare tasks and both consider

their relationship as egalitarian in labor-division, men are still likely to be more influential in

making decisions regarding family life (Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard, 2005). Previously men usually

exercised more power due to their higher incomes. Nowadays, women's monetary contributions to

the family income become more prominent, with salaries sometimes even exceeding men's

earnings. Since in many families the decision-making process is still organized according to

traditional family’s rules, many women are not satisfied with their role in this process (Bartley,

Blanton & Gilliard, 2005). Hence, only the participation of both partners in domestic tasks and

equality in decision-making processes can help a family to avoid overload, find balance between

career and family, and achieve the desired feeling of happiness.

2.4.3. Identity and normative expectations

To a certain extent many inequalities which partners in a DCF face, e.g. different priorities of

partners' careers, insufficient help in the household sphere, different involvement in decision-

making processes, may be explained by the influence of traditional gender roles. According to the

social-cultural definition, career and family are masculine and feminine respectively (Rapoport &

Rapoport, 1969). Not only thirty years ago were women responsible for housework and childcare,

but also nowadays the belief that it is the woman’s exclusive sphere of duty is strong (Pleck, 1985;

Kollinger-Santer & Fischlmayr, 2013; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020). DCFs are an example of a

deviation from this traditional pattern of behavior. According to Rapoport & Rapoport (1969),

DCFs may have difficulties maintaining their identities as diverse roles which they fulfill may

collide and put additional pressure. Families should not only determine all the roles they combine

and all the responsibilities they attribute to these roles, but also be able to coordinate them in order

to find balance between shared responsibilities.

Although DCFs as a deviation from traditional patterns of behavior appeared a while ago, DCFs

still experience their influence as society expects DCFs to behave in accordance with these gender-

based roles (Rusconi, 2002). The clash between personal or family's norms and social norms makes

18

the maintenance of distinct identities in the professional world, the family, and the partnership even

more complicated (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992). Identity dilemmas appear when contradictions

between previous experiences, social expectations, and current aspirations occur (Rapoport &

Rapoport, 1976). Being unable to find balance between social conceptions and their own

perceptions, partners in DCFs start to question their roles, their abilities, dreams, and principles,

resulting in confusion, tensions, and disharmony within a family. Hall & Hall (1980, p. 254)

describe it as a “conflict of unmet expectations”, formulated as a question “what we think we ought

to be and what we are”. As a result, men may start to doubt their masculinity when they are eager to

be involved in household activities, while women tend to experience guilt not devoting their whole

day to children (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020). There is a necessity to

develop self-conceptions of what does it mean to be a good partner, a good parent, and a good

employee (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976). Otherwise partners in DCFs get confused with the

definition of success, disrupting their self-esteem and making it complicated to plan further

development and goals to achieve (Sekaran, 1986).

Men are expected to devote all their time to the career development and avoid household duties

(Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard, 2005). Therefore, people usually are bewildered to find them taking a

parental leave or staying at home with a sick child in order to give women an opportunity to devote

their time to a career if needed. Such men are forced to fight for their right to spend more time in a

family, e.g. parental leave (Schreyögg, 2013). At the same time, a woman who accepts this situation

may be perceived as an irresponsible mother by friends, relatives or neighbors. As a result, men and

women who are eager to combine career and family may not always find understanding and support

at work as they are considered to be not career-focused due to their family responsibilities

(Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012; Evertsson, 2016).

Rapoport & Rapoport (1976) state that the DCFs' deviation from traditional patterns of behavior

becomes most evident at critical points in the family life cycle or career life cycle, when an absence

of understanding, respect, and support from family members and colleagues is the most crucial for

maintaining a work-family balance. Besides, many DCFs are forced to reduce their time spent on

social contacts and interactions with friends and relatives due to time pressure. This phenomenon is

also known as network dilemmas (Sekaran, 1986). As a result, society puts additional pressure as

dual-career partners are not able to meet its expectations (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992). Partners in

19

DCFs are forced to resist this traditional conception and endure such attitudes as lack of

understanding, distrust, disrespect, discouragement, and mockeries. DCFs have to live with social

disapproval each time their behavior deviates from conventional social norms. However, gender

roles are changing and transforming, so it should be admitted that traditional norms cannot be the

only source to determine the appropriate behavior (Pleck, 1985; Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009).

2.4.4. The importance of children

Children and parenthood are other significant challenges for DCFs on their way to find a work-

family balance (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016). The decision whether to have children and when

is very complicated for a DCF due to the complexity, additional responsibilities, and pressure from

a greater need to coordinate work and family roles which parenthood implies (Budworth, Enns &

Rowbotham, 2008). This choice is a part of a role-cycling dilemma which implies making

“decisions about various issues that arise at different stages of life” (Sekaran, 1986, p. 8). Children

make the interdependence between partners more prominent. As a result, each couple determines its

own way of career and family ordering which depends on a variety of factors, including couple's

life goals, stages of partners' careers, personal aspirations, economic circumstances, and many

others.

According to Ezzedeen & Ritchey (2009), the decision whether to have children depends strongly

on the position of a woman because it is usually a woman who has to sacrifice her career or

postpone its development for a certain period of time. There are three main possibilities for women

to align family and career. First, women may choose to gain experience and achieve satisfying

results with a career to be more confident, economically secured, and make it more complicated for

a company to find a replacement, thus securing a possibility to come back to work without

significant difficulties. Second, women may have children first in order to be able to devote all their

time to them, and build a career later when children are older and do not require constant care.

Third, there is an opportunity to have both simultaneously, i.e. develop a career slower than without

a child, but steadily. In this case women may resort to such measures as part-time work, running

one's own business, flexible working hours or change of an industry.

No matter what is the timing, for a career progression it is highly important not to take parental

leave for too long, i.e. an employee should keep up with all the most significant developments

20

which take place in a company, have an up-to-date information, and be involved in important

decisions (Kollinger-Santer & Fischlmayr, 2013). The longer the parental leave women take, the

more prominent negative influence it has on wages (Evertsson, 2016). Furthermore, fathers who

take parental leave to care for small children tend to experience wage punishment regardless of the

duration of a parental leave. It refers to the perception of organizations that men with care-giving

duties may be less committed to work, are not ready to work overtime and “invest heavily in their

job” (Evertsson, 2016, p.37). As a result, they are assumed to be less stable and reliable employees

than men without children or women with or without children.

Although many women in DCFs suffer from a feeling of guilt caused by the perceived insufficient

time spent with children, there are many positive consequences of an employed mother for a child, a

mother, and for a family as a whole (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976; Sekaran, 1986). Women report

that they try to have quality time with their children, implying total presence, involvement in child’s

life, and planning many extra activities (Sekaran, 1986). It is assumed that well-educated and

career-oriented mothers can provide their children with more competent assistance during school

and university years than mothers who stay at home taking care of the children (Schreyögg, 2013).

As far as soft skills are concerned, these children tend to grow more independent, well-adjusted, and

at least as satisfied as children in traditional families as their mothers are happier due to self-

realization at work (Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976).

On the whole, DCFs suffer more from stress and tension than traditional families due to constant

changes they experience. As the number of people involved in their life and daily activities, and the

number of roles they have to juggle increases, they become less able to control and coordinate them

efficiently (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009). As a result, the relatively high level of uncertainty and

unpredictability, accompanied by conflicts between important roles, overload, and excessive role

demands may lead to additional stress, dissatisfaction, and frustration (Haddock et al., 2006).

Furthermore, insufficiency of childcare facilities and inflexible work conditions, e.g. inability to

take unpaid leave easily and inflexible working hours, may contribute to the challenges of DCFs

(Rapoport & Rapoport, 1976). In order to cope with stress, prioritizing and developing awareness of

potential stress triggers and challenging issues should build the base for a decision-making process

in a family (Ullrich, Pluut & Büttgen, 2015). Fair division of labor, interpersonal communication,

adequate external support, quality time spent on restful and satisfying hobbies, and other activities

21

enable DCFs to succeed on their way to work-family balance, satisfaction, and happiness (Rapoport

& Rapoport, 1976; Hall & Hall, 1980).

2.5. Career development and family issues affecting companies

Pursuing a career inevitably implies longer hours spent at work, a possibility of business trips and

relocation, an absence of distracting from work factors, and concentration. Due to the

interdependence of partners in a DCF, decisions made by one of them will inevitably have an

influence on the other (Budworth, Enns & Rowbotham, 2008). As a result, the decision-making

process becomes more complex as families do not only need to coordinate their household duties

and childcare, but also two careers, which may impose conflicting requirements. There is a certain

level of flexibility required for a family in order to be able to adapt to changes in one or both

careers, e.g. to accommodate one partner's promotion the second partner changes the availability to

work and to care for the children (Budworth, Enns & Rowbotham, 2008).

According to Pierce & Delahaye (1996), at the beginning the researchers analyzed the phenomenon

of DCFs from the DCF's perspective. Organizations did not consider DCFs as a human resource

management issue and completely ignored this phenomenon for a long time (Rapoport & Rapoport,

1976). Focusing on the family side of the DCF's life, it was expected that families should make

adjustments in order to accommodate new requirements imposed by a DCF lifestyle, not the

organization (Pierce & Delahaye, 1996). Many organizations were not enthusiastic about embracing

these changes as they required development of new practices which aim was to assist DCFs to

better manage their family responsibilities without detriment to job performance. However, more

and more employees were interested in combining both, a career and family life.

Nowadays, mutual dependence between organizations and individuals makes it impossible to ignore

DCFs' issues as they affect HRM practices (Larsen, 2004; Vaiman, Haslberger & Vance, 2015). An

increasing number of women in the workforce, their involvement in a broad spectrum of industries

at all levels of management, along with their desire to have family and children is one of the reasons

why organizations should consider undertaking significant structural changes (Ezzedeen & Ritchey,

2009; Tzeng, 2006). Sekaran (1986) mentions the changing attitude towards work, organizational

loyalty, upward mobility, definitions of career and success as crucial motivational factors for

organizational changes. In other words, companies encounter different employees who are not eager

22

to give up their family and social life for a career. Furthermore, they may focus on achieving a

work-life balance and try to avoid decisions which can make their families suffer, even a

promotion. Nowadays, employees would like to stay physically and mentally healthy and fit in

order to achieve self-fulfillment and success in both work and non-work activities.

DCF-related issues gain significant importance due to an interdependence of roles partners exercise,

which implies that partners in DCFs, known as being inclined to stress and overload, inevitably

transmit tension and dissatisfaction from one domain to the other (Higgins & Duxbury, 1992). As a

result, conflicts at home in DCFs may influence their productivity and their performance at work

which tend to result in “members’ lost time at work…, turnover of personnel..., and the more

intangible adverse consequences of professionals’ psychological alienation from work” for a

company (Sekaran, 1986, p. 89). Nevertheless, satisfaction, happiness, a feeling of self-efficacy and

self-esteem, and confidence, developed in one domain, also influence the other. Thus, companies

which are interested in highly educated, qualified, and loyal employees need to create and develop

policies which will enable their employees to successfully balance work and family. These policies

are usually called family-friendly and serve to support women and men as caretakers (Haddock et

al., 2006). Organizational support will be discussed in detail in the fourth part of the thesis.

Family-supportive workplace initiatives may not solve all the problems partners in DCFs encounter

on their way to find balance between different spheres of life. Nevertheless, there is a consensus of

opinions among academic researchers that the absence of this organizational help in a company and

outdated organizational policies based on conception of separated worlds of work and family will

force employees to opt for other companies which offer family-friendly alternatives (Higgins &

Duxbury, 1992; Haddock et al., 2006; Jiang, 2012). Schreyögg (2013) emphasizes that DCF-

specific issues should not be considered as private problems of particular employees, but as core

issues of career guidance. Promoted culture of an open communication within a company is

assumed to encourage cooperation between employees and management. The prospect of losing

talented employees due to the lack of attention to DCFs should warn organizations against

underestimating the influence of DCF-specific issues on HRM policies.

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3. International relocation of dual-career families

This section familiarizes with relocation or employee mobility as one of the most significant IHRM

practices. The chapter starts with definitions of the most important terms associated with relocation,

continues with potential problems of employees’ transfers, and concludes by mentioning factors

which affect the decision-making process concerning relocation.

3.1. Statistics and recent trends

The aspiration of employees to pursue a career and progress up the career ladder implies their

understanding that relocation, or “a job transfer that requires a change of location” (Ullrich, Pluut &

Büttgen, 2015, p.1) is usually inevitable for a career development as careers become more

boundless and involve high level of flexibility and mobility (Hardill & Wheatley, 2010).

International relocation gains importance over domestic due to globalization and growing

interdependence between countries, and represents a broad term which includes a range of

organizational practices and processes to transfer employees, and in many cases their families

across borders. According to the surveys' results which are presented in Table 1, the majority of the

companies involved in international operations between 2012 and 2019 had less than 100 assignees.

The Global mobility trends survey (Brookfield GRS, 2015, p. 23) reports that in 2014 45% of the

organizations pointed out an increase in the number of international assignees. Some companies

which are under the pressure of cutting costs consider reducing the number of international

assignments or resorting to alternative to long-term international assignments in the future

(Brookfield GRS, 2016, p. 13).

There are five most popular and common approaches of how global staffing can be organized:

(1) long-term expatriate assignments,

(2) frequent flyer assignments,

(3) short-term international assignments,

(4) commuter assignments,

(5) and global virtual teams (Caligiuri & Bonache, 2016; KPMG International, 2020).

24

Expatriate Population

InternationalMobility and DualCareer Survey of

InternationalEmployers (PermitsFoundation), 2012

Global AssignmentPolicies and PracticesSurvey (KPMG), 2019

Global MobilityTrends Survey

(Brookfield GRS),2016

Less than 100 assignees

40% of the organizations



Between 100 and 1000 assignees




More than 1000 assignees


5% of the organizations N/a

Table 1. Percentage of responding companies by total expatriate population (own illustration based

on Permits Foundation, 2012, p. 5; Brookfield GRS, 2016, p. 4; KPMG International, 2019, p. 14).

The long-term international assignment is the most conventional and widespread form of the

international mobility among organizations. At least 97% of companies state that they employ this

type of assignments (Brookfield GRS, 2015, p. 41; KPMG International, 2020, p. 8), whereas four

other types are considered as alternative forms (Collings, Scullion & Morley, 2007). Based on the

predominance of this type, this chapter focuses on expatriate assignments. According to Riusala &

Suutari (2000, p. 81), long-term expatriate assignments are “cross-border assignments that last a

significant period of time”.

Traditionally, an expatriate, an expatriate manager or an assignee was a person who was sent by a

company to live and work full-time in a foreign country for a fixed period and who had several

objectives to achieve. Nowadays, an expatriate can not only be a company-assigned expatriate

(CAE), but also a self-initiated expatriate (SIE). Farndale, Pai, Sparrow & Scullion (2014, p. 205)

define SIEs as “individuals who relocate voluntarily to a foreign country, without assistance, and

are hired under a local, host-country contract” and “activists who take control of their own careers

in a highly proactive manner and operate with a high degree of personal agency”. Although both

CAEs and SIEs consider expatriation as a significant tool of a career development, SIEs may

relocate for a broader set of reasons. SIEs have higher organizational mobility, thus a high potential

to fill positions all over the world (Farndale et al., 2014; Tharenou, 2013). Furthermore, SIEs are

less expensive than traditional CAEs for companies as SIEs usually cover all the expenses related to

25

the relocation and expatriation themselves (Ceric & Crawford, 2016; Farndale et al., 2014). Long-

term expatriate assignments of CAEs last for more than one year (Brookfield GRS, 2015), however

usually not longer than five years (KPMG International, 2020). Although SIEs also stay in a foreign

country temporarily, they determine the duration of the expatiation themselves (Ceric & Crawford,

2016). SIEs constitute “an alternative pool of human capital” (Ceric & Crawford, 2016, p. 136),

which is under-represented in the research literature at the moment. Although they receive limited

support from organizations (Chen & Shaffer, 2017; Farndale et al., 2014), their role in global talent

management is underestimated by organizations (Vaiman, Haslberger & Vance, 2015). Thus, this

thesis focuses mostly on traditional corporate expatriates, but SIEs are also included.

Companies resort to expatriation assignments to achieve several goals. First of all, expatriate

managers are able to control and coordinate foreign operations during these foreign assignments

(Collings et al., 2011). Secondly, they provide integration and coordination between subsidiaries,

and maintain trust and the consistence of company’s practices and policies. Furthermore, fostering

the transfer of organizational capabilities between units, expatriate managers create an effective

communication between foreign and home offices. Expatriates are valuable resources of a company,

especially during its growth phase, when they become a significant instrument of knowledge

sharing and transfer (Davoine et al., 2013). Therefore, companies develop internationally competent

managers, who are able to accomplish strategically important organizational tasks on the global

arena, fostering organizational growth, innovation, and flexibility (Farndale et al., 2014; Vaiman,

Haslberger & Vance, 2015).

The reasons why employees are interested in accepting and undertaking expatriate assignments are

also diverse. International assignments offer an opportunity for personal and professional

development which can lead to the most common and widespread goal - career progression

(Dickmann et al., 2008; Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013). Social capital which is crucial

for an upward mobility within a company can be formed and increased by means of networking in

foreign countries during assignments (Dickmann at el., 2008). International assignments can also be

interesting due to financial incentives which companies offer during expatriation and after as

repatriation packages. Salary was mentioned by 71% of respondents in the study conducted by

Warneke and Schneider (2011, p. 245) as one of the five most important and relevant factors for a

relocation decision, followed by “the reintegration guarantee (58%), the support for the

26

accompanying spouse (60%), the schooling for accompanying children (41%), and the location

bonus (32%)”.

Not only career prospects can be appealing for employees, but the job on offer itself, i.e. its

complexity, attractive and challenging nature (Stahl, Miller & Tung, 2002). Furthermore,

international assignments are a perfect way to gain new experiences and acquire skills, which are

difficult or impossible to obtain at home (Dickmann et al., 2008). Language and intercultural skills

are usually first and most desirable competences. Personal characteristics of potential expatriates,

such as cultural openness, positive attitude towards other cultures and cultural diversity, employee’

propensity for travel, mobility, and adventure also play an important role (Festing, Dowling, Weber

& Engle, 2011; Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013). As far as external influential factors are

concerned, a host country of an assignment is of decisive importance as well (Dickmann et al.,

2008). Festing et al. (2011) state that an attractive location, stable political situation, significant

level of economic development, and sufficient cultural supply of leisure activities is able to

influence the decision of an employee to relocate.

In case spouses or partners of expatriates follow and accompany them on their assignments and

relocate, they become trailing spouses or partners (Harvey, 1995). According to the Global

relocation trends survey (Brookfield GRS, 2016, p.50), in 2016 the majority of international

assignees (68%) were married or had a significant partner of the same or opposite sex. 80% of

international assignees with spouses or partners go on assignments accompanied by their spouses

and partners (Brookfield GRS, 2015, p.34). In 1982, women comprised only 3% of the expatriate

population of the American and Canadian firms which took part in a study (Festing et al., 2011, p.

273). Although the number of female assignees has been increasing since then and doubled during

the last 20 years, it is still relatively moderate and makes up 29% of all assignees (NetExpat & EY,

2018, p.7). Other sources estimate the number to be closer to 13% (Varma & Russell, 2016, p. 201).

As a result, women remain under-represented among expatriates like it was twenty years ago

despite of active educational, professional, and managerial participation (Hutchings, Lirio &

Metcalfe, 2012; Varma & Russell, 2016), and are more likely to subordinate, put family’s interests

first (Tharenou, 2008), and thus, become a trailing spouse “with ‘follower’/secondary career”,

accompanying an expatriate manager (Hardill & Wheatley, 2010, p. 256).

27

3.2. Potential problems during expatriate assignments

Nowadays, the labor force market is changing due to the increased women's participation, the

growing presence of dual-career families, and growing importance of the life balance. As a result,

couples begin to pay special attention to family, spouse, and work-life balance issues while thinking

over career-related decisions (Meyskens, von Glinow, Werther & Clarke, 2009). The pursuit of an

international career is not an exception. International assignments and relocation, being part of an

international career, become strongly dependable on the family issues' influence (Davoine et al.,

2013). The pursuit of two careers within a family puts additional pressure as long as the family

should satisfy not only the household and children-related issues, but also the requirements of two

careers. This interdependence requires a significant level of flexibility, which may not always be

achieved and exercised during an international assignment. Furthermore, the relocation of children,

their adaptation in a new country, childcare and educational prospects of a host location composes

other important topic for consideration for potential expatriates in DCFs. As a result, DCFs are

usually reluctant to accept international assignments and relocate or are not able to successfully

accomplish their work during an international assignment (van der Velde, Bossink & Jansen, 2005).

Although family issues were always among the most frequently mentioned reasons for an

assignment refusal, the spouse/partner’s career makes the situation even more complicated (Harvey

& Buckley, 1998; Challiol & Mignonac, 2005; Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012; Kollinger-Santer

& Fischlmayr, 2013). In case spouses disapprove of their desire to take an assignment, potential

assignee tend to avoid relocation (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004; Tharenou,

2008; NetExpat & EY, 2018). Among DCFs’ issues which affect the willingness to relocate are

mentioned extended adjustment cycle for DCFs, disruption and/or discontinuance of income,

discontinuous trailing spouse’s career, heightened dysfunctional family consequences, and

repatriation, re-engagement issues associated with the trailing spouse (Harvey & Buckley, 1998;

Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011).

When a candidate for an international assignment is properly and thoroughly selected, agreed to

relocate, and moved abroad to fulfill organizational objectives, the possibility of an assignment

failure occurs as one of the most significant HRM challenges during the assignment (Harvey, 1995).

Assignment failure is defined as premature return from an expatriate assignment, accompanied by

poor job performance and insufficient adjustment (Harzing & Christensen, 2004). Expatriates can

28

initiate a return before the expiry of a contract themselves or can be recalled by an organization.

According to the Global mobility trends survey (Brookfield GRS, 2015, p. 58), organizations report

that each year approximately 5% of all international assignments end up failing. Assignment failure

is the opposite of a successful assignment. The assignee's presence at the host location until the end

of a contract, effective adjustment to the living conditions in a host county, and solid performance

differentiate a successful assignment from a failed one (Davoine et al., 2013). Assignment failure

implies that expatiates are not able to perform according to the requirements and expectation of an

organization, whereas successful completion occurs when an expatriate achieves company’s goals

set for an assignment.

Among the most significant reasons of assignment failures researchers mention organizational

issues (Harvey, 1995), adjustment problems of assignees and their accompanying families

(Haslberger & Brewster, 2008; Davoine et al., 2013), strong connection to the host location (Bielby

& Bielby, 1992), family and DCFs issues (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Eby et al., 2002; Mäkelä,

Känsälä & Suutari, 2011; Brookfield GRS, 2016; NetExpat & EY, 2018). Organizational issues

may have a negative influence at any stage of the expatiation process. Lack of training, such as

proper cross-cultural coaching or language courses affects the preparation phases. Furthermore,

selection criteria of potential assignees for an assignment may be inadequate (Harvey, 1995). In

addition, inappropriate compensation programs, poor planning, unprofessional leadership, and a

complicated and challenging international professional environment can have a detrimental impact

on expatriates (Harvey, 1995; Schütter & Boerner, 2013).

Adjustment or adaptation occurs when something new happens. Haslberger & Brewster (2008, p.

326) define adjustment as “the process and result of change induced in individuals by the move into

an unfamiliar cultural environment”, whereas Davoine et al. (2013) describe adjustment as a

subjective individual’s perception of the degree of comfort, well-being, familiarity, and ease with

peculiarities and circumstances of a new cultural environment. Black (1988, as cited in Bhatti,

Battour & Ismail, 2013, p. 697) indicates the following three types of adjustment: work, general,

and interaction adjustment, whereas Navas et al. (2007, as cited in Haslberger & Brewster, 2008, p.

327) point out the following six components important for an adjustment: politics and government,

work, economic, family relations, social relations, and ideology. Comfort or discomfort,

experienced with these six domains during relocation, i.e. successful or unsuccessful adaptation, is

29

claimed to have a significant and considerable influence on assignees’ satisfaction and job

performance, thus on expatriation success (Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013; Davoine et al., 2013).

Cultural differences between home and host country also require adjustment. Not only local norms,

customs, and traditions influence the day-to-day activities, but also the professional environment

(Schütter & Boerner, 2013). The relevance and appropriateness of many attitudes, practices, and

behaviors, to which an expatriate was accustomed before relocation, are questioned (Varma &

Russell, 2016). Furthermore, the adjustment process of an accompanying family can present a

challenge and a stressor for an assignee (Schütter & Boerner, 2013). Difficult adaptation induces

additional tension, whereas successful family adjustment supports expatriates’ comfort and enables

them to focus on professional performance (Haslberger & Brewster, 2008). Family adjustment

occurs when family’s capabilities, i.e. resources and coping behaviors, allow a family to handle and

balance demands and uncertainties which a family faces on a daily basis (Haslberger & Brewster,

2008; Tharenou, 2008).

Family and DCF-related issues are proved to have a significant influence on the happiness of

assignees and results of international assignments (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Linehan & Scullion,

2001; Meyskens et al., 2009; Davoine et al., 2013). Spouses and families may experience tension

and stress during an assignment due to the lack of local language skills, unstable political situation,

health concerns, and dissatisfaction with local infrastructure (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011).

Families are usually tied up to their home locations due to resources invested in organization and

maintenance of a non-work domain (Bielby & Bielby, 1992). As life of a DCF may be chaotic,

arrangements in a home country concerning schools, childcare facilities, transportation, and

entertainment allow to create balance. Significant level of comfort at home location is assumed to

make relocation more unattractive, complicating the adjustment process. Furthermore, settlement of

these issues requires significant compensation, which cannot always be properly estimated before

the beginning of an assignment (Bielby & Bielby, 1992). According to the Global assignment

policies and practices survey (KPMG International, 2015, p. 14), 58% of companies report that

spouses in DCFs are less likely to volunteer for an international relocation, whereas 34% estimate

that DCFs’ issues enlarge the probability of an assignment failure. Respondents of the Global

relocation trends survey (Brookfield, 2016, p. 63) point out that family-related issues are the most

frequently mentioned reasons of assignment failures (33%), accompanied by inability to adapt to a

30

host location (18%), and followed by compensation-related dissatisfaction (7%) and quality of life

(5%).

For companies, assignment failures imply lost potential and financial expenses. Each premature

return entails direct and indirect costs. Assignees’ salary, costs of preparation, e.g. cross-cultural

training, language training, look-and-see trips to the host country, relocation and repatriation

expenses are the most substantial direct costs (Festing et al., 2011). As the expenses concerning

preparation and relocation of a follower are dependent on the location and availability of potential

expatriates, and are difficult to define, these expenses are considered to be indirect. Furthermore,

such consequences as lost market share, deprivation of a key contact between an organization, its

subsidiary in a host country, customers, and host government authorities or shaking morale and

productivity of employees in a host country are very considerable for a company, implying

significant indirect costs (Festing et al., 2011).

In order to avoid assignment refusals and failures, companies may offer extended support for their

potential assignees. According to the research conducted by Lee and Kartika (2014, p. 5491),

“MNCs which provide higher organizational support tend to moderate the speed and magnitude of

adjustment and performance in the host country”. Due to the growing importance of DCFs’ issues

and family’s influence on the whole expatriation process and its success companies are compelled

to provide sufficient support not only for assignees, but also for their accompanying spouses and

children (Davoine et al., 2013). In some cases, potential expatriates are not ready to dwell upon

relocation at all when employment support is not offered for an accompanying spouse (Eby et al.,

2002). Thus, the tendency of many employees of both sexes to shift priorities from solely career-

centric to family values and work-life balance influences the decision-making process (Pierce &

Delahaye, 1996; Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013), fostering organizations to consider

interests not only of potential candidates for international assignments, but also of their families

(Tharenou, 2008; Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013).

SIEs experience additional challenges since they and their families need to provide for relocation on

their own. SIEs are not only ready to work according to the local market conditions, but also receive

little or no support from the employer for the relocation (Collings, Scullion & Morley, 2007).

Usually there is no expatriate compensation packages. Although SIEs tend to have initial interest in

31

a host country and to be intrinsically highly motivated to relocate to a particular country, an absence

of preparation in the form of language courses and cultural training before the relocation may

complicate the adjustment in a host country (Bjerregaard, 2014; Tharenou, 2013). SIEs and their

families are expected to accomplish routine tasks without assistance, e.g. housing and taxes, what

“add to uncertainty and the risk of failure” (Hussain & Deery, 2018, p. 282). Furthermore,

institutional obstacles become more prominent and challenging as SIEs familiarize themselves with

public and private institutions by themselves (Bjerregaard, 2014). SIEs may face more challenging

or long-lasting procedure to obtain a work permit (Chen & Shaffer, 2017). Visas and work permits

for accompanying spouses may be more difficult to receive in some countries in comparison to the

spouses of CAEs. Furthermore, SIEs might be confronted with structural barriers in private

institutions, i.e. banks, the market for real estate, and insurance companies (Chen & Shaffer, 2017).

As a result, significance of networks become more prominent as SIEs do not receive support from

an organization and should find other sources of support (Bjerregaard, 2014). Host country

nationals may provide SIEs with emotional, informational, and instrumental support required to

adapt in the host country (Vaiman, Haslberger & Vance, 2015). Due to the absence of

organizational support spousal support of SIEs may become more prominent and important as they

are “putting extra effort into learning to navigate and instigate the public systems to further the

family’s international life and work experiences” (Bjerregaard, 2014, p. 910).

After the relocation SIEs go through adaptation not only to a host country, but also to a new

organization. As SIEs were not familiar with a particular organizational environment, this may

imply several challenges for them. Initially, this may lead to a more challenging adjustment which

requires significant time and effort (Hussain & Deery, 2018). Furthermore, not all of the goals

which companies pursue while expatriating managers may be achieved by hiring a SIE (Tharenou,

2013). The application of SIEs in international companies is limited. As SIEs experience lack of

firm-specific knowledge and have small or no international networks within an organization, they

cannot be responsible for the transfer of organizational culture from the headquarters to the

subsidiaries. Besides, they are “unsuitable alternative to CAEs for roles involving control and

coordination; transfer; and running a foreign operation, especially at start-up… as they increase

agency and transaction costs” (Tharenou, 2013, p. 346). Besides, studies show that SIEs are more

mobile and less attached to an organization than CAEs (Chen & Shaffer, 2017; Hussain & Deery,

2018). Less emotional and financial support from an organization may lead to lower job satisfaction

32

of SIEs and, as a result, “generate negative individual and organizational outcomes, including

turnover” (Vaiman, Haslberger & Vance, 2015, p. 284). Being aware of these peculiarities and of

the addition efforts companies should make in order to develop “SIEs loyalty, understanding of an

organizational culture” (Vaiman, Haslberger & Vance, 2015, p. 283) and to retain them,

organizations may be more reluctance to hire SIEs. Not only may it be complicated to find an

employment for SIEs and their spouses in a host country as they participate in a international

competition for positions, but also SIEs may find jobs at a lower level than their skills. This may

happen due to different administrative and institutional barriers, e.g. recognition of diplomas and

professional experience, language barriers, discrimination, and stereotyping. Besides, SIEs’

qualifications tend to be lower in uniqueness (Tharenou, 2013). All these issues make the relocation

of SIEs and their families more challenging than for CAEs, and should be considered by SIEs and

organizations.

3.3. The role of the trailing spouse

The following chapter is devoted to the role of a trailing spouse. Challenges and benefits for a

trailing spouse are presented. Furthermore, differences between male and female expatriates and

their trailing spouses are discussed.

3.3.1 Challenges for trailing spouses

Relocation to a host country implies not only changes in a life of an assignee, but also leads to

significant changes for a family. There are several challenges, which any trailing spouse regardless

of absence or presence of a career in a home country encounters, i.e. psychological and social

adaptation to a new cultural, economic, and political environment or absence of social support from

family and friends. However, there are some particular challenges which trailing spouses in DCFs

face due to their career pursuit. Although the relocation stress for those spouses who are in DCFs is

higher (Caligiuri, Hyland & Joshi, 1998), researchers empathize that trailing spouses are in a less

favorable situation compared to assignees due to minimally available support from a company and a

less structured environment they are forced to operate in (Harvey & Buckley, 1998; Selmer &

Leung, 2002; Haslberger & Brewster, 2008).

33

3.3.1.1 Career prospects and discontinuance

As long as both spouses in a DCF consider their careers to be one of the most important life goals, it

is assumed that with a long-term perspective in mind regarding their career development they

always thoroughly choose a particular place to work for a certain period. Therefore, when a

relocation assignment is offered to one spouse, it cannot be automatically anticipated that the

second spouse will be at a stage when she or he is ready to finish the work with a current employer

and move on to the next job. Some career-oriented persons prefer not to change or change as

seldom as possible the workplace over the course of a lifetime (Osipow, 2012). Others consider a

change to be an essential part of skills and capabilities development and choose to change when

opportunities appear. However, the latter also does not necessarily mean that a person will find the

moment when an international assignment is offered to a spouse the perfect moment to change his

or her workplace. As a result, many trailing spouses tend to find it difficult to withdraw from a

present domestic job (Riusala & Suutari, 2000).

Once a trailing spouse leaves a workplace in a home country, the question of finding a job in a host

location arises. According to a survey conducted by Riusala & Suutari (2000, p. 86), 67% of the

assignees' partners were employed prior to the assignment, but only 20% of them are able to

continue their career abroad. According to the surveys of expatriate spouses and partners (Permits

Foundation, 2009, p. 6; NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 11), almost 90% of expatriates' partners and

spouses are employed before assignments. However, only 35% can continue their careers in host

countries during expatriation (Permits Foundation, 2009, p. 6). The research, conducted by

Silberbauer (2016, p. 104) among the expatriates of an Austrian company in the oil & gas industry

and their partners, shows that only 12.5% of trailing spouses were able to find employment in the

host location. Furthermore, as Eby et al. (2002) state assignees' partners and spouses who decide to

relocate and become trailing spouses tend to find less satisfying jobs in the host location which offer

lower pay, fewer benefits, and less opportunities for development, personal growth, and promotion.

The first obstacle on the trailing spouse’s way to a job usually becomes a work permit (Permits

Foundation, 2009; Lauring & Selmer, 2010). Many countries have strict regulations concerning the

possibility of foreigners to work. Expatriates are provided with a work permit by the company.

However, spouses may not be automatically allowed to work in this case. According to many host

countries' regulations a spouse is required to have a job offer with a specific employer in order to

34

apply for a work permit, which is also considered as one of the key obstacles to spouse’s

employment (Permits Foundation, 2012). Among the most common reasons are mentioned

requirements for local language proficiency, unrecognized educational or professional credentials,

and lack of available positions (Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004; Lauring &

Selmer, 2010; Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). Riusala & Suutari (2000) state that although

obtainment of a work permit may be a significant obstacle for the continuation of a career in the

host country, being a foreigner makes it difficult to get an employment, even if there are no official

impediments. Some locals may be uncomfortable with foreign employees and have prejudices

against them (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). Minimal interactions with foreigners, lack of

information, and cross-cultural incompetence may lead to stereotyping by locals and foreigners

might be perceived as threats to the rights of locals forcing foreigners to experience isolation and

exclusion and to suffer from unfair treatment.

Usually spouses of assignees are anticipated to provide spousal support and flexibility which

expatriates need adapting in a new country to a new working environment. This flexibility may

imply that trailing spouses do not look for a job in a host location and stay at home to support

expatiate managers during the assignment (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). In the case an

accompanying spouse is not able to find employment, the question of finding a substitution arises

subsequently in order to offset the negative impact of a long absence from the job market, which

may include voluntary work and continuation of education (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). Last

but not least, the loss of a spouse's income in the case of a relocation and inability to find an

employment may result in the insecure financial state of a family (Harvey, 1995; Caligiuri &

Lazarova, 2004).

Although the spouse's flexible role, regardless of its voluntary or induced nature, may be presented

as having a positive influence on a family during an assignment, it usually endangers the career

prospects of a spouse (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004). Many expatriates and their spouses consider

staying at home as a sacrifice which put the future career of a spouse at risk (Mäkelä, Känsälä &

Suutari, 2011). Nowadays, the environment of professional careers is dynamic and developing

rapidly. A break of a few years in a career and a withdrawal from the professional setting entail

several disadvantages, i.e. an absence of experience for this period, lost qualification, skills’

35

depreciation, and limited professional network and contacts. Thus, it may negatively influence the

career, resulting in lower wages and slower career progression (Evertsson & Grunow, 2012).

As a result, the return to the professional environment and the job arrangements after repatriation

may be very challenging (Riusala & Suutari, 2000). Furthermore, many employers expect a

potential employee to have a reasonable excuse and an explanation for any break in an employment,

whereas family issues are not always considered by organizations as significant. Especially

dangerous are the career interruptions for women as they may be considered as signaling the

absence of the necessary work commitment (Evertsson & Grunow, 2012). In the case trailing

spouses are able and lucky to find an interesting and suitable employment or an attractive

professional substitution in a host country, they tend to have a positive attitude towards relocation,

support the assignees with their desire to relocate, and better adjust to a new environment (Challiol

& Mignonac, 2005).

3.3.1.2 Social identity and networks

Relocation inevitably implies that a trailing spouse is not be able to maintain the most significant

social contacts with people in a home country on the same level. Besides, building social contacts in

a host location requires time, energy, local language skills, and is not an easy goal to achieve due to

cultural differences. Inability to get engaged in productive professional activities outside home

creates tension (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004). As a result, opportunities for social support are

limited and one of the most significant sources of social and professional identity is lost (Caligiuri

& Lazarova, 2004; Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011). Trailing spouses usually have to face their

problems concerning health care, transportation, children-related issues, and language all by

themselves. Besides, according to Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari (2011), the absence of a network

makes the situation of an employment search even more complicated.

Not only the absence of employment and its continuity can be damaging for the career of a trailing

spouse, but also loss of one of the main sources of social and professional identity may negatively

influence the moral and physiological state of a trailing spouse (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004).

Spouses of potential assignees are also committed to their careers, thus experience career-separation

stress due to a disruption in the professional progress and pressure of subjugating their careers to

that of their spouses (Harvey & Buckley, 1998). Trailing spouses' well-being, adjustment,

36

relationships with family, and health also depend on their employment (Permits Foundation, 2012).

As a result, trailing spouses may experience such feelings as low self-esteem, anxiety, loneliness,

guilt, and anger (Davoine et al., 2013). Being overwhelmed and occupied with issues which need to

be rearranged at the beginning of a relocation, they may become frustrated, bored, and depressed

after they settle down (Haslberger & Brewster, 2008). Trailing spouses tend to feel lonely, socially

isolated, underestimated, and not valued (Rosenbusch, Cerny II & Earnest, 2015). Therefore, there

is a possibility of additional stress and significant tension in a relationship of a couple (Harvey,

1995). According to Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari (2011, p.191), “the sacrifice the partner has made

for the career of the other person then becomes a challenge” and the risk of divorce has a potential

to increase under these circumstances. Some studies (Rosenbusch, Cerny II & Earnest, 2015) even

suggest that divorce rates of couples on international assignments are higher than among domestic

couples.

3.3.2 Benefits for trailing spouses

Although there are several significant challenges which trailing spouses encounter during

relocation, many opportunities and prospects do also become available, from which trailing spouses

can benefit and which may allow global assignees and their spouses to achieve work-life balance.

In case a trailing spouse is able to continue her or his career in a host location, regardless of an

absence or presence of an outside assistance, opportunities for professional development emerge. A

broader perspective, which people with international experiences usually have, may help to develop

an alternative approach to many business situations. Besides, international experience gives an

insight into cultural, economic, and political peculiarities of a country of residence which serves as

an advantage while helping host and home countries and companies to maintain and develop

business and economic relationship. Not only people become more aware of global economic and

political issues, but also learn to better understand their own cultural values. International

experience fosters improvements of soft skills, i.e. self-confidence, flexibility, adaptability,

creativity, and open-mindedness. As a result, international experience and all these enhancements

provide a person with a distinctive advantage in a professional marketplace.

The absence of an employment in a host country is assumed to bring many opportunities for

personal enrichment (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004). According to Caligiuri & Lazarova (2004, p.

37

131), the following options are at a trailing spouse's disposal for personal development during

relocation:

• become fluent in the host national language,

• develop profound understanding of the host culture,

• pursue hobbies or professional interests,

• develop friendship,

• participate in charity work.

An international assignment implies several years spent in a host country. Available time may be

allocated to learning a foreign language, the language of a host country in the first place as the

environment allows uninterrupted language practice which is highly important during the language

learning process. The absence of employment is not an obstacle to acquiring local culture

awareness. On the contrary, daily non-work routines in a new unfamiliar cultural environment tend

to provide fruitful opportunities for the development of the cross-cultural communication skills.

Besides, after many years spent on career development, some time spent on hobbies and acquiring

new friends may help to achieve life balance. Furthermore, new friends may become a part of a

network for future personal and career achievements. Depending on the stage of a family’s life,

spouses may decide to use time of an international relocation for a family’s development, i.e. child-

birth and rearing. This project realization is easier when a trailing spouse is female, as women

usually stay at home when children are small and require constant attention (Varma & Russell,

2016). In case of relocation, children can benefit from acquiring new cross-cultural experiences and

language skills, elaborating independence and self-confidence, and gaining international perspective

(Tzeng, 2006).

Along with personal development, relocation with an assignee offers several opportunities for

professional development. Trailing spouses have the following advantages and possibilities for

career improvement without being employed by a certain company in a host location:

• continue education,

• pursue entrepreneurial options,

• explore possible career changes by updating skills in an area in which spouses are not

experts,

• keep up their professional skills through becoming active members of professional

organizations,

38

• volunteer activities or unpaid internship,

• undertake consulting projects (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004, p. 131; Mäkelä, Känsälä &

Suutari, 2011, p.192).

All the options are meaningful and worth considering as adequate substitutions for an employment,

which allow not only to avoid the withdrawal from the professional environment, to acquire new

professional contacts, and to maintain professional expertise and qualification, but also to develop

personally. Professional activities in a host location turn job arrangements after repatriation into less

challenging. Furthermore, maintenance and development of several soft skills depend not only on

the absence or presence of an employment in a host country, but also on personal desire and

aspiration for such development. Even trailing spouses who are not able to continue their careers

during expatriation, may develop flexibility and adaptability, as many different activities, e.g. study,

charity work, and volunteering, offer a variety of situations which require being active, sharp-

witted, and capable of coping with stress (Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011).

3.3.3 Differences between male and female expatriates and their trailing spouses

According to the surveys, there is a significant difference between the number of male and female

trailing spouses (Permits Foundation, 2009; NetExpat & EY, 2018). The majority of accompanying

spouses (78%) are women, while male spouses constitute only 22% (NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 7).

Besides, female candidates for expatriate assignments are more likely to have a spouse, who has

one's own career, often a senior position, than male candidates (Permits Foundation, 2012).

Furthermore, female trailing spouses are more likely to accompany the partner on multiple

international assignments than men (Permits Foundation, 2009). Compared with 60% of women

who have undertaken several assessments, only 45% of men have accompanied their spouses on

multiple assessments (Permits Foundation, 2009, p. 10). The bigger the number of assignments

undertaken as a trailing spouse, the more significant the difference between men and women

becomes.

As van der Velde, Bossink & Jansen state (2005), men are more willing to accept an international

assignment and relocate as an expatriate manager. As it is clear from the results of the International

survey of expatriate spouses and partners (Permits Foundation, 2009), when the situation is reverse

and it is a woman to whom the international assignment is offered men seem to be reluctant to

39

relocate and appear to become an accompanying spouse less often than women do. There are

several possible explanations of the existing situation and of the fact that an international career

move is more complicated and challenging when the male spouse is the accompanying one. Men

may be more willing to accept international assignments when their careers have significantly

higher priority compared to their spouses, e.g. due to their higher incomes (van der Velde, Bossink

& Jansen, 2005). For men, the more significant their careers are, the less willing they are to

accompany their spouses on their assignments. There is not enough information and studies devoted

to the question of career prioritizing between members of DCFs and how this prioritizing influences

the decision-making process concerning work-related issues. However, according to the results of

the study conducted by Linehan & Scullion (2001), it is still very common that a man has the

primary career in a couple. It remains difficult and challenging for women to work out an

agreement within a family in case they are interested in the assignments which are offered to them

(Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Tzeng, 2006). Furthermore, it is still complicated for many men to

become a trailing spouse as it inevitably results in their role as a secondary breadwinner, to which

they find it complicated to adjust (Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Davoine et al., 2013). According to

the research, male candidates are accustomed to work uninterruptedly and have career prospects,

and as a result may encounter difficulties finding a job during constrained career breaks (Linehan &

Scullion, 2001). Results of the research by Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri (2013) show that men

in comparison to women are less eager to become accompanying spouses especially when the job in

a host country is not secured. As a result, women being offered an international relocation are more

often concerned with their spouses' job alternatives than men as potential assignees are (Ullrich,

Pluut & Büttgen, 2015). Tzeng (2006, p. 389) points out that men are more likely to become trailing

spouses “when they have low career ambitions, work in mobile professions, have job offers from

their wives’ companies, or are willing to interrupt their own careers in return for opportunities to

live abroad”.

Although traditional roles distribution in a family is denied and its relevance and applicability has

been called into question, women still attribute more importance to the parental role than men do

(Eby et al., 2002; van der Velde, Bossink & Jansen, 2005; Tzeng, 2006). The tendency of women to

interrupt their careers in order to have children can make the decision to become a trailing spouse

for a certain period of time easier, even if it leads to the career interruption. However, it is this

tendency which has often been regarded as problematic for women's labor force participation and

40

their career progression (Evertsson & Grunow, 2012). Although maternity leave is considered to be

problematic for women's careers, men's parental leave-taking may have an even more damaging

influence on career development and long-term financial results (Evertsson, 2016). Women are

expected to take a maternity leave after a child is born. Hence, when it is a man who leaves, it may

be considered as a clearer signal of an absence of work commitment by the employer.

Neither men are more likely to put their career on hold due to family issues, and consequently to

follow the spouse on her international assignment than women, nor they are expected to by the

society. A transfer caused by the woman's international assignment may lead to a more difficult

adjustment process in the case of a male trailing spouse due to the male’s changing status and

identity, and potential painful perception of this transition (Davoine et al., 2013). It is not an

exception rather a reality that it is challenging for a man to adjust to a new neighborhood,

particularly when other women in the neighborhood do not work (Linehan & Scullion, 2001). The

adjustment of female trailing spouses occurs easier also due to their well-developed interactive

social skills (Selmer & Leung, 2002; Koveshnikov, Wechtler & Dejoux, 2014). Besides, men as

accompanying spouses usually find it difficult and pointless to integrate into a network of female

accompanying spouses and participate in joint activities due to different interests. As a result, male

trailing spouses are assumed to face a problem of an isolation, difficulties while establishing

personal contacts and developing a network in a host country more often than female (Davoine et

al., 2013). Nonetheless, the social network in a host location is proven to provide assignees and

their trailing spouses with valuable information which can improve the quality of work and non-

work life (Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013).

Although there are not so many differences between male and female trailing spouses, these

differences should be considered by the employers in order to improve international policies, i.e.

selecting, motivating, preparing, and supporting potential expatriates before, during, and after an

assignment (van der Velde, Bossink & Jansen, 2005). DCF-related issues should also be properly

estimated and discussed by the spouses considering an expatriation, in order to take a weighed,

balanced decision and be better prepared for challenges. At the same time, companies should avoid

stereotyping men and women while planning an international assignment to avoid snap and

incorrect judgments and lost potential.

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3.4. Cultural context

Differences between home and host countries cultural peculiarities and institutions have a

significant impact on expatriates and their trailing spouses. Cultural background influences the

perception of a host country culture, norms, values, and institutional characteristics (Bjerregaard,

2014). The more divergent the host and the home cultures are, the more challenging the adaptation

in a host country may be, deteriorating job satisfaction and performance (Froese & Peltokorpi,

2011). Cultural distance is suggested to have a more prominent impact on SIEs than on CAEs as the

latter rely on organizational support and are “less dependent on social integration into local units”

(Froese & Peltokorpi, 2011, p. 57). Furthermore, adjustment of trailing partners is more dependent

on social integration in the host country than that of expatriates as partners are more “exposed to the

culture of the host country” (Ravasi, Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013, p. 5).

The families who relocate due to a woman's international assignment might be perceived in many

countries as strange and “odd” due to social and cultural peculiarities (Linehan & Scullion, 2001).

Normative expectations regarding family organization in a host country may differ from that in a

home country. It is still not a recognized sociocultural norm in many countries and cultures for men

to be a trailing spouse and for women to pursue a career when they have children (Linehan &

Scullion, 2001; Ravasi, Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013). This discrepancy between family’s

behavior and normative expectations of the host society puts additional pressure on a family and

may lead to judgments and disapproval by the host country nationals.

Women tend to encounter more difficulties and problems regardless of whether they are offered an

international assignment or faced with a relocation opportunity as a trailing spouse with children.

The majority of difficulties are usually caused by cultural differences regarding the perception of

women and their roles. To be selected as potential expatriate, women have to overcome corporate

resistance (Gripenberg, Niemistö & Alapeteri, 2013), i.e. “glass ceiling”, informal selection

processes not always aimed at choosing the most suitable person, and “misperceptions about

disinterest among female managers” (as cited in Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012, p. 1766).

Searching for a job in a host country as a trailing spouse or being employed as expatriate managers,

women are forced to deal with stereotyping, underestimation of their skills, qualifications, and

capabilities, unacceptability of women in managerial positions (Selmer & Leung, 2002; Hutchings,

Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012). As a result, women may be deprived of role models on international arena,

42

be excluded from informal professional networks which are predominated by men, and experience a

lack of female mentors (Linehan & Scullion, 2001; Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012). Women not

only face all the obstacles they usually encounter on their professional way, but they also become

more prominent, and accompanied by other constraints what makes work-life balance more difficult

and challenging to achieve (Davoine et al., 2013; Kollinger-Santer & Fischlmayr, 2013; Ravasi,

Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013).

Austrian society, in which the participants of the empirical research live and work, is said to highly

appreciate traditional family structure (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016). Roles and responsibilities

between men and women are expected to be distributed within families according to the traditional

gender roles. To be a good wife and mother women should stay at home when the children are

small and devote a great share of their time to house-work and child-rearing (Ahmad, Hudelist &

Wieser, 2013). Women in Austria still spend twice as much time every day on care work for a child

or another adult in the family (3.2 hours) and on unpaid domestic activities (17.3) as men (1.5 and

9.4 respectively) (OECD, 2016). Male careers are rarely influenced by the birth of a child, whereas

the majority of women interrupt the career development and tend to return to a labor market on a

part-time basis (BKA, 2020; Statistik Austria, 2020a). During the past 25 years the number of

working women in families with at least one child under 15 years old has grown from 52.4% to

68.2%, achieving 83.1% when a child is 6 years old or older (Statistik Austria, 2020a). However,

this increase is mainly attributed to the expanding part-time employment of women (Statistik

Austria, 2020a). Between 1994 and 2019, the number of women with children under the age of 15

who work part-time rose from 39.1% to 73.6% (Statistik Austria, 2020a). The more children a

woman has, the less likely she is to be employed (OECD, 2020b). Furthermore, Austria is a quite

individualistic country in which the nuclear family prevails (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

Thus, the participation of an extended family in child-rearing is usually limited and women still

remain the main care person for children. Therefore, women who would like to combine career and

family may not meet social expectations. If they decide to devote the majority of their time to a

career instead of raising a child, they may be considered as “Rabbenmutter” or a bad mother by a

society. DCFs are relatively new and rare for the Austrian society, hence women may be confronted

with criticism and judgments (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016).

43

Nowadays, this perception of gender roles is changing slowly within the society towards equal

gender rights. The government tries to support this change and provides a friendly and supportive

environment for families. If a woman is employed before pregnancy, she has a guaranteed

employment during pregnancy and after giving birth. Women are not allowed to work eight weeks

before the expected date of birth and eight weeks after the childbirth (AK Wien, 2020b). Mothers

receive financial support from the state during this period. Both men and women have the right for a

paid parental leave in Austria. In this case a parent who take the leave receives a protection from

termination of employment and dismissal until the second birthday of a child (AK Wien, 2020a).

Parents can switch twice during this period. Financial support will be based on the income of

parents before the childbirth or on the schemes provided by the government regardless of the

parents’ income (AK Wien, 2020a). Besides, the government offers a possibility for parents to

reduce working hours or make them flexible and convenient for taking care of a child under 7 years

old, though parents should fulfill several requirements. Furthermore, parents are allowed to take a

paid leave to care for a child under age 12 for 2 weeks per year (OECD, 2020a). There are also

other types of grants, subsidies, and tax advantages parents can resort to.

Another type of help the Austrian government offers is child-care facilities. They can be used for

children from the age of 8 weeks. However, they are few in numbers. The majority of day nurseries

operate for children from 1 to 3 years, whereas kindergartens are open for children from 3 to 6 years

old. After-school care is offered for children from 6 years old. Only 30.7% of childcare facilities are

open 51 or 52 weeks per year (Statistik Austria, 2020b). An average childcare facility in Austria is

closed 21.1 working days per year: on average 10.7 days during the summer holidays, five days

during the Christmas break, approximately three days during the Easter holidays, and one or two

days during semester break (Statistik Austria, 2020b). The majority of childcare facilities for

children under 6 years old (85%) are usually open from 7.30 am (Statistik Austria, 2020b). The half

of day nurseries, 80% of after-school care facilities, and 30% of kindergartens are open until 5.00

pm (Statistik Austria, 2020b). The research shows (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016) that women in

Austria rely mainly on public childcare facilities. Although the government promotes and supports

families, the number, availability, and quality (e.g. opening hours) of the facilities are usually

estimated as insufficient (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016).

44

Furthermore, the research shows that organizations are still very inflexible and reluctant to admit

the change towards equal gender rights and to make adjustments (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016).

Among mothers with children under 14 years old, the highest employment rate is observed among

women with high education (OECD, 2020b). However, organizations in Austria underestimate their

potential. Women in Austria experience one of the largest in the European Union gender-based pay

gap (BKA, 2020). Part-time employment involves several risks for a woman. As the pay is

relatively low, they may not feel themselves financially independent. Besides, it may endanger

financial security during pension (BKA, 2020). Although women wish for more interesting,

challenging, and high in a hierarchy jobs, the supply of these positions on a part-time basis is

restricted (Bergmann, Papouschek, Sorger & Schönauer, 2010). Furthermore, as the majority of

unpaid household tasks and care work for a child are expected to be provided by women,

organizations tend to consider women as less reliable and loyal, thus endangering their career

progression (BKA, 2020). Women in Austria are under-represented in executive management

positions and in many spheres like science, research and development, politics, and in the public

sector (BKA, 2020). Thus, women in DCFs who expatriate to Austria may be confronted with

stereotypical approach and criticism.

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4. Support mechanisms for DCFs during expatriation

The detailed description of a DCFs' phenomena and its characteristics, and a thorough analysis of

all the difficulties, challenges, and peculiarities of their relocation process and expatriation conduce

to better understanding of the demands and requirements women in DCFs as potential assignees or

accompanying spouses may have for support before and during expatriation. This chapter is devoted

to the sources and types of support which help DCFs to coordinate demands from family and work

domains during expatriation. First, the three types of support, i.e. emotional, instrumental, and

informational, are described. Then, the following main sources of support are presented: family and

networks, governmental, and organizational support.

4.1. Types of support

Within the framework of social support theory based on House and Kahn developed in 1985

(House, Umberson & Landis, 1988) there are three main types of support: emotional, informational,

and instrumental. Some sources may provide all these kinds of support, others some or only one of

them. Expatriates rely on support to combine career and family responsibilities during expatriation,

cope with stress and facilitate adjustment in a host country (Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013;

Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

Emotional support reflects the DCFs’ necessity to share feelings and emotions with others. Being

heard and understood is important for DCFs especially due to the fact that their values, aspirations,

and lifestyle differ from that of traditional families. Furthermore, this kind of support includes

provision of trust, attention, and affection (Harvey, 1995). As a result, empathy shown from family

members, the circle of friends, and colleagues helps to maintain positive attitude, reduce stress and

tension (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Emotional support may be provided by the family

members, the social environment that surrounds DCFs and organizations represented by bosses,

colleagues, and mentors (Demel & Mayrhofer, 2010; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

Informational support refers to providing facts, advises, information, and opinions (Silberbauer,

2016). Informational support is aimed at a better understanding of the host country’s culture (Bhatti,

Battour & Ismail, 2013). Private and professional informational support may be provided by family,

friends, expatriate networks, and companies (Haslberger & Brewster, 2008; Schütter & Boerner,

2012). Government and various private or public institutions can also supply families with

46

informational support (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Through these interactions DCFs learn

how things in different spheres of life work in a host location. This allows to deal with various

issues in private or family domain and at work successfully and reduce uncertainty DCFs inevitably

face in a new country (Lee & Kartika, 2014). Instrumental support means providing actual

resources to solve problems, such as time and skills (Harvey, 1995). Furthermore, this kind of

support may include an introduction of actual services and policies, funds, and financial support

(Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

Traditionally, it was the family domain which provided the required support for the work domain.

In DCFs the balance can be reached only in case both spheres provide motivation, resources, and

support for each other. Furthermore, expatriation implies deprivation of an established support

system in a home country. Some sources of support become unavailable in a host country. Thus, in

order to build a new support system in a host country, expatriates may rely on a broader number of

sources of support, such as governmental and institutional support, support from networks of

friends, locals, and other expatriates.

4.2. Family support

During expatriation family support is mainly provided by spouses and children. The extent and

amount of support which can be offered by other family members depend not only on their desire to

help and participate, but also on such factors as distance between home and host countries and

professional occupation of relatives. Emotional support, i.e. understanding and encouragement, may

be provided from a distance, whereas instrumental support usually requires direct presence. Thus,

many expatriates are deprived of the help which an extended family may provide. According to

Harvey (1995), support provided by the spouse and the family depends on the following issues:

family setting (i.e. the internal family organization and existing relationship among family

members), external network (i.e. members outside the family who can provide social support),

degree of dissimilarity (i.e. discrepancy between domestic support system and available support

system in a host country), and recipient characteristics (i.e. what kind of support, from which

sources, and to what extent they are willing to accept).

Although both spouses in a DCF rely on each other’s emotional support, research shows that

women depend on and appreciate this support more than men (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2008;

47

Hutchings, French & Hatcher, 2008; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Furthermore, men in DCFs

usually tend and eager to provide emotional and psychological support for their female spouses

(Davoine et al., 2012). As it was mentioned before, women with international careers are still

expected to perform the majority of the household and childcare responsibilities (Tzeng, 2006). As

the result, they may feel guilty when they are not able to be with the family at every important event

or when they spend less time with their children (Fischlmayr & Kollinger-Santer, 2014). This

tension is reduced significantly when the spouse shows understanding and encouragement.

Emotional support from male spouses is also significant when female expatriates are confronted

with gender stereotyping and need to maintain or rebuild their self-confidence (Davoine et al.,

2012). The research (van der Laken et al., 2019) shows that performance of both female and male

expatriates and their adjustment are highly related to emotional spousal support.

Instrumental support within a DCF implies shared responsibility for all the household (e.g. doing

the laundry, cooking, grocery shopping, and cleaning) and childcare tasks (driving children to

school, organize after school activities for them, and attend doctors’ appointments). Furthermore, it

means the possibility and desire to make sacrifices at different life stages by both spouses. This

provides flexibility within a family, enabling one partner to devote more time to a career with the

second one being responsible for manual household tasks or childcare at certain moments (Lysova

et al., 2015). Research shows that men in DCFs “are less likely to expect their wives to take on the

majority of family and household chores” than men in traditional families (Mäkelä, Bergbom,

Saarenpää & Suutari, 2015, as cited in Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017, p. 26). This is especially

relevant during expatriate assignments due to the necessity of assignees to devote their time to

work, e.g. familiarization with new work environment, new team, and new tasks and objectives.

Therefore, at least at the beginning of an expatriation an accompanying spouse usually takes on

family responsibilities. Although both men and women generally value instrumental support from

their spouses, men are less likely to acknowledge it as one of the critical factors in their expatriates’

career success (Davoine et al., 2012).

In addition to emotional and instrumental support, informational support gains special importance

in DCFs. This type of support implies “career counseling and advice, involvement in career

decision making” (Lysova et al., 2015, p. 514). As both partners are employed, they can achieve

better understanding regarding working processes, their peculiarities, and difficulties. Thus, advises

48

make more sense and are more valuable as partners can judge from their own experience.

Nevertheless, career-related decisions become more complicated as the employment of a spouse

should always be taken into consideration while dwelling on career perspectives.

As an extended family is usually not able to provide support for DCFs during expatriation, other

networks gain significant importance. DCFs may rely on friends, network of expats in a host

country, different communities based on the DCFs’ interests, group of local citizens, etc. They may

express empathy, provide DCFs with information regarding organization of household duties in a

host country (e.g. information about taxes, insurance, grocery shopping) or help with children (e.g.

babysit them occasionally) (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Hence, foster their adjustment and

reduce stress in a host country (van der Laken et al., 2019). Although DCFs may experience

criticism and judgments of their lifestyle from locals in countries with a widespread traditional

family structure (e.g. Austria), this does not necessarily mean that they will not be ready to help

DCFs in urgent situations (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016).

4.3. Governmental support

Apart from families, governments in host countries may appear as a significant agent who provides

support for DCFs during expatriation (Permits Foundation, 2009; Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016).

The host country government and different institutions are assumed to offer mostly informational

and instrumental support (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Governments are considered to be an

effective player whose family policies may improve the attractiveness of a country for DCFs

considering expatriation (Permits Foundation, 2009).

Instrumental support provided by governments usually depends on underlying conditions in a

particular country, thus vary across countries (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016). Therefore, it is

highly important for governments to familiarize expatriates and their families with local conditions

and how everything is organized in a host country. The most relevant areas where governments may

provide informational support tend to be information and an advice about family policies of a state,

such as parental leave, childcare allowances, financial support, childcare facilities and admission

processes, tax refunds for families, and work permit arrangements for trailing partners (Puchmüller

& Fischlmayr, 2017).

49

As it was mentioned before, a continuation of a career is of paramount importance for

accompanying spouses in DCFs and influences the desire of a potential expatiate manager to accept

an assignment (Permits Foundation, 2009; Silberbauer, 2016). The first obstacle partners face on

their way to continue a career is obtaining a work permit (Permits Foundation, 2009; Lauring &

Selmer, 2010; Ravasi, Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013). A decade ago trailing spouses suffered

from many requirements governments imposed, long application processes, unclear regulations, and

other difficulties while trying to receive a work permit (Permits Foundation, 2009, p. 29). Along

with family policies offered by the government in a host country, providing a possibility for a

partner to work enhances country’s attractiveness for expatriates (Permits Foundation, 2012). As a

result, countries may profit from educated foreigners who share their knowledge and experience

with local employees, pay taxes, and spend their increased income in a host country. Nowadays,

most countries allow trailing spouses to work (NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 21). However, only 65% of

countries allow unmarried partners from the opposite sex to work when they follow an expatriate

(NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 21). Survey shows (Permits Foundation, 2012, p. 16) that there is also

“the need to recognize unmarried and same sex partners” to grant them access to work permits. In

this manner companies, both partners in dual-career families, and countries may profit from

simplified work permit policies.

The governments may provide instrumental support for families in the form of statutory leave

arrangements for parents, organization of childcare, and social transfers. Parental leave conditions

are important when considering or facing a pregnancy and childbearing in a host location. It may

vary who are allowed to take a leave, for how long it can be taken, which financial support is

provided, and for how long parental leave takers may benefit from a secured position in a current

company.

All the dual-career families with children under 18 years of age are confronted with the

organization of childcare in a host country. Many parents are preoccupied with the concern to give

their children the best possible institutes and education opportunities (Lysova et al., 2015).

Governments tend to provide childcare support for the families either through offering public

childcare institutions or through financially support, e.g. tax refunds or different allowances

(Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Public childcare institutions are usually represented by nurseries,

kindergartens, after-school care, and other different forms for children of different age. While

50

relying more on the financial support, the government leaves the responsibility for the organization

of childcare to families. Thus, the organization of childcare depends heavily on the local conditions

of a host country (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016). At the same time, the perceived quality and

effectiveness of the offered governmental childcare support tend to depend on cultural values and

expectations of DCFs.

Furthermore, governments may support women in DCFs through providing a possibility of flexible

working arrangements (Evertsson, 2016; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020). As women are

responsible for the majority of household and child-rearing tasks, these arrangements may allow

them to combine a career and a family easier, reduce tension between two domains, and foster

adjustment in a host location. Governments may “either enhance or restrict employees’

opportunities for achieving flexible careers over the life course” through laws (Beham, Baierl &

Eckner, 2020, p. 587). Among flexible working arrangements are usually considered part-time

work, flexible working schedules, and home-office. Although the actual use and acceptability are

shaped by organizational cultures and societal norms in a host location, it is in the governmental

power to make these flexible arrangements legal and applicable (Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020).

Governments possess significant resources not only to familiarize expatriates with a host country,

but also to support women in DCFs during expatriation through a lot of services they can offer.

Families may benefit from free access to labor market, flexible working arrangements, allowances,

and public childcare institutions.

4.4. Organizational support and family-friendly policies

In order to make international assignments attractive for potential assignees and their families and

to support them during expatriation, organizations resort to organizational assistance. Varma &

Russell (2016, p. 205) point out that assignees on international assignments require "more support

and guidance from their organization(s), as opposed to those on domestic assignments".

Organizational assistance or managerial support for expatiates implies all types of incentives host

organizations offer, practices and methods which companies apply regarding expatriation (Bhatti,

Battour & Ismail, 2013).

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4.4.1. General concept of organizational support

Within an organization social support may be offered by formal and informal mentors, colleagues,

and supervisors (Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013; Schütter & Boerner, 2013; Varma & Russell,

2016). Organizations can provide all three following types of social support:

• informational support, i.e. providing information about organization practices, rules, and

policies,

• emotional support, i.e. supporting expatriates through psychological counseling and

maintaining expatriate’s well-being,

• instrumental or practical support, i.e. offering services, grants, and funds (Schütter &

Boerner, 2013; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

Bhatti, Battour & Ismail (2013) state that the most important for the effectiveness of organizational

support is its constant and enduring nature. A generalized framework of organizational support is

presented in Table 2.

Stage Before departure On assignment

Organizationalsupport

• information (realistic expatriateassignment preview)

• emotional support

• instrumental support◦ financial assistance◦ training

▪ language▪ cross-cultural ▪ specific

◦ get-to-know trip to a host location

◦ meetings with local employees

◦ logistical assistance◦ mentoring

• information◦ country◦ available company’s services◦ career-related support for

accompanying spouse

• emotional support

• instrumental support◦ financial support

▪ housing◦ childcare support

▪ company’s facilities▪ paid public facilities▪ funding education▪ admission support

◦ partner support▪ work permit▪ career-related support▪ financial compensations

◦ language training◦ flexible working arrangements

▪ time flexibility▪ place flexibility

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◦ mentoring◦ general well-being programs

Organizationalgoals

• select potential assignees• foster weighed relocation

decision• influence assignees' willingness

to relocate• avoid refusals

• meet assignment objectives • low probability of assignment failure• strong relationship between expatiates and

HCNs• reduce work-life stress among employees

Personal goals • realistic perspective of an assignment and its potential impact on career

• reasonable decision • preparation

• emotional and psychological comfort• reestablishment of support systems • successful adjustment• work-family balance• adequate professional performance

Table 2. Framework of potential organizational assistance for expatriates and their families (Ownillustration based on: Wan, Hui & Tiang, 2003; Caligiuri & Lazarova; 2004; Larsen, 2004; Collingset al., 2011; McNulty, 2012; Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013; Schütter & Boerner, 2013; BrookfieldGRS, 2016; Varma & Russell, 2016; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017; KPMG International, 2020).

Researchers (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Wan, Hui & Tiang, 2003; Lauring & Selmer, 2010)

emphasize the importance of joint actions of employees, their families, and their supervisors and

honest and thorough communication while developing organizational support programs for

international assignments. A couple of decades ago studies showed a significant discrepancy

between needs and requirements of potential assignees and support offered by companies (Riusala

& Suutari, 2000; Selmer & Leung, 2002). Therefore, assignees did not feel valued, many of them

were not sufficiently supported in their work and family environment, they were less prepared for

an assignment and life in a host country than they could have been with an appropriate support

(Varma & Russell, 2016). Nowadays, companies try to focus more on the necessities of their

employees according to the changing gender roles, actual parental care responsibilities of both male

and female employees, and aspiration of employees to have a healthy balance of work and family

life (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

As a result, the key elements for an effective expatriation package for DCFs are:

• a deep understanding of the family's functioning,

• companies' analysis of the influence organizational policies and practices may have on the

expatriate experience and the expatriate family,

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• companies' appropriate response to the demands of employees and their families based on

budget and other resources' analysis (Caligiuri, Hyland & Joshi, 1998; Wan, Hui & Tiang,

2003; Lauring & Selmer, 2010).

Researchers (Harvey, 1995; Riusala & Suutari, 2000) point out that companies may provide support

to trailing spouses and families unequally. Among possible explanations of the situation may be

mentioned the following reasons:

• Although some organizations may have corporate assistance policies for DCFs, they are not

adequately defined and explicitly publicized, what reduce their availability to potential

expatriates and their spouses (Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997).

• Many companies prefer not to directly contact partners of assignees, thus making

information about available programs of assistance second-handed through employees who

may not view it as relevant or necessary and not inform spouses about the possibilities

provided by companies (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004; McNulty, 2012).

• Some companies provide assistance for a trailing spouse only in response to a request or on

a case-by-case basis. It can be crucial for female employees who tend to ask for corporate

assistance in the DCFs' sphere less often (Eby et al., 2002).

• Responsiveness to family needs may differ based on personal preferences across different

managers, i.e. managers may not act consistently across employees, including gender-based

preferences (Eby et al., 2002; Silberbauer, 2016).

• Although companies may have family-friendly policies, some managers responsible for the

expatriation process may still consider family issues not relevant and worth discussing

during international assignment projects, i.e. slow change of corporate culture (Elloy &

Smith, 2004; Silberbauer, 2016).

• The quality and the volume of the corporate assistance provided to DCFs may depend on the

management level of potential assignees, i.e. the lower the level of potential expatriates, the

less likely they may be to receive the assistance (Harvey, 1995).

Unequal support may result in dangerous consequences for an organization causing the feeling of

organizational injustice among managers and employees and conflicts between managers at

different levels of organizational hierarchy (Harvey, 1995; Eby et al., 2002). The overall perception

of organizational support is assumed to influence commitment of expatriate managers to their

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assignments (van der Laken et al., 2019). Hence, expatriates who do not feel valued and cared about

by their companies may be less dedicated to work. Furthermore, the extent and quality of

organizational support may also differ across companies. The bigger the company, the more likely it

is to have and offer organizational support (Silberbauer, 2016). Besides, companies in high-skilled

industries, where the personnel replacement costs are high, appreciate the positive impact the

corporate assistance may bring along (Silberbauer, 2016).

4.4.2. Family friendly policies and services

Instrumental support offered in the form of family friendly policies and services is assumed to be

one of the most significant and powerful form of organizational support for women in dual-career

families (Silberbauer, 2016). It is a form of actual and active support which might be applied when

a necessity appears (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

4.4.2.1. Flexible working arrangements

There is a number of family-friendly policies which organizations exercise. According to the

qualitative analysis of dual earner couples conducted by Haddock et al. (2006) the most common

and helpful practices are flexible work scheduling, non-traditional schedules, professional/job

autonomy, working at home, telecommuting, and job-sharing. Other researchers underline the

effectiveness of flexible working arrangement for all the employees with “increased family

demands” (Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020, p. 580) and women pursuing an international career in

particular (Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012; Silberbauer, 2016; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

Twenty years ago, despite the increased demand, many organizations were not eager to provide

both male and female employees with neither time nor place flexibility (Pierce & Delahaye, 1996).

Nowadays, flexible working arrangements are an efficient tool which allows women to “adjust their

hours of work, work schedules and place of work in line with their individual circumstances and

family status” (ILO, 2016, p. 91). Therefore, it decreases work-family conflict and interference,

increases time spent with family, and as a result, is assumed to improve performance at work and

job satisfaction (Haddock et al., 2006; Schreyögg, 2013). However, to feel free to use these flexible

working arrangements women need to see the successful examples of other employees resorting to

this practice at their or higher hierarchical level (Silberbauer, 2017; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020).

Statistics show (Eurostat, 2021) that in Austria in 2019 among the main reasons for part-time

employment women mentioned looking after children or incapacitated adult (39.2%) and other

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family or personal responsibilities (17.5%). Main reasons among male employees to switch to part-

time employment were education or training (26.8%) and other family or personal responsibilities

(16.3%) (Eurostat, 2021).

4.4.2.2. Partner support

According to the Relocating partner survey report (NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 18) in 2017 90% of

employers offered at least some support for the accompanying partner. Like it was twenty years

ago, among the most widespread types of support are mentioned language and intercultural training

(Caligiuri, Hyland & Joshi, 1998; NetExpat & EY, 2018). Language courses and informational

support about the host country are aimed at preparation of assignees and their trailing partners and

children for expatriation, familiarizing them with a host country, its culture, language, customs, and

peculiarities, thus at reducing the stress and fostering adjustment process during an assignment.

This support is assumed to be relevant for partners as long as they may have many contacts with

host country nationals while dealing with household and child-rearing issues. Besides, it allows

partners to satisfy their aspiration for a smooth integration in the host location and rebuilding their

network (NetExpat & EY, 2018). Furthermore, companies may support partners by introducing

them to “other expatriates, memberships to sports and social clubs, and information about and

access to expatriate forums and spouse networking" (McNulty, 2012, p. 418). Besides, companies

may provide psychological support for partners (Silberbauer, 2016).

Twenty years ago, hardly any company offered career-related support for trailing spouses and

partners. According to the research (Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997; Riusala & Suutari, 2000;

Linehan & Scullion, 2001), nearly all the respondents were employed in companies which did not

have policies to provide DCFs with partner employment assistance. However, companies started to

realize the importance of accompanying spouses and partners for expatriates’ desire to accept an

international assignment and partners’ influence on expatriates’ adaptation and performance. Thus,

they started to adapt their expatriation policies taking into account also expatriate partners’ career.

By the year 2015 already one third of studied companies provided this type of support at least in

some form (Brookfield GRS, 2015, p.76; KPMG International, 2015, p. 16). Nowadays, career and

job search support and work permit support are provided by 71% and 70% of organizations

respectively (NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 19).

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The number of companies which provide work permit support for accompanying partners has

doubled in the past six years (Brookfield GRS, 2015, NetExpat & EY, 2018). This assistance may

be offered in the form of information and advice to understand work permit and visa requirements

(Permits Foundation, 2009). Furthermore, companies are able to directly help applying and

obtaining a work permit. This is one of the most needed and commonly offered support for DCFs

(Brookfield GRS, 2015; NetExpat & EY, 2018). The amount and availability of companies’ support

in this sphere may be limited by the rules of a particular country. According to NetExpat & EY

(2018) nowadays, the majority of countries all over the world offer an opportunity for trailing

partners to work on their dependent permit. However, when partners are not allowed to work in a

country, organizations can hardly help with a work permit application. Therefore, work-permit

support provided by the companies is expected to decrease during the coming years.

Representing a part of family-friendly policies dual-career support or partner employment

assistance implies organizational assistance devoted to professional career support for a trailing

spouse (Silberbauer, 2016). Previous research (Silberbauer, 2016, p. 119) shows that 90.38% of

potential assignees are interested in dual-career support and the majority consider this type of

assistance as the most significant and relevant when their partners have careers. Professional or

occupational support may be informational and instrumental, devoted to job placement for a partner

or to a continuation of an education.

Job placement assistance for a partner is aimed at supporting partners on their way to continue a

career after a relocation to a host country. There is a variety of possibilities how this assistance may

be offered. In case a company has enough resources and potential, a job for a partner may be

provided within the expatriate's organization (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Eby et al., 2002;

Silberbauer, 2016), or otherwise organization may support an accompanying partner with a job

search on a host labor market.

Assistance with a long-distance job search, familiarization with peculiarities of a job search in a

host country, information on local opportunities, identification of appropriate job positions, and CV

preparation and adapting to the host country's standards are potential parts of a counseling process

(Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997; Riusala & Suutari, 2000; McNulty, 2012; Silberbauer, 2016).

Companies may provide an office space for a convenient job search (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004;

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Lauring & Selmer, 2010). Furthermore, an organization may introduce or recommend a trailing

partner to other companies in a host country (Harvey, 1995) or even "arrange a job in other

organizations operating in the host country" (Riusala & Suutari, 2000, p. 83). Punnett (1997, as

cited in Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004, p. 136) proposes creation of "employment networks

coordinated with other global firms" as one of the non-monetary organizational services which

fosters career development of a trailing partner in a host location. International Dual Career

Network, initiated in 2011 by a large MNC, is an example of such network. Nowadays 29 global

organizations in 13 different locations are jointly support accompanying partners of their members

with job search within the network which allows to assist partner members in their career

development.

As far as monetary compensation related to the job placement assistance is concerned, the most

frequent is job finding or employment agency fees, offered by 27% of companies (Brookfield GRS,

2015, p. 76). Furthermore, organizations may provide financial support with regard to career-related

seminars, participation and membership in professional associations and clubs, paid subscriptions,

psychological support or offer some money to start one's own business (Caligiuri & Lazarova,

2004; Silberbauer, 2016).

In case a career development is not possible or desired in a host location, companies may offer

support for the continuation of an education. Organizations may provide following services:

language courses during expatriation, trainings and seminars within an expatriate's company, help to

identify and arrange educational possibilities, and assistance with the recognition process of a

foreign diploma (Harvey, 1995; Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Lauring & Selmer, 2010; Collings et al.,

2011). Monetary support in this case can be even more prominent and suitable than in case of a job-

placement assistance. Many researchers (Riusala & Suutari, 2000; Lauring & Selmer, 2010;

Festing, et al., 2011; McNulty, 2012; Silberbauer, 2016) agree that the coverage or reimbursement

of education-related expenses, e.g. tuition or retraining fees and professional journals' subscription

fees, may be an influential tool for a successful partners' adjustment in a host location. Education

allowance is reported to be provided by 43% of companies (NetExpat & EY, 2018, p. 19).

Furthermore, some companies provide partial or full financial compensation for lost salary of a

trailing partner. Cash allowance is offered by approximately 35% of organizations (NetExpat & EY,

2018, p. 19).

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4.4.2.3. Childcare

Family-friendly policies are a part of an organizational support which is also aimed at supporting

employees as caretakers during expatriation (Haddock et al., 2006). The organization of childcare

and education for dependent children in a host country requires substantial time and energy from

the parents as required geographic stability is not provided (Silberbauer, 2016). Therefore, to help

expatriates and their partners with parental responsibilities companies may provide support for

childcare issues and children's education. Companies might offer financial and non-financial

support.

Financial incentives are usually presented by different childcare subsidies, paid places in public and

private childcare facilities, education grants, paid hobbies and activities in a host country, and paid

babysitters (Jiang, 2012; Schreyögg, 2013; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). 96% of companies

report that they provide benefits for children of international expatriates in primary and/or

secondary school, whereas 70% offer benefits for preschool-aged children when preschool facilities

are common in a host country (KPMG, 2019, p. 51).

The following services may be included in the workplace supportive practices: referral information

about childcare facilities in a host country, organization-sponsored full-time childcare centers, on-

site day-care facilities, and training activities which will foster families’ conflicts settlement (Jiang,

2012; Schreyögg, 2013; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). As the majority of expatriates’ children

usually do not speak the host country official language, companies should enable international

schooling possibilities (Silberbauer, 2016).

Furthermore, families may benefit from integration policies companies can offer. Among these

policies can be mentioned housing solutions, providing solutions for social security and pension,

insurance, tax advice (Collings et al., 2011; McNulty, 2012; Silberbauer, 2016). Besides,

organizations may offer orientation programs and mentoring for a whole expatriate's family

(Caligiuri, Hyland & Joshi, 1998).

Researchers (Silberbauer, 2016; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017) underline that to be able to resort

to these family-friendly policies employees should feel themselves secure and not be afraid of the

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potential negative consequences. It is not enough just to have the policies and services in place.

Expatriates and their partners should feel support and understanding of their colleagues and

supervisors (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). It is also relevant for a parental leave when it is

legally possible in a host country. Companies should enable their employees to resort to all the

available family-friendly policies, thus expatriates should not be anxious about potential career

prospects when they make use of these policies (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017).

4.4.1. Formal versus specialized support system for DCFs

Although some female expatriates are afraid of asking for help in the dual-career sphere due to the

fear that they will be considered as being not serious about the offered career opportunity, raising a

question about support does not necessarily mean that the family will receive the most desired and

relevant support (Eby et al., 2002; Riusala & Suutari, 2000). According to Riusala & Suutari

(2000), the most desired practices are job-related support and career counseling for the spouse or

alternatively help with further education arrangements and costs. Other research shows that support

related to childcare is of paramount importance for expatriates, especially women (Fischlmayr &

Puchmüller, 2016). However, the Global mobility trends survey (Brookfield GRS, 2015) reports

that language training and intercultural preparation are the most commonly offered types of

organizational support for accompanying partners or spouses. Studies show that in some cases

companies provide insufficient intercultural communication training, e.g. due to short duration,

unprofessional instructors or irrelevant topics (Kupka, Everett & Cathro, 2008), in other cases the

whole domain of professional support is considered by expatiates as poorly developed and

unhelpful (McNulty, 2012). Furthermore, researchers (Harvey & Buckley, 1998; Eby et al., 2002)

point out that organizational support programs should be thoroughly elaborated in advance, not in

an unofficial and ad hoc manner as some MNCs may practice.

Organizational support system for DCFs can be formal, i.e. standardized or general, and specialized,

i.e. flexible and customized, or offered based on a "cafeteria approach" (Warneke & Schneider,

2011, p. 248). Formalized approach to organizational support gains popularity due to the growing

number of companies operating on a global arena and the necessity to increase the number of

expatriates in order to accomplish international tasks (Varma & Russell, 2016). Thus,

standardization allows to cover a large number of international projects and deal with a large

number of assignments easily, while being cost-effective and transparent (Farndale et al., 2014;

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Warneke & Schneider, 2011). Besides, the influence of involved managers on the organizational

support is minimized. Hence, formalized approach reduces the probability of any kind of

discrimination or interpretation of policies according to personal preferences (Eby et al., 2002).

Among the most significant drawbacks should be mentioned that it is very complicated to take into

consideration every preference and wish potential assignees may have.

Flexible organizational support system as opposed to formal is applied in order to customize the

policies according to the specific needs and requirements. Farndale et al. (2014, p. 206) mention the

following drivers for flexibility:

• changes in the nature of assignee roles,

• forcing more flexible consideration of program elements,

• increased demands for flexibility from business units,

• more employee-driven requests for flexibility,

• and increased cost considerations.

The most common are a person-based, i.e. demographic, and an assignment-based approaches.

Some companies also customize their corporate assistance according to the positions of an

expatriates, i.e. their place in the companies' hierarchy (Harvey, 1995; Farndale et al., 2014).

Differentiation based on assignments implies that the support system can be adopted and

customized based on the peculiarities and requirements of a transfer or an assignment, its type,

nature and objectives, on the location, duration, and on cultural differences of the host and home

countries (Farndale et al., 2014; Silberbauer, 2016). The person-based approach allows to vary

organizational support on the basis of expatriates' individual characteristics and circumstances, e.g.

age, gender, country of origin, family issues and needs, and personal and cultural values (Farndale

et al., 2014; Silberbauer, 2016). The main advantage of the specialized approach is its flexibility.

Standardized approach does not allow to take such important issues into consideration as the

partner's profession and qualifications, number and age of children. Thus, it is complicated to

address DCF-related issues without a certain level of flexibility (Collings et al., 2011; Silberbauer,

2016). Extreme version of a specialized assistance is a case-by-case approach.

Although specialized approach is claimed to be more appropriate and useful regarding

organizational support for DCFs, there are certain challenges and risks. Flexible support systems

tend to be more difficult to manage, are more expensive, time-consuming, and require "to invest in

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training to educate people involved in the process about how the system works" (Farndale et al.,

2014, p. 209). Furthermore, in case family assistance is not formalized and centralized, a possibility

of an abuse of authority occurs (Eby et al., 2002). A certain level of maturity, international

experience, and knowledge of involved managers and external control is a prerequisite for an

effective operation and performance (Farndale et al., 2014). The differentiation in benefits,

compensation, quality and quantity of offered support during expatriation turns the whole support

program into a less transparent, potentially causing conflicts, the perceptions of inequity, and

absence of trust among employees (Harvey, 1995; Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997). In this case

organizational support is perceived as less satisfactory and companies' practices as less trustful. As

a result, the greater the variations in policies, the more important it is for the decision-making

procedures to be fair and reasonable, and for their appliance to be clearly articulated (Farndale et

al., 2014; Jiang, 2012).

Alternative to standardized and specialized organizational support programs is the "cafeteria

approach" (Warneke & Schneider, 2011, p. 248). This approach implies that companies offer a wide

range of support policies, services, and benefits from which expatriates choose the most relevant

and desired according to their preferences. Furthermore, some organizations may encourage their

employees to put together their own suggestions, others provide a few "default packages" of

benefits from which potential expatriates ought to select (Warneke & Schneider, 2011, p. 248).

From the administrative point of view, this approach is more challenging and workload-intensive

than standardized, but less intense when compared with specialized. Although it allows to better

approach employees' requirements and needs and satisfy them more thoroughly, the amount of work

is significant (Silberbauer, 2016).

There is no agreement among researchers regarding the homogeneity or heterogeneity of modern

expatriates and their preferences, i.e. whether the support system should be standardized based on

proximity or specialized according to the differences. Warneke & Schneider (2011) insist that

complete individualization is not necessary, when companies customize their assistance in some

respect, e.g. differentiate particular salary, duration of an assignment, and the availability of a car

according to the host country's conditions. In some cases, the studied companies preferred the

standardized approach due to the perception of homogeneity of employees by the management

(Farndale et al., 2014). Varma & Russell (2016) point out that family support may be significantly

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more important for female expatriates than for men, partly due to their major responsibility for

childcare and household tasks. Furthermore, women tend to be more concerned with a long-term

influence of an assignment on their and their partners' career development (Eby, DeMatteo &

Russell, 1997). As a result, it is advised to pay special attention to gender difference while adapting

and specializing family support.

Provided support from families, governments, and organizations during expatriation allows women

to achieve the most favorable and comfortable conditions for their smooth transition to the new

country and unfamiliar organizational environment. Furthermore, all types and sources of support

are assumed to secure a swift and successful adjustment to the new working and living environment

(Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013; Varma & Russell, 2016). While an extended family is unavailable

for help, husbands tend to provide women with emotional and instrumental support. The

government in a host country may create family-friendly environment for women, whereas the task

of an organization is to make the use of the governmental initiatives acceptable for the employees.

Furthermore, organizations tend to possess significant resources to support women through flexible

working arrangements, partner support, and childcare support to enable them to combine work and

family during expatriation. Companies should keep in mind that the direct financial support is stated

to be insufficient when applied alone (Bhatti, Battour & Ismail, 2013; van der Laken et al., 2019).

Furthermore, the implementation of various family policies is assumed to “increase the percentage

of women with international careers” (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016, p. 761).

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5. Methodology

This chapter is devoted to the description of the methodology and the structure of the interview

guide which had been chosen to link the theoretical work and empirical research. The description of

the sample is also presented.

In order to conduct empirical research two approaches can be applied: quantitative and qualitative

research. Quantitative research focuses on large numbers of standardized answers that can be

statistically analyzed to examine the predefined concepts and test hypothesizes. Qualitative

approach is used when the researcher deals with subjective verbal information, e.g. perceptions,

reflections, impressions, and experiences (Döring, Bortz & Pöschl-Günther, 2016; Schütter &

Boerner, 2013). The work-family interface during expatriation is a subjective phenomenon,

differing among women. Thus, the perspective of women regarding what they see as critical and

significant is of paramount importance. Hence, due to the nature of this research problem, the

author considers qualitative research to be an appropriate instrument for examining their personal

experience in detail. Further reason to resort to qualitative method is that there is little data and

research available devoted to DCF-related issues in the international relocation context from the

females' point of view.

Among the main qualitative research methods can be mentioned interviews, participant observation,

focus groups, and the qualitative analysis of texts and documents. (Bryman & Bell, 2015). To

conduct the empirical study, the interview method has been chosen as one of the most efficient

ways of gathering rich empirical data among qualitative research methods (Ezzedeen & Ritchey,

2009). There are several types of qualitative interviews which can be adopted (Bryman & Bell,

2015). For the purpose of the empirical study in this thesis the semi-standardized guided qualitative

interview form is selected as the most appropriate due to its flexibility (Flick, von Kardorff &

Steinke, 2009). The interview guide is developed based on a thorough review of the relevant

literature. It serves as a necessary orientation for the interviewer, and makes sure that essentially the

same type of information is obtained from participants by covering the same material to answer the

research question. This allows to tackle all the important issues and receive relevant information

based on prepared questions. At the same time, the researcher has certain flexibility in terms of

formulating questions, reacting to interviewees' responses, and asking additional questions when

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necessary. Deviation from initial questions in order to maintain the continuity of the discussion may

provide more comprehensive information for the research. Furthermore, open-ended questions

enable interviewees to raise unanticipated issues. The interview guide can be found in the Appendix

A.

To analyze and interpret the collected empirical data from the interviews, King’s (2004) template

analysis is applied. The greatest advantage of the technique is flexibility. Compared to other

common qualitative analysis approaches, e.g. content analysis, it can be modified according to the

needs of any study in a particular area enriching the study. Template analysis includes several

consecutive steps. First, the initial list of codes, a template, is developed to guide the analysis. It can

be based on an academic literature review, the researcher’s own personal experience, and

exploratory research. The codes are hierarchically organized in higher-order codes and lower-order

codes. During the revision of the transcripts all the text sections relevant for the thesis’s goals are

marked with one or more relevant codes, based on the topics covered in the text section. During this

phase, the initial template is modified and revised according to the collected data and themes

identified in the interviews. When the final template is formed, the data is analyzed, interpreted, and

presented. The final template for the diploma thesis can be found in the Appendix B.

5.1. Sample selection and description

In order to analyze challenges women in DCFs face during international expatriation and support

mechanisms which help them to combine family and career in a host country, interviews with

women during their expatriation in Austria are conducted.

For the thesis eight interviews were conducted by the author. All eight interviewees fulfill the

following criteria for the inclusion in the sample:

• Women during their expatriation in Austria who should be either

◦ sent to Austria on an expatriate assignment by their home companies,

◦ or be self-initiated expatriates,

◦ or be accompanying spouses who were able to continue their career in Austria within a

year after a relocation due to a partner's expatriate assignment in Austria.

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• Women should be married or have a constant living partner with a career and consider

themselves as a part of a DCF, i.e. both partners are highly committed towards their work

and regard it as a career;

• There should be at least one child under the age of 18. It is supposed that these children

require additional attention and need for care.

For this thesis, it does not matter whether the potential interviewees or their partners relocate

between subsidiaries, from the headquarters to a subsidiary, or from a subsidiary to the

headquarters. Age and country of origin are not considered as a criterion for inclusion in the sample.

Interviewees can be employed in any public or private organization and industry.

Within dual-career families women are interviewed because they tend to remain responsible for the

majority of home, family, and child-rearing duties, despite the pursuit of a career (Kollinger-Santer

& Fischlmayr, 2013). Furthermore, they may still be affected by stereotypes in some cultures. As a

result, during expatriation stressors in both work and family domains increase in numbers and

intensity for women. As they become more prominent, women are assumed to describe thoroughly

those challenges they face.

The interview partners come from the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, The

Netherlands, Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK (see Chapter 6.1 for more details). This diversity of

cultural backgrounds allows analyzing the discrepancy between couples' norms and social

expectations regarding gender roles in the Austrian society.

5.2. Structure of the interview guide

Based on the literature review the interview guide is developed. The key questions are divided into

the following four categories:

A - General information: Within the first block the personal information about interviewees is

gathered, i.e. age, country of origin, current position, since when in Austria, number of children, etc.

B - Expatriation and DCF-related issues: This category focuses on the influence expatriation has on

family life, the relationship with the partner, role distribution in families, the organization of

childcare, and women’s considerations concerning challenges regarding raising children.

C - Sources of support for women in DCFs during expatriation: Within this category it is analyzed

what types of support and from which sources help women to coordinate demands from family and

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professional life during expatriation in Austria. Furthermore, it is analyzed how interviewees

perceive social acceptance of their lifestyle in the Austrian society.

D - Organizational support for women in DCFs: This category focuses on the organizational support

as the most relevant, effective, and possessing the wide spectrum of significant resources.

Interviewees reflect on organizational support which is offered to decrease challenges women face

as a part of a DCF during expatriation, its perceived quality and usefulness, and correspondence

with the interviewees’ expectations.

In July 2017, an exemplary interview was conducted to examine the relevance and understanding of

the interview guide. The interview is included in the sample due to the sufficient quality of the

answers (interview partner IP1). Seven further interviews were held between July and November

2017. Six interviewees agreed to meet and conduct the interviews face-to-face. The third and the

seventh interviewees (IP3 and IP7) answered the questions via Skype due to their tight work

schedules and frequent business trips. One Skype-interview was held with video (IP3) and the other

one without video (IP7). Thus, interviews via Skype provide necessary flexibility regarding time

and place. However, they also have several drawbacks. The most essential is that such interviews

require a sufficient level of technical awareness in order to be able to connect to an interview

participant, to deal with all the technological problems that can come up during an interview, and to

record the conversation (Deakin & Wakefield, 2014). Besides, without face-to-face contact an

interviewer should be especially diligent and sensitive to create a trustful and pleasant atmosphere

during an interview. Inability to observe the body language of an interviewee makes it more

difficult for an interviewer to follow the reaction and avoid uneasy questions (Bryman & Bell,

2015). The author tried to create rapport by beginning the interview with general questions before

moving to participants’ expatriation histories, challenges, and coping strategies. Furthermore, non-

verbal information is missing when interviews are conducted without video. This may impoverish

the given answers to a certain degree.

As all the women come from different countries, i.e. have seven different mother tongues, English

language was chosen to conduct all the interviews. All the participants are proficient in English and

intensively use it at their work. Thus, it is assumed that the interview candidates are able to share

their experiences and express themselves adequately.

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All the face-to-face interviews were recorded on tape, whereas the interviews via Skype were

recorded with a Skype recording software. Each interview lasted between 35 and 65 minutes.

Interviews were transcribed verbatim shortly after the interviews by the author.

In order to guarantee full confidentiality of the interviewees in the diploma thesis the abbreviations

are used for the names of the interview partners. According to the time the interviews were

conducted, the interview partners have names from IP1 to IP8. The name of the interviewer is

abbreviated as MP. All names mentioned by the interviewees are changed into different ones to

provide further confidentiality.

Example of a quotation:

IP8: “That is important! I was gonna say “was”, it is important for me to have thatflexibility to work from home.”

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6. Empirical Data

As it was mentioned in the Chapter 5.2, the key interview questions are divided into the following

four categories: “A - General information”, “B - Expatriation and DCF-related issues”, “C - Sources

of support for women in DCFs during expatriation”, and “D - Organizational support for women in

DCFs during expatriation”. This chapter presents the findings of each category.

6.1. Category A - General information

The following chapter gives an overview of the interviewees’ background, family situation and

peculiarities of their expatriation to Austria. Furthermore, motivation for undertaking this expatriate

assignments is presented.

For the thesis eight interviews were conducted by the author. The following Table 3 gives an

overview of the personal details of the interviewees.

IP1 IP2 IP3 IP4Age 38 37 42 43Nationality Switzerland UK Brazil Germany

Job/PositionEnglish Teacher

Project Manager

Software Engineer

University Assistant

In Austria since July 2016 August 2014 2015 2012

In a DCС since 18 years 13 years 20 years 18 yearsMarital status married married married married

Partner’s professionEngineer, PhD

Software Engineer

Software Engineer

University Professor

Number of children twotwo and pregnant two one

Age of children 7 and 4 years 7 and 3 years 19 and 16 years 12 years

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IP5 IP6 IP7 IP8Age 41 42 46 45

Nationality MexicoThe Netherlands Turkey Canada

Job/PositionSenior Scientist

Owner of a company, Trainer,Lector

Segment Manager HR Manager

In Austria since January 2012 2015November 2016 August 2017

In a DCС since 15 years 12 years 20 years 18 yearsMarital status married married married marriedPartner’s profession

Senior Scientist

Supply Chain Director

Finance at NGO Vice President

Number of children one two one two

Age of children 9 years8 and 10 years 15 years 10 and 13 years

Table 3. Personal data of interviewees (own illustration).

The interviewees are between 37 and 46 years old, with an average of 41 years old. The interview

partners come from the following countries: Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, The Netherlands,

Switzerland, Turkey, and the UK. At the moment of an interview the participants have been staying

in Austria between 3 months and 5 years. The majority have been living in Austria for more than

two years, two interviewees for one year, and one woman have been in the country for three

months. This variety of time spent in a host country gives a wide range of experiences women may

have gathered during different periods of time. Seven participants relocated to Austria with their

families, while one woman has been here for one year without a family and hopes the family to join

her in Austria in one further year (IP7). She was not excluded from the sample since this factor was

not included in the criteria for the inclusion in the sample. Furthermore, she has her own experience

to share regarding DCFs issues and types and sources of support during expatriation. Four women

relocated to Austria from their home countries (IP1, IP6, IP7 and IP8), further two relocated also

from their home countries but had an international experience before (IP2 and IP4). The rest two

women relocated to Austria from other international locations (IP3 and IP5). In Austria, the

participants live in Vienna and in Upper Austria.

As far as the type of relocation is concerned, two women were sent to Austria on an expatriate

assignment by their home companies (IP2 and IP8). They got an expatriate position simultaneously

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with their husbands at the same organization. Two women can be regarded as self-initiated

expatriates (IP5 and IP7). Other four interviewees are accompanying spouses who were able to

continue their career in Austria within a year after relocation due to a partner's expatriate

assignment in Austria. Out of these four accompanying spouses one woman continued to work

remotely for her own company (IP6), the other woman continued to work for a company in her

international location for ten months before she found a position in Austria (IP3), one woman found

a position within several months after the relocation (IP1), and the last woman started her position

at the husband’s employer right after the relocation (IP4).

One woman owns her own consulting company and is a lecturer at a university. Two women work

in the field of education, being an English teacher and a university assistant. Three women hold

managerial positions as human resource manager, project manager, and segment manager in

industries such as chemical, mechanical engineering, and sport betting, entertainment and data. The

rest two interviewees are software engineer and senior scientist in a petrochemical industry and in a

non-profit international organization. Employers represent both private and public companies. The

diversity of positions and industries provides a wide range of experiences on how women in DCFs

operate and how organizations support them during expatriation.

All participants are married and live in a dual-career partnership for at least twelve years, whereas

the majority are together with their partners for more than 17 years. Thus, it can be assumed that

they have gone through various stages of the relationship development and have overcome

numerous different challenges. All male partners are employed full-time. One partner occupies a

professor position at the university, one partner works for a non-government organization. Two

partners are engineers, other two are software engineers and the rest two partners occupy high

managerial positions in large MNCs. The majority of interviewees have two children, whereas three

women have one child, and one woman is expecting her third child. The age of children varies

between 3 and 19 years old. The woman who has a 19-year old son, also has a daughter who is 16

years old. So, all the participants have at least one child under the age of 18 who require parental

care and support.

Most of the respondents report the job as the main reason for an expatriation. Three women mention

that the position of a husband was the main motive (IP1, IP4 and IP6), one interviewee points out

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her job as the main motivational factor (IP7), and one mother highlights that both she and her

husband are interested in the positions they found in Austria (IP5).

IP5: “We were not looking specifically for a country, but for the type of job that wewanted to do.”

The motivation to decide for an expatriation also includes looking for more quality of life and desire

to move to Europe (IP2 and IP3). Another interview partner explains that for her family it was

interesting and challenging to try something new, to gather experience of living in a different

country (IP8).

IP8: “Well, because we need to work, we want to work. But the main reason for us is[…] to live in a different country, different culture, and different opportunity for thework, it is something completely different.”

Furthermore, two women mention that expatriate assignments are part of an organizational culture

where they or their husbands work (IP6 and IP8).

IP6: “It is very common to move, to have an expat assignment. Or if you would like to,that is easy to get one. And it is also a lot of people who do it. It is part of a career therealso.”

6.2. Category B - Expatriation and DCF-related issues

Category B describes how the life of dual-career families is organized during their expatriation in

Austria. This allows to shed light on which challenges and difficulties women face trying to

combine family and career in a host country. Besides, the chapter gives an overview of how family

duties are distributed between partners of a DCF during expatriation, and how families reconcile

both careers in Austria. Starting a family is a significant phase for every DCC as a childcare

requires a lot of resources to be redistributed within a family. The interviewees share their

experiences on how they organize childcare during expatriation, which challenges children may

face due to relocation, and how it influences career continuation of partners in a DCF.

6.2.1. Challenges to combine work and family during expatriation

Among the most common challenges DCFs face while combining work and family during

expatriation are finding a position for an accompanying spouse, work-family interference,

persuasion of both careers during expatriation, and roles distribution within the family.

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6.2.1.1. Finding a position for the trailing spouse

The vast majority of the interview partners had a clear plan and strategy of how they and their

husbands are going to continue their careers in Austria, whereas one interviewee had a list of things

and activities with which she can be occupied in her free time. However, she admits that after a

certain period she realized that she feels terrible and unhappy without continuation of her career.

She struggled to find a position in Austria as her education was not recognized in a host country.

Thus, she ought to find alternatives, although in the same field. As a result, when she was not

working and later when she was unsuccessfully looking for a position in Austria, she questioned the

decision her husband and she had made to relocate to Austria.

IP1: “And I feel more content and even though it's not an easy job I am doing […] Itmakes me happy to have a task to get up in the morning and matter, and make adifference.”

Three further respondents mention finding a position for a trailing spouse as a challenge for a dual-

career family during expatriation. They highlight the difficultly to receive a work authorization as

one of the most significant barriers to continue a career in a host country. Furthermore, the absence

of a network of professional contacts, lack of local language skills, the absence of the Internet at

home are mentioned among potential obstacles.

IP3: “There are situation when a wife, she finds something to do, but it’s not using hercapacity. She is doing something else, different from what she studied for, different fromwhat she prepared for. She finds something else just to fill [...] to use her time. It is notto make her happy and to make her feel useful.”

6.2.1.2. Work influences family, family influences work

All the interview partners point out that for them it is challenging to combine work and family

during expatriation in Austria, although problems and coping strategies differ. Answering the

question about challenges women face during expatriation in Austria, seven participants describe

different moments related to raising children. Different aspects of the organization of a childcare in

Austria is mentioned by five women as an important factor for supporting a work-family balance.

One woman finds it difficult to be away from her daughter, missing the opportunity to participate

more actively in her life. Three interview partners highlight that supporting children requires more

time and energy now due to the expatriation.

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During expatriation five women work part-time, two of them worked full-time before the

expatriation. Both of them decided to reduce their working hours to be able to support family during

expatriation. Two women point out that they have been working part-time for a longer period of

time in order to stay flexible and take care of children. Two participants admit that they tried to

organize their work in Austria in a way that it is not too stressful to maintain balance between work

and family, although one woman still misses an active and demanding position that she had in her

home country.

IP2: “I like my job and you know, it enables me to be with my children, but it's not assatisfying as having a career where you can get involved in the bigger picture.”

Time is mentioned as one of the main challenges while trying to combine work and family during

expatriation not only due to the necessity to take care of children, but also due to the peculiarities of

the Austrian context by four respondents. Three participants explain that short working hours

everywhere influence the organization of daily routines and work. One woman reports that for her it

is difficult to get used to short working hours of supermarkets. She explains it being related to the

pace of life in Austria. In her opinion people respect the possibility for everybody to enjoy their

evenings and Sundays with their families. Two mothers highlight that all appointments related to

children and household are made during the working day. One interviewee takes breaks from work

in the afternoon to be able to take care of the children, and comes back to work in the evening and

during night. Therefore, it is challenging for them to combine private life with a full-time career in

Austria and switch to part-time positions.

IP2: “We have a lot more appointments and interactions related to the children […]And because there are all at 1 o'clock on a weekday it's very difficult for Christian togo, but it's easy for me to go [...] if I was at this point wanting to pursue an active andcompetitive career, I think, I would find it very very difficult.”

Four interview partners explain that they rely on proper planning and organization to find and

maintain balance between work and family during expatriation. Mothers not only thoroughly

organize their own time, they should also plan in advance who and when take care of the children to

enable them to work and travel for work. Two women wake up early and start their work early to be

able to devote their time to personal activities and family in the evenings more. Hence, organization

and properly developed support system are assumed to be the key not to be overloaded and not to

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feel stressed. Furthermore, two interview partners mention a change of a lifestyle as the way to

combine work and family more comfortably during expatriation. They tend to make their life very

quiet and prefer to participate in a smaller number of activities in comparison to the lifestyle they

had before expatriation. As a result, they reduce their social life. At the same time two interviewees

explicitly report that they have a feeling that they find their balance in organizing work and family

life while in Austria. One mother highlights that it is easier for her to do in Austria than it was in her

home country and other international location.

IP5: “I have learned to do a balanced lifestyle, where I have my full-time job, and thenI have my family time, and my mother time with my daughter. So, I think, it’s possible tofind this balance […] my life balance is very well done, I think.”

Three respondents point out that their quality of life increased in comparison to the quality of life

they had had in a home or in previous international location. Two of them explain that their income

is higher and serves as a significant addition to a family budget. One woman admits that although

the amount of taxes they pay in Austria is larger than what they paid in their home country, the fees

for childcare facilities are much lower and this has a great impact on their quality of life.

Six interviewed individuals report different challenges they face due to lack of local language skills,

while other two interview colleagues come from German-speaking countries. Four mothers admit

that their children have difficulties related to German and English language. These challenges are

discussed later in the chapter “Childcare organization”. Three women explain that not knowing the

language create tension in their communication with local country nationals and is stressful for

them. Among the situations when this happens are mentioned doing groceries, fixing household

problems, communication with other parents at school and on playgrounds, access to the

information, bureaucratic issues, and administration topics. Thus, not knowing the local language

makes private issues more challenging and time-consuming to deal with.

Among other challenges women face during expatriation in Austria are also mentioned gathering

information about how everything works in Austria. When the research is conducted alone without

external support this tend to be time-consuming, overwhelming, stressful, and sometimes may be

misleading or insufficient, especially when the relocation has to be performed in a short period of

time. Other woman mentions that absence of working and living permit for her husband and living

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permit for her daughter makes it more difficult to combine work and family during expatriation.

Further unexpected problem for her is that her husband and daughter need to have German language

skills in order to be able to receive these permissions.

IP7: “If their living permit and working permit would be easily supplied by thecompany or by legal authorities, my life would be easier [...] This is the first difficultyfor me.”

6.2.1.3. Reconcile both careers during expatriation

How the decision to relocate and embrace an expatriation was taken may shed light on how careers

of a woman and her husband are treated and prioritized in a family. Three interviewees report that it

was a mutual decision to go for an expatriation.

IP8: “It is always a mutual decision. From my perspective, cannot be one way decision.It’s too much asking of a family.”

One woman admits that it was her desire to relocate to Austria. Other four respondents explain that

the husband was the driver for the expatriation. In one case, the woman did not want to accept his

partner's expatriate assignment.

IP1: “He was up for the challenge and ready to go. But I was the one hesitatingbecause I had a nice job, we had a nice flat. Basically, I had everything I had everwanted at this point. And this was the most difficult decision I had to make in my life, toleave my comfort zone.”

However, in the end she decided to quit her job and follow the husband. Other three women

supported their husbands from the beginning.

One respondent relocated for her job, one woman took her job with her, one was ready to quit her

job and find a position in Austria, but eventually was able to take her job with her to Austria. One

interviewee relocated without a clear vision of how her career can be organized in Austria, three

agreed to go only in case they have a secured position from the beginning of expatriation. For one

woman, the position was offered proactively by the employer of a husband during negotiation

process.

Most of the respondents admit that the position of a husband in Austria is more challenging,

demanding, and higher in a hierarchy in comparison to their own positions. One of these women

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was a breadwinner in a family before expatriation. It was a mutual decision that now the career of a

husband takes turn, while she is more with the family. Two women explicitly regard the career of a

husband as more important during expatriation. One woman explains that the expatriation does not

influence the distribution of roles in her family, as her husband and she decided quite early in their

family life that the main career is of the husband. Due to the baby pause and the peculiarities of an

academic career it is not possible for them to achieve the same level of career progression at the

same time in the same location. While one woman refused the possibility of her career progression

due to lack of desire to live in a different place from her husband, other interview colleague adapted

this approach for two years. She expects the husband to join her in Austria later, although they may

still live in different locations as she works in Upper Austria and he has more career prospects in

Vienna.

Two women report that they are able to maintain both careers on the same level during expatriation,

although one women admits that the career of a husband has a leading role in the family and she is

always running behind and finding a position for her afterwards. Her husband and she have the

same background, the same education, so it has always been her personal interest and motivation to

keep the same level of a career.

IP3: “It’s always an issue, it’s never easy, because two people have two differentexperiences, have different interests [...] I think it’s almost impossible to combine bothcareers at the same time.”

6.2.1.4. Relationship with the spouse

Nearly all the interviewees mention that it was of paramount importance for them to continue

working after the relocation to Austria. Only one woman mentions that she decided to relocate

without a position for her and without a properly developed plan of how she continues her career

during expatriation. She explains that due to this approach after the relocation she realized that the

continuation of her career is important not only for her, but also for the well-being of her family.

She is happy now with how she organized her work in Austria and highlights that her contentment

with the situation tends to make her relationship with the husband healthier, and her children calmer

and more independent.

IP1: “If you come over as an attachment to your husband, without your own life,without any passion or joy in this [...] the relationship will suffer. In the beginning, it

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was just his project, but I knew I had to make it my project as well, if we wanted tosucceed.”

Three participants report that their current job and their expatriate assignment do not have any

particular influence on the relationship with the husband. Two of these women have been working

with the husband together in one organization before, for the last woman it is a new circumstance.

However, she does not describe it as a challenge or a difficulty explaining that both partners try to

enjoy their time with other colleagues, and not to meet too often at the company, so that everyone

has a different atmosphere and environment.

One respondent admits that although she tries to be as flexible as possible, it can come to a situation

when her interests and the interests of her husband collide. Due to limited available sources of

support during expatriation she needs support and presence of the husband more often. However, he

is busy at work, insisting that his career is more important than hers. Therefore, it can create some

tension in the relationship. Not feeling equally treated leads her to an assumption that both partners

may have different goals. One interviewee regards the expatriation her family is undertaking as

significantly influencing her personal relationship with the husband in a positive way. As they have

a completely new family experience, they communicate and share more than when they had a

routine in their home country.

IP8: “We’ve been closer and doing more activities together [...] It is asking us to havea more open discussion about what’s going on [...] It’s bringing more closeness.”

Four interviewees admit that it is quite difficult to find time together with the partner. One woman

tries to find at least some time every evening to spend with the husband. Two women report having

more family time during the weekends. Planning activities for the family in advance is assumed to

bring balance in a hectic life of the working partners.

IP5: “This is the time for work, and after work this is family time [...] And also try to becreative, to do activities with your family, what to do every day or during the weekends,to really recreate yourself, and have fun.”

As far as the interviewee whose family lives in other country is concerned, they try to see each

other as much as possible. The husband and daughter come occasionally to Austria, she is able to

stay in her home country for some time during her frequent business trips, taking care of the family

and working from the home office.

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6.2.1.5. Distribution of tasks and duties

When asked about the distribution of household and child-rearing tasks and duties in a family, only

one interviewee reports that they are distributed equally.

IP5: “There has to be a continuous support from each other. So, the two in the couplehave to clean the house, to cook, to look for the children, do the shopping, so that weboth can have enough time to have a rest, or to enjoy the family.”

One interview partner admits that her husband is responsible for more family issues because his job

is less challenging and do not imply traveling. Other six interview colleagues mention that they are

responsible for the majority of family duties during expatriation. Four respondents explain that they

do more at home because they work less than their husbands, while one interview colleague adds

that she is responsible for more also because she earns less than her husband and describes her

situation as being in a more “stereotype woman role”. Two participants attribute this uneven

distribution to their personal qualities, specifying that they like to be in control of the family tasks

and tend to accomplish them easily. One woman relates uneven distribution in her family to an

influence of her home country culture where women are responsible for taking care of the husband,

children, and home.

Two interview partners report that the distribution of duties and tasks within the family was nearly

the same before the expatriate assignment, whereas now they are responsible for more. Three

women explain that they had a more extensive support system in the home country. They were not

necessarily the ones who did the family work, although they were responsible for the organization.

As the result, they had more time for their work, personal activities, and relaxation before the

relocation. One interviewee highlights that duties were more evenly distributed before expatriation,

and it was agreed at the beginning that the woman is responsible for more tasks within the first year

of the expatriation to support family adaptation and the husband in his new challenging position in

Austria. One woman admits that as her career and the career of a husband take turns, the

distribution of duties has been changed during different phases accordingly. One mother has less

family responsibilities now as she lives in a different location and not able to support her husband in

household and child-rearing tasks as much as she did before relocation. She tries to catch up

whenever she has a chance to visit her family.

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IP7: “My husband is having more responsibilities right now [...] So, when I travel backhome I need to double-work, I need to compensate time that I am having away fromthem.”

On the whole, the majority of respondents are satisfied with the distribution of the household and

child-rearing in their families, whereas two participants admit that although they are not happy with

the uneven distribution, they accept and reconcile themselves with it.

6.2.2. Raising children during expatriation in Austria

The subchapter gives an overview of how childcare is organized in DCFs in Austria. Furthermore,

maternity leave and challenges children experience during expatriation are discussed.

6.2.2.1. Childcare

Raising and taking care of children is one of the most time-consuming and important task families

are confronted with. When children are under 18 years old, they need support and the organization

of childcare facilities for them in order to enable parents to work. The empirical study shows that

during expatriation in the majority of families women are mainly responsible for the childcare. Two

participants mention that the husband also helps occasionally. One respondent admits that her

husband is mainly responsible for the childcare during her expatriation. Two women mention that

sometimes they work and take care of their children simultaneously. Children either come to the

office until the mother finishes work or are at home while the mother is working from a home

office.

Two children go to the local kindergartens, two go to local schools, eight children go to public

international schools, one is supposed to go to an international school when she relocates to Austria.

In case of local schools and kindergartens for one family it was natural to choose local German-

speaking facilities as German is their native language. They chose a school near their house, the

kindergarten was recommended by the head of the school. The other family with children in local

German-speaking facilities decided that the children are young enough to be introduced to German

to learn the language properly. Furthermore, they wanted children to grow in the local environment,

not only among expatriates.

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The choice of an international school is mainly explained by the language. Two families considered

that it was too challenging for children to be introduced to a new language during the last few years

at school.

IP8: “Basically, you don’t have any choice, it’s one school, it’s one internationalschool, because it has to be international, because the kids don’t speak German, andbarely English. So, you don’t have that much choice.”

Furthermore, one women mentions that they wanted the children to feel more welcomed. She

assumes that it is easier to achieve in an international school as for foreigners it may be more

comfortable to adjust to an international community.

Five children go to the after-school care, two of them in a local school, other three in an

international school. The after-school care allows women to have either longer working days or

time to accomplish household tasks. Among external sources of support are also mentioned

babysitters, friends who come to babysit children, the city with different camps and workshops for

children, day-care of the university, school with after-school activities. Besides, two participants

highlight that the grandparents help to organize the childcare during longer periods of time.

IP4: “And then of course [...] we do a lot of traveling abroad, and we always have tofind somebody for the child. So, these are the most challenging things. Because wecannot just go to the conference, but we have to find grandparents, who are able tocome here for a week. So, time management is really a thing.”

6.2.2.2. Maternity leave

Interview partners do not mention maternity leave during their expatriation in Austria. Only one

woman is going to experience a child birth and maternity leave in Austria as she is pregnant at the

moment of an interview. She mentions that she is going to return to work when the child is one year

old. Other woman describes that although she does not need it anymore as her children are older,

she admires that in Austria both mothers and fathers may take the parental leave. The interviewee

highlights that when every man has the same risk of being away for raising children, women should

no longer suffer from the anticipation of an employer that she can become pregnant or that she may

leave work too often due to sickness of her small children.

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IP3: “I think this could be a huge change in the way they look at us, right?! So, we arenot the only one who should be raising the next generation. All others should beresponsible, right? The companies themselves they are also interested in the nextgeneration. So, and we are the one who is doing it for them. So, they should find a wayto support. So, having the same leave for mothers and fathers, I think, would help.Because it’s not only on the women’s side, it’s divided. So, both are helping”.

6.2.2.3. Challenges to raise children during expatriation in Austria

For children, the relocation to other country may be challenging, especially considering the fact that

it is the decision of the parents, not their own. Two interview partners mention that their children

were against relocation and it was difficult for them to accept the challenge. Children are deprived

of the social circle of their friends and need to develop new friendships. Besides, it is not always

possible to organize activities they used to do in their home country. One interviewee highlights that

for their children the transition from a countryside in a home country to the downtown in a host

country is significant as they have to adapt to a new lifestyle. Furthermore, new school may have a

different approach and new rules to which children also should adapt.

IP8: “A little bit more discipline, strict, and procedures, which is a little bit different forthe kids in our school. So, to raise the kids we need to support them a little bit more onthe organizing, a little bit more discipline, make sure that the handwriting is reallyproper.”

Language is regarded as one of the main challenges for children by all the non-German speaking

respondents except for one. When she relocated to Austria the oldest child was four years old and it

may be supposed that he caught up with the language easily. Language can serve as a background, a

catalyst and a complication to all the problems and difficulties children may face during

expatriation. Children are confronted with studies in a foreign language at school. Respondents

report that it is difficult for children to socialize in a foreign language and find friends. One

participant admits that it is challenging to find activities for the children due to their lack of German

language skills, insecurity, and reluctance to participate in activities in a foreign language. As a

result, parents spend a lot of time helping children with the homework, teaching them English, and

helping them to find new friends.

IP6: “So, normally and where we used to live it was already there and here you reallyhave to help them [...] help them feel comfortable and get friends.”

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Three interview partners report that their children are more autonomous. One child wants to go to

school alone, other children use public transportation by themselves, although they did not use it at

all in the home country. Furthermore, children are introduced to a smartphone and social media in

order to maintain the connection while children are on their way to school and back home alone

much earlier in life than the parents expected. One interviewee highlights that public transport and

security in Austria allow her children to be more independent than in the home country.

The majority of interviewed individuals mention challenges related to the organization of after-

school care for their children. One woman relocated to Austria mid-term, thus did not receive a

place for her child in the after-school care. She was able to start working owing to the support of a

mother of other pupil in the son’s class who took the child for lunch every day. Two women explain

that for them it is difficult to have longer working days as many parents pick their children up early

from the after-school care. They feel guilty to leave the children longer there.

Three out of five respondents whose children go to an international school complain about the

absence of the after-school care during holidays. The rest two women either have older children

who do not require supervision after school or has been staying in Austria for a short period of time

and have not yet experienced holidays there.

IP5: “In the international school the day-care is not open during holidays’ time, forexample. So, every time there is a short or long holiday, or when there is a bridge timeduring the weekends, then I need to look for a day-care for my daughter or I need tolook for a camp, or I need to look for someone to take care of her. So, this is theproblem that I have, because I cannot always take holidays to be with my child, nor myhusband. So, we need to organize it, the day-care.”

Two women explain that the summer holidays in their home countries are much shorter and usually

the after-school care is available through the whole period.

IP4: “My son has nine weeks of summer vacation, and I have what? Five weeks. And ofcourse, this does not really go together too well.”

The empirical research shows that although many expatriates tend to opt for an international school

during their expatriation in Austria due to the lack of German language skills of their children, this

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may entail additional time-consuming and complicated organization of the after-school care during

holidays.

The results illustrate that the interplay between work and family becomes more prominent during

expatriation. The continuation of a career is a challenging task to accomplish for trailing spouses

due to several reasons. The majority of respondents highlight that it is nearly impossible to maintain

both careers at the same level during expatriation. It may be difficult to find a position in a host

location. Family require additional support adapting to new circumstances, forcing women to slow

down their careers. Women are not only responsible for more household and child-rearing tasks, but

the distribution of duties between partners tends to become more uneven when it is initially a

husband who gets an expatriate assignment and a woman follows him to the host counties. Time is

assumed to become an even more limited resource as a number of available sources of external

support tend to shrink during expatriation. Thus, planning and organization, along with external

support, are named as the main strategy to combine work and family during expatriation.

6.3. Category C - Sources of support for women in DCFs during expatriation

The questions in Category C ask for sources of support women in DCFs have during expatiation.

Participants share their experience on how they combine work and family while in Austria. At the

beginning women describe an internal source of support – a family. While an extended family

usually stays in a home country, external sources of support gain importance. The respondents

specify how social network of friends, neighbors, and colleagues in the host country helps them

dealing with challenges they face while working and raising children in Austria. Moreover, which

governmental support they find supportive for families. Perceived effectiveness of childcare

facilities is also described. Furthermore, the category highlights the cultural context the expatriates

in Austria operate in.

6.3.1. Family

Nearly all expatriates who relocate to other countries are confronted with a situation when an

extended family is far away. Frequent visits are no longer possible. This leads to several challenges

for expatriate families. Seven out of eight respondents admit that the participation of an extended

family in their life is very limited due to expatriation, although in a home country they always

provided childcare support for DCFs. Two women report that grandparents are no longer around to

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help them, whereas three interview colleagues mention the whole extended family. One mother

highlights that grandparents helped her also in cases of emergency, enabling woman to continue

working also when children were sick.

IP8: “I would call my mother in law or my mom, and they will come and they will takecare and stay. But as an expat you do not have that family support around you.”

Only two participants experience the luxury of receiving support from members of an extended

family at least occasionally. They try either visit their home country or the grandparents come to

visit them in the host country on holidays. During these periods family members help the DCFs to

take care of the children.

DCFs during expatriation are deprived not only of instrumental support from an extended family,

but also of emotional support. Availability of the Internet, social media and different messengers

allows to maintain communication with family members who stays in a home country. However, it

may not replace personal live contacts. One interviewee mentions that this absence of an extended

family in a host location especially influences children and their perception of the world.

IP5: “And this is maybe not good for the kids, because they are growing up with asmaller family environment. They don’t get the feeling that they are supported by a lotof family members. They are missing maybe the affection, the company, not talkingabout the cultural aspect of a family.”

All the respondents admit that their husbands support their aspiration to continue a career during

expatriation. Two participants highlight that it would be impossible to get where they are in terms

of career development without the support and understanding of the spouse.

IP7: “My support is my husband. If my husband had not supported me during thisprocess, I would not be able to do that. This is for sure.”

One interviewee mentions that her husband supports her and is proud of her work and achievements

only until she enables him to do his job, until it does not bother him.

IP6: “On one hand, yes, he supports me, and I know that he understands, and [...] Butonly if it’s not in his way.”

In other words, although husbands emotionally support them, not all the husbands are ready to

provide instrumental support in the form of accomplishing household and child-rearing tasks,

especially when it interferes with their jobs. Only half of the respondents explicitly mention that

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husbands help them organize family obligations. One husband is more responsible for insurances,

paperwork, and finances in the family, other does the groceries and help with the childcare. In one

family all the duties, including cleaning the house, cooking, looking for the children, and doing the

shopping are evenly distributed, whereas in other family the husband mainly responsible for all the

household and child-rearing tasks.

6.3.2. Social network

As an extended family stays in a home country and is not able to support dual-career families

regularly and extensively, a social network of friends, neighbors, and colleagues gains significant

importance.

IP5: “It is very important to have a network of friends [...] especially for expats. If wedon’t have relatives, we need to get support from friends or other people.”

The respondents highlight that it may be advantageous to have friends both at work and outside

work, among expatriates and local country residents. This diversity is assumed to increase chances

to find support in case of an emergency and to multiply the chances of receiving reliable and

important information.

IP2: “So there's a lot of stuff that you can very really easily miss out if you don't havecontacts. Yeah, we've been very very lucky.”

The participants report that a social network in a host country provides emotional support for the

expatriates. Understanding and empathy are important not only for the partners in DCFs, but also

for the children. Friends may take a part of the extended family role and give company and

affection for the children. Three interviewees mention that they can rely on their friends and

neighbors in case of an emergency. Usually these situations are related to children, e.g. they can

pick up children from school if something unexpectedly prevents parents from coming to school in

time.

Furthermore, friends, neighbors, and colleagues provide information for DCFs. They support

interviewees by familiarizing them with how different systems work in the host country. They share

information about public transportation, options for childcare, benefits for families,

recommendations for restaurants and leisure activities.

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IP1: “It was really the one neighbor, who sat down with me, and told me to go get theFamily Card from Familienverbund, to look for a Leihoma, explained me how thepublic transport works, and what festivals to go to, and what festivals to avoid.”

One interview partner highlights that having friends of the same origin helps to understand

differences between the host and home country cultures deeper, whereas other interview colleague

reports that it was the head of the son’s school who explained to her cultural peculiarities and the

attitude of the Austrians. Having friends of the same origin may foster the adaptation of children in

a host country as they are able to speak their mother tongue and develop friendship without

additional pressure.

IP8: “We are lucky enough to have another Canadian family here [...] So, we have anopportunity for kids to speak French, you know, at least to have friends and play over,we do activities with them […] having a Canadian family already settled down here. Ithas been the best support [...] that could influence a lot an expatriation, if there isalready someone, the same country, etc., it helps a lot.”

One woman mentions that friends help her create a professional life in Austria. Since she works

remotely for her company in the home country, it is important for her to receive professional

informational support in the host country and develop professional contacts in Austria. She also

received a position in Austria in addition to working in her own company through the help of her

friends.

IP6: “I have friends here who really support what I do, and I can talk to them about it[…] And the university [...] I got there through Meghan. She was very big supportactually, because she understood what I was doing, also in my job. And then she hiredme for lecturing, so she helped me a lot with creating my professional life here.”

Besides, friends, colleagues, and neighbors help DCFs to organize their life in a host country. One

interviewee mentions that friends helped her find and relocate to a flat. Furthermore, she plan to

rely on her social network to find a position for her husband when he relocates to Austria.

IP7: “To find a flat and to move to a flat, assemble of furniture, all this stuff, it was abig process for me alone here. And I got a lot of support from my friends and mycolleagues.”

Three interview partners report that their social network helps them to take care of the children.

Furthermore, friends and colleagues help to deal with bureaucratic issues such as taxes and visas.

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Five out of eight respondents admit that parents of other children at school are very supportive, nice

and kind. They provide informational assistance, as well as emotional support. One mother

mentions that parents in the international school organize themselves in different clubs based on

their interests for leisure activities.

IP5: “I think it is actually a big advantage to have kids when you are an expat, becauseit multiplies the chances for you to get to know other people.”

Six participants report that they participate in different Facebook groups, WhatsApp groups, and

initiative groups helping expatriates to find information to deal with private issues, ask questions,

find babysitters and housekeepers.

The half of the interview partners report that they do not participate in any group gatherings or

activities, organized by the colleagues, by the school, other parents or international groups. Some

find it difficult to participate due to inconvenient time or due to the absence of time. Two women

admit that they do not feel that they need it.

IP4: “But I never participated in anything. Maybe because I always thought Austria isclose to Germany, and a lot of things I don’t need, because I speak nearly the samelanguage. So, I only have a physicists’ network, just women.”

The majority of the respondents tend to have less friends among host country nationals than among

other expatriates. Two women find it difficult to develop friendship due to the lack of German. One

interview partner underlines that she feels herself more comfortable and welcomed in an

international community. Other interview colleague supports this opinion explaining that in her

company people work and communicate in a foreign language, thus they tend to be more

welcoming for newcomers.

IP2: “If you are foreigner and you go work in a company from that country, thenpeople might be less helpful, and they might find it more frustrating, because yourGerman is stopping you doing your work as well as you might be doing it. But becauseeveryone is working in a foreign language it does mean that they are much more helpfuland ready for foreigners.”

One woman mentions that local country nationals are not always looking for friendship as they have

an established social circle of friends and family members in their home country. Expatriates, on the

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contrary, tend to be more open for new contacts. Thus, it is supposed to be easier to make friends

with other expatriates than with local country nationals.

6.3.3. External instrumental support

Four interviewees have babysitters, two of them making use of this help regularly and two

occasionally. Three women have a housekeeper to support them with household tasks. One of these

three women compares her experience of having a housekeeper in Austria and in her home country.

In Austria, she has this support once a week, whereas in her home country someone was present

every day to take care of the house process from cooking and cleaning to taking care of the clothes

and ironing.

6.3.4. Governmental support

Most of the respondents are satisfied with the governmental support for families in Austria. Three

interviewees describe social governmental support as being favorable to families, highlighting that

laws and requirements are adequate, and the quantity and quality of service for families are very

comprehensive. Two interview partners mention that the government and the city provide many

possibilities to support children during holidays by organizing a lot of programs for sports,

education, culture, and entertainment, workshops and camps.

IP5: “I think the Austrian government is doing a lot, a lot of efforts to really provideopportunities for well-being of kids and families [...] And also for health-care [...] Ithink Austria has a very high standard of quality of living in all senses […] I think thesocial support in Austria, and the facilities from the government, I think, it is still verywell-structured and working fine.”

Furthermore, the respondents regard public transportation and security system in Austria as very

well-organized. Passes for trams and buses are also appreciated.

The government provides not only instrumental support, but also informational support for

expatriates. One working mother reports that they benefited from a book for newcomers provided

by the city authority which tells how everything works in the city. Other family participated in an

evening organized by the chamber of commerce which aim was to familiarize expatriates with the

Austrian tax system.

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IP2: “And specifically if you move here, you can claim all moving costs. We wouldnever had known that if we hadn't gone to that evening. And we went to that eveningbecause someone at work recommended it.”

Three respondents describe an opportunity to take a sick leave for a week as a perfect way for the

families to be prepared for the cases of an emergency. They did not have this opportunity in their

home countries or other international locations and were forced to take holidays or days off which

were not paid.

IP3: “I usually don’t use it. But it’s good to know that I have this. If I need, I can use,so to support family in this kind of situation.”

One mother mentions that she appreciates an opportunity given by the state for both parents to take

a parental leave when a child is born. In her opinion, this procedure should be implemented in other

countries to support men as care-takers and to enable women to continue their careers also after

having a child.

Although the participants appreciate and value support the government provides for the families in

Austria, there are also several challenges for expatriates. Four women mention that not knowing

German makes it difficult to deal with bureaucratic and administrative issues. They explain that

usually all the forms are in German what makes it nearly impossible to process and complete them

without external support. One interviewee wishes for more explicit information about official

procedures.

IP2: “I find that the Austrian state setup doesn't necessarily tell us what it should […] Ithink that's a bit unfortunate that the things that are really important are not made a bitmore obvious.”

Furthermore, two interview partners complain about strict governmental rules concerning work and

living permits. One working mother explains that she finds it challenging for her husband and

daughter to fulfill the requirements of German language knowledge in order to receive a working

and living permit.

IP7: “As I found out my husband needs to speak A1 level German to be able to comehere, and to start living with me. And since my daughter is over 14 years old, the samething is also for my daughter, I heard. So, this is a big challenge and a big surprise forus.”

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All seven interview partners whose children live with them in Austria and attend childcare facilities

are totally satisfied with them. Two interviewees regard prices for places in the nurseries,

kindergartens, and in the after-school care as affordable. Families have more money left for

additional expenditures, thus they have a higher level of the perceived quality of life in comparison

to their home country.

IP2: “The quality of life we have here, because child care is so subsidized, it means Ican work part-time, we have a much easier quality of life, I get to see my children a lotmore than I did before. And that was really really important to us.”

Furthermore, one participant admits that the quality of childcare facilities differs greatly from what

the interviewee experienced in her home county. According to her observations, nurseries and

kindergartens in Austria foster personal development of children, tend to encourage creativity, and

help children to acquire German language skills.

Two respondents report that the personnel at school is very supportive for them as expatriates,

explains cultural peculiarities, always give a notice in advance of what is coming and about the

activities children have at school. Among other positive aspects are also mentioned lunch provided

for the children in nurseries, kindergartens, and after-school care, and a flexible time for bringing a

child in a nursery or a kindergarten. This allows families to have a more balanced and relaxed

routine, and mothers are able to have longer working days being sure that the children are well

taken care of.

IP1: “Here we have this open window of maybe an hour or an hour and a half which isgoing in whenever we're ready. That's a weight...a huge weight lift of me.”

The only problem parents mention is the organization of the day-care in the international school

during holidays. This issue was discussed in the chapter “Expatriation and DCF-related issues”.

6.3.5. Social acceptance

The vast majority of the participants report that they have a feeling that Austria is a quite socially

conservative country. Mothers who have children at a certain age tend to work part-time or stay at

home. People may be astonished by the fact that both partners in a family have careers and women

continue working during expatriation in Austria while having children who require childcare.

IP7: “It is more patriarchal society, Austria, so, you feel that. So, woman is having [...]more expectations at house life, let’s say so. This is what I feel in Austria.”

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When confronted with the question about the interviewees’ opinion about Austrian lifestyle, one

respondent admits that she has little contact with local country nationals as she works full-time in an

international company surrounded by other expatriates. Other interview colleague describes vaguely

that everyone she knows try to do at least something and not to sit at home.

Many interview partners notice that parents try to pick their children up from childcare facilities

early. Thus, mothers take their children to parks in the afternoon and spend more time with them in

comparison to the experiences respondents had in other countries. Mothers in Austria tend to be

more involved in the school life of their children. Three respondents mention that Austria has a

family-friendly environment. Although they appreciate it, interviewees admit that it is something

new for them and they need time and effort to get used and adjust to it. One mother mentions

cultural differences between the host and home countries at the beginning of an interview among

challenges she experiences trying to combine work and family during expatriation. Two

interviewed individuals explain that for them it is difficult to have longer working days or time for

their household activities as they do not want to differ from other families and tend to pick their

children up from the childcare facilities earlier than they did it in their home countries. Furthermore,

they feel guilty when their children stay there longer than other children.

IP2: “I feel like I should pick them up the second I finish work and that comes fromhaving... I have friends here and that's what they do [...] And that's been difficult,because [...] not because anyone ever said anything, but you don't want to look like aRabenmutter.”

One woman admits that she feels that the lifestyle her family has in Austria does not differ from that

of the Austrian people. In her family, the husband has a full-time position and has a more

significant career, she works part-time and is responsible for more family obligations.

IP1: “I feel like we blended completely. The way we do it now feels comfortable to usand it feels familiar. That's the way we've been doing it in Switzerland and that seems tobe the way everyone does it here.”

Her interview colleague feels that her lifestyle is supported by her environment only because she is

flexible, is not working full-time, and is able to devote her time to children. Otherwise she assumes

she might have been perceived as a bad mother.

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IP6: “They like it, maybe also because I am combining it, you know. I am also a lot atthe school or with the children […] So, maybe in that way I don’t feel as free to spend alot of time in my work, because they do it the other way around. Like, family is mostimportant, and my work is, like, in-between, or during night.”

One participant admits that she differs from local country nationals. She has a career and lives

outside her home country without her family around. The woman regards her lifestyle as being

exceptional for the society and reports that it would be more understandable for people if she was a

man. Thus, she differs not only from the local country nationals, but also from expatriates.

The participants are surrounded by both local country nationals and by other expatriates. Thus, they

compare their lifestyle also to that of other expatriates. According to the observations of the

respondents, expats are usually men whose families follow them on assignments. Moreover, it is

difficult and challenging for the female trailing spouse to find an employment and continue her

career in a host country. Some maybe do not even want it in order to be able to support family

during expatriation, as a full-time position tends to make it very difficult to maintain both careers

during expatriation at the same level.

IP3: “The people I know they are from [...] other countries. For those people it isdifferent that we both work. Usually it is difficult to the partner, to the wife […] Usuallythe man brings the family.”

As a result, five families in the sample differ from a common picture of an expatriate and his

family. Four women received a position at the husband’s organizations during the negotiation

process for the expatriation of men, although three of them work part-time. One woman relocated

for her own position while her family stays in her home country.

Many respondents admit that other expatriate women in their surrounding usually do not work, thus

have more time to devote to their children and husband. The majority of parents in an international

school are also expatriates. The participants admit that due to the lack of a career women also tend

to pick their children up early from the childcare facilities. Therefore, they face the same difficulties

as the women whose children attend local public schools.

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The empirical research shows that after the relocation to the new country families leave the support

system in home countries behind and are forced to develop a new system in a host country. All the

women are emotionally supported by their husband. However, not all of them provide instrumental

support to their wives. Half of the respondents tend to be responsible for the majority of the

household and child-rearing issues during expatriation. All the interview partners highlight that they

rely on external support to be able to combine work and family in Austria. While the quantity and

quality of support may differ, only one mother mentions a couple of friends who can help in case of

an emergency. Others describe a well-developed support system which consists of friends among

local country nationals and other expatriates, neighbors, colleagues, babysitters, housekeepers, and

support groups in social media. Furthermore, the results illustrate that the participants value and rely

on governmental support regarding Austria as a family-friendly country. At the same time

respondents mention that their lifestyle differs from the lifestyle most of the Austrian mothers and

other expatriates tend to have. Although they do not feel themselves excluded from the

environment, it may cause several challenges. Due to the external support system women enjoy the

possibility to continue their career in a host country.

6.4. Category D - Organizational support for women in DCFs during expatriation

Category D focuses on the organizational support companies may provide for DCFs to support

women during expatriation. On the one hand, the chapter describes what the working women think

about general awareness of organizations of DCF-related issues. On the other hand, the respondents

share their experience of family support provided by organizations where women and their

husbands work. Furthermore, the participants explain whether provided support is effective and

sufficient. At the end, possible areas for improvement of the organizational support is presented

based on the participants’ perception of their needs and environmental requirements.

6.4.1. General awareness of the DCF-related challenges

Organizational support can represent a significant and valuable source of support for women in

DCFs. It is supposed to reduce stress women experience trying to combine work and family in a

host country, and to help working mothers achieve a balanced work-life state. However, the

majority of the respondents report that companies in general either not aware of the challenges

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working mothers face during expatriation or do not want to make an effort to support them and

leave the responsibility for family issues to a family.

As it was mentioned in the previous chapter, most of expatriates are men who are single or who

take the family with them to a host country, though a wife usually does not work and takes care of a

family during expatriation. Three respondents explain that due to this fact organizations may have

little experience of dealing with DCFs.

IP7: “No, they are not aware […] They don’t do anything extra to help women, I don’tthink so. They don’t even think about it.”

However, her interview colleague points out that although an organization may have little

experience dealing with family issues of expatriates, the extent and quality of support tend to

depend on the company and people who work their, how honest, reliable, and responsive they are.

Two interview partners explain that companies tend to consider the family of expatriates to be

flexible enough to rely on their own resources to adapt to a new country and to arrange all the

family issues without organizational support. Furthermore, some organizations decide to cut back

expenditures on support for expatriates’ families because they consider employees to have enough

interest to go for an expatriation without additional benefits.

IP5: “They are very well aware. But not all the companies are willing to make a bigeffort.”

One working mother describes her experience in other international location. Although she was

content with the job, the company did not provide support for the family and there was a constant

worry to have a stable job for her husband. As a result, the family decided to end this stressful

experience, she left her job and relocated to Austria for the satisfying positions for both partners.

One respondent admits that she is not aware of general organizational awareness as she is a

researcher and the academic sphere has its own peculiarities. Other participant also report that it is

difficult for her to judge because she has been working for one organization for fifteen years and

has little information about how support system for expatriates is organized in other companies. She

vaguely mentions that she has a feeling that some other companies support families during

expatriation as good as her company does.

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6.4.2. Current organizational support

Two participants of the study admit that they received very limited support from the organization to

support the family. One of these companies has a number of expatriates, however leaves it to the

family to deal with private challenges of expatriation. Other company has little experience with

expatriates. One women from the sample mentions some support she and her husband received

from the organization. Further five respondents enjoy an extended organizational support. Four

companies are experienced in the topic, whereas one company learns how to support families

during expatriation with the family from the sample.

6.4.2.1. Career-related support for trailing spouse

As both partners in a DCF want to continue their careers during expatriation and due to complexity

of finding a position in a host country, a question of career-related support arises in the first place.

The half or respondents do not receive any career-related support for trailing spouses. Among these

four organizations only one offers informational support in this area. However, the working mother

admits that based on the experience of her husband she was aware of how to find a position in

Austria. As a result, this support was not relevant for her.

IP3: “They have some meetings that you can attend, ask questions, different questionthat you may have or maybe trying to support how you can find a job in Austria, how isthe Austrian system works. […] But I never used it, because I knew how to do it.Because I had a job, I was working, I was not desperate [...] I knew how the process ofgetting a job there works. So, I was just applying and trying to get the job myself.”

One woman has not been offered this support yet, but she plans to ask for the career-related support

for her husband when he relocates to Austria. Other participant explains that she got a position at an

organization due to the fact that her husband had the right for one more position at the university

and gave this position to the wife. The only benefit they received in this area is that the organization

agreed to provide a permanent instead of a temporary position for the spouse.

Four interview partners report that they received career-related support. Two companies were

reactive in this area, meaning that they offered positions for the trailing spouses when expatriates

mentioned that the position for a wife is a prerequisite for the relocation to Austria. One company

offered three positions for a trailing spouse to choose from.

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IP2: "Yes, I was guaranteed a job [...] And there are quite a lot of couples, where thepartner works there as well [...] So I'm qualified to do the job but I was offered it, yeah,because we were traveling together.”

IP8: “And it was not a problem. It was even what they’ve expected also.”

However, the last respondent admits that probably not all the trailing spouses may enjoy this type of

support from her organization. A friend whose husband is an expatriate in the same organization is

still looking for a job and does not have support from the organization. She refused to comment on

the topic further not willing to answer for a friend. One interviewee mentions that the company of

the husband offers informational support and a budget for professional development for women. A

special coach helps women to understand how they want to spend their time in Austria, and

provides information about how to find a job. The woman highlights that she did not use the

informational support as she has her own company. However, she finds the budget for professional

development very useful. The working mother invests this money in her own business. Although a

trailing spouse needs to provide an explanation of how a person plan to use this budget, it renews

every year.

IP6: “Yeah, that is enough actually, yeah. I used it to make my company moreinternational, for example translate the web-site, and do some trainings […] Every yearyou get a new budget.”

Only one respondent describes the organizational position regarding career-related support for

accompanying spouses as proactive in her company. During the negotiation process for her

husband’s position HR proposed career-related support for her.

IP5: “In my case I think it was relatively easy, because my profession matches theactivities of [the company] very well. And there were openings for my type of work atthat time [...] Then they told us that the two of us should be hired, to bring the two of us,because they did not want to have only one person hired and the other one looking for ajob, because this brings a lot of instability.”

Besides, the woman mentions that it is a common policy for all the expatriates in a company. The

interviewee underlines that in her opinion it speaks a lot about the company and about their deep

understanding of the DCF-related issues. The organization tries to satisfy employees from the

beginning since there are more possibilities that they work well and they stay for a longer period.

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6.4.2.2. Work-place flexibility

All the respondents regard work-place flexibility as a valuable tool that may allow them to combine

work and family easier. However, three interview partners admit that employers in Austria tend to

have a more traditional attitude towards employees providing less flexibility and expecting people

to be present in the office in the majority of the cases. They compare their experience with a more

relaxed and family-friendly environment at work they had in their home countries.

IP8: “That is important! I was gonna say ‘was’, it is important for me to have thatflexibility to work from home.”

The research shows that in general organizations tend to provide more time flexibility than place

flexibility in Austria. Seven respondents report that they and their husband are flexible enough lo

leave work for private issues and shift working time. Among these seven working mothers two

admit that this flexibility tends to be attributed to the level of the position they or their husband

occupy, a more professional or managerial one. One woman mentions that it is not always

technically possible to provide work-place flexibility for all the employees.

IP5: “I think this work flexibility depends pretty much on the type of job that we aredoing. In my case I am… Let’s say an independent worker, like researcher, aprofessional. So, I administrate my time. […] It is not the same, for example, foroperators, who are working in the production plants. They cannot just leave theworkplace, they need to be there, because the machines have to be running all thetime.”

One participant explains that due to the specific character of her work she cannot enjoy the

flexibility. As an English teacher at school she is not able to leave her workplace right away when

the private necessity arises.

IP1: “I don't think it's a really family-friendly place, no, for employees. And if the child,if one of my children is ill, I will have to bring in a note from a doctor. And I can’t justtake care of my boy, I will have to take him outside, bring him to the doctor, get thestatement “yes, he is ill”, and I'm allowed to take time off of work. And well, it's justdifficult.”

When it comes to a place flexibility at work, seven interview partners describe it as something that

exists in an organization. However, three respondents explain that it is not welcomed on a regular

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basis and an employee needs to provide enough reasons to be able to work from home. Two

working mothers highlight that they and their husbands enjoy this flexibility due to the high level of

their positions. One woman has no place flexibility at work.

IP4: “A work-place flexibility...Yes, sure, absolutely. […] It is for all people who have aPhD […] So, that’s pretty good.”

IP6: “Yes, he does. If there is really some issue, then he is very independent in his joband he can make… change it, and make sure that he is there […] Here it is moretraditional than in Holland [...] I think it’s not so flexible. But because my husband,because of his level, and because he is always traveling around, he could work at home.But he usually has to go to the office for a lot of meetings.”

6.4.2.3. Support from mentors

Half of the respondents state that they have a mentor provided by the company to support the family

during relocation and expatriation in Austria. One of these working mothers admits that the support

of a mentor was offered to help settling in and with the bureaucratic issues. However, they as a

family refused to resort to it as it was supposed to be deducted from the sum of money the company

provided for the relocation of a family. Other three women regard this support as useful. Mentors

provide informational, as well as instrumental support. They not only answer the questions the

interviewees have and do research for them, but also helped finding and signing a contract for a

house, connect to the people who can help dealing with different private issues, support

accompanying spouses on how they would like to organize their life in Austria. Furthermore,

mobility managers familiarize families with the administrative processes and bureaucratic issues

they need to solve. One interview partner believes that a mentor system in general and an organized

network of women can help them to develop a career during expatriation.

6.4.2.4. Help with childcare organization

Six interviewees confirm that they have received at least some support related to the organization of

the childcare during expatriation in Austria. One interview partner admits that the company of a

husband offered a place in a company’s childcare facility for the son. However, they decided to

organize a place in a kindergarten themselves as they regard a location to be not friendly for the

children. The last interview colleague needs to organize a place for her daughter in an international

school herself when she relocates to Austria.

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Among those working mothers who receive support related to the childcare, one woman states that

she enjoys the childcare provided by the organization during holidays as the international school

does not offer after-school care during these periods. Other interview partners mention a more

extended support. Five women report that organizations helped them with the application and

admission to the schools and kindergartens. Furthermore, four mothers whose children attend

international schools mention that the companies pay for the school of the children and their

participation in camps, workshops, and other activities.

IP3: “Education grant. They pay, they paid almost everything for the school, for thekids, education, they paid for that […] This is a huge support for the family.”

6.4.2.5. Supportive services

Seven interview partners admit that they receive financial support apart from the salary from the

organizations. All of them got the relocation paid by the employers. One woman mentions that the

organization is also paying the house rent for them and allows the family to travel back home once a

year at the expense of the employer. However, one working mother admits that it was not easy to

get this financial support from an organization.

IP1: “And we had to fight for the money they had promised us, just to pay the truckdriver.”

Four respondents report that the organizations helped them to get visas and working permits in

Austria. However, one of these working mothers received a living and working permission only for

her, but she ought to finalize the formal process for her family herself. Two participants admit that

their employers support them with all the documents and bureaucratic issues while in Austria.

Six interviewees admit that the organizations helped them finding a house or an apartment. Besides,

three interview partners get support related to household administration, e.g. bank account,

electricity, and the Internet. Two working mothers highlight a good health insurance provided by

the companies. Four women take advantage of German language courses offered by the

organizations. One participant adds that the shirts of her husband get ironed by the organization.

Her interview colleague mentions that the organization also helped them to get the Austrian driving

licenses and find the cars. Moreover, the company provides psychological support for those who

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need it. In order to help expatriates and their families to familiarize themselves with the country

three employers provided books about the country, check lists of issues the families should not

forget and miss or a document with this information how things work in a country.

IP6: “And they do a lot to make it as comfortable as possible.”

6.4.3. Perception of support

On the whole, five respondents regard the organizational support they are provided with through the

relocation and during expatriation as satisfying. They regard it as meeting their requirements and

expectations and those of their families. Two respondents find the support terrible, while one

working mother considers herself to be in a specific situation. Although she received only some

support from the employer, she describes it as sufficient.

IP4: “I think I am a different case since from the beginning [...] I had really niceneighbors […] I got a position, so I could from the very beginning start to work here.And that’s why for me it was completely fine. I am not sure, if somebody comes here,does not speak the language… I think this is much more difficult… So, much more toorganize. In our case it is easy to fill out all the forms, or whatever.”

Other interviewees support this thought. Among those participants who are satisfied with the

amount and quality of support the majority mention language support and support related to

administrative issues among the most relevant. Women highlight that without this support they

would have to get all the documents themselves and it would have taken much longer and would

have been much more difficult. One working mother underlines that she values informational and

non-monetary instrumental support even more than the financial support. It allows to reduce stress

the family experiences in a new and unfamiliar environment. Moreover, an absence of financial

support does not bother her.

IP2: “For us it would have been nice to have our move paid for us, but actually I valuethe other support more than the financial support. I would rather have what we've hadand what we've got then have someone just throw some money at us, because… Yeah,just to have people who can help you fix these problems, because everything feels likeso much hard work. That is more valuable than anything else that could have been donefor us.”

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Furthermore, career-related support for the spouses is mentioned as very important by two working

mothers. When the organizations try to make an effort to support not only expatriates, but also their

families, women enjoy a sense of stability. They admit that they feel happy and very committed to

the companies. Among the most critical areas for help are also mentioned finding a school for

children, a house, and opening a bank account.

Both interview partners who are upset with the amount and quality of support are those who

received very little support from the organizations. Both women received only financial support to

relocate to the host country. One participant admits that although the organization promised to help

the family, in the end they had to fight for every single euro. The second woman considers

administrative support related to providing working and living permissions for her family members

as the most crucial.

IP7: “No, as I mentioned to you, I am supported mostly because of my colleagues andfriends at work, but company doesn’t do anything extra. I would expect more supportfrom them, especially to gather the family together, for those legal issues. So, I will seein coming months how the process is going.”

6.4.4. Potential areas for improvement

As all the women have different expatriate experience and organizational support, their responses

regarding how organizations may improve support for women in DCFs during expatriation diverge.

One woman is completely satisfied with the organizational support which is offered, thus she sees

no room for improvement. On the contrary, the working mother who received very little support

wishes for more support in general. She is so tired of doing everything herself that she asks for

delegation. She misses the informational support the most.

IP1: “Information! A manual, some... I know this is probably never going to happen.But just lists for me to choose from. I had to find everything myself. I would haveappreciated it, a manual: how to do things, what to do, what not to do. Just a step bystep manual.”

Three further respondents underline the importance of improving an informational support. One

interviewee believes that organizations should offer all the information, forms to be completed, and

websites in English. Her interview colleague highlights that it would be helpful to get the

information regarding legal procedures in advance. The information about how to receive working

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and living permissions for family members of expatriates could be provided by a company.

Furthermore, one woman admits that information about available services and support should be

explicitly and clearly offered.

IP4: “But maybe I also just don’t use all the things they offer. I am not so sure aboutthis...Which… It might be unfair if I say ‘You need more support’ and they actuallyhave it, and I just don’t use it.”

Four participants regard career-related support for accompanying spouses as one of the most

significant tools to support families during expatriation. Three respondents highlight that

organizations should try to provide the living and working permission for all the family members.

As both partners want to continue their careers during expatriation, a working permit appears to be

the first obstacle to find a position in a host country.

IP8: “It must be difficult to find work if you don’t have a company sponsoring yourwork visa.”

One working mother explains that although the employer of her husband provides a budget for the

professional development of trailing souses during expatriation, the company focuses more on how

to make the life of a spouse nice without working. Therefore, she insists that the support should be

aimed at finding a paid job, a suitable position for a spouse. Women should also be seen and

accepted as career-oriented persons. She believes the perception of a woman should not be based on

the traditional role model. Her interview colleague proposes that organizations should have a pool

of positions for trailing spouses to be able to support dual-career couples during expatriation.

IP4: “I think if they really want to support dual-career couples, they should offerpositions. So, be a little bit more flexible, have an extra pool of positions and say ‘Ok,we have… whatever… ten positions which we can, you know, give to spouses orwhatever’, if it fits, of course, some it doesn’t. But this would be that they are moreproactive in this direction.”

One interviewee mentions that they had this support system in place in a home country. A number

of organizations from different branches united and created a pool of positions for accompanying

spouses of employees of these organizations to choose from.

The respondents mention that women may be deprived of a regular and emergency childcare

support of an extended family during expatriation. Flexibility to work from home and to shift

working hours allows expatriates to deal with emergency issues in the family or at home when they

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come up. The empirical research shows that women tend to be responsible for the childcare in a

family. Thus, they suffer more when the flexibility is not offered. In this case flexible working

hours and the possibility of distant working when children are sick or require parental presence at

home are assumed to enable companies not loose hours of work and women to combine work and

family.

IP3: “Especially with little kids […] If the kids are sick, they cannot go to school, theyhave to stay at home. But it doesn’t mean you couldn’t work, you can work, right,especially with this kind of technology. So, allow work from home, allow flexible time[...] This all will help.”

When asked about how companies can improve their support for families, one interviewee also

mentions parental leave instead of only maternal leave. The working mother explains that although

it can be offered as a possibility at the governmental level, it should be supported and welcomed by

companies. Fathers should not feel themselves at a disadvantage if they take a parental leave. The

woman underlines that the perception of family issues within organizations should also change.

IP3: “The companies themselves they are also interested in the next generation. So, andwe are the one who is doing it for them. So, they should find a way to support. So,having the same leave for mothers and fathers, I think, would help.”

Moreover, two respondents wish for mentors and an official network of women within

organizations. These services are expected to provide informational and emotional support for

women during expatriation. When provided for newcomers, this support help to get to know a

country and a company better. Mentors and networks of women are assumed to be appreciated

either for learning how to do the job or how to develop in a career, and how to develop as a woman

in a host country.

IP5: “Well, talking specifically about women, maybe having these networks of women,that would help a lot […] Maybe the companies could make these networks official in away that the employees, the women are more motivated or they know about it. By meansof advertising those networks to the newcomers so that they know that there is already agroup that can support them, because this is really nice to have this contact to peoplewho already know the way, they know the country, they can provide a lot of usefulinformation. So, this could be one way to facilitate things.”

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Furthermore, the respondents believe that German language courses should be offered for spouses.

This help tends to be useful as accompanying spouses have the majority of contacts with host

country nationals, deal with issues concerning childcare, children appointments, and issues related

to housing. Besides, two interviewees report the importance of a provided support to finding and

selecting schools for children.

Hence, the organizational support is expected to be more proactive, proposed explicitly, and made

available for all the expatriates. According to the respondents’ opinion, for the support to be useful

and satisfying it should be considered as a package for a whole family. Thus, the DCF-related issues

should be taken into account and addressed by organizations to facilitate families’ adjustment in a

host country.

IP8: “If you want your employee to integrate in the work environment, you are awarethat that includes also the family.”

The empirical research shows that the amount and quality of support and participants’ perception of

its effectiveness differ greatly among DCFs. The majority of the respondents report that companies

in general either not aware of the challenges working mothers face during expatriation or do not

want to support them and leave the responsibility for family issues to a family. Evaluating the actual

support the participants receive from the organizations two respondents describe it as inadequate,

one working mother finds the support sufficient, while other five interview partners are satisfied

with the amount and quality of support. The results illustrate that the companies which provide little

support usually restrict it to the financial instrumental support. On the contrary, other companies

prefer to provide a wider range of not only instrumental, but also informational and emotional

support. The respondents enjoy career-related support for the accompanying spouses, work-place

flexibility, mentors, help with the childcare organization, and other supportive services. According

to the participants, organizations should provide and improve support for families in the following

areas: support with language and administrative issues, career-related support for accompanying

spouses, flexible working arrangements, and informational support about the host country. These

types of support may allow families to foster adaptation to a new environment, reduce stress, and

help both partners to combine work and family duties during expatriation.

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7. Conclusion

Women in DCFs as international expatriates are under-represented in the pool of international

managers. The literature review and the empirical research were devoted to the analysis of the

challenges and stressors women in DCFs face while trying to combine work and family during

expatriation in a host country. Besides, it was studied how women in DCFs overcome those

challenges. This chapter compares theoretical data and practical findings and presents similarities

and differences in order to develop an understanding of DCFs-related issues in the international

relocation context from the female expatriates' point of view. Moreover, the research question is

answered. Last but not least, limitations and ideas for future research are described.

7.1. Discussion and major findings

The family structure of a dual-career family implies that both partners pursue a career (Pierce &

Delahaye, 1996). As it is one of the main goals for DCFs, partners usually strive to continue their

careers also while abroad (Permits Foundation, 2009). This is supported by the empirical findings as

it was of paramount importance for all the participants and their partners to continue their careers in

Austria. One woman realized it only after the relocation. As a trailing spouse, she felt lost and

started to question the relocation decision the family had made. Everything changed after she found

a position which suited her skills. It confirms the previous research suggesting that when a trailing

spouse is able to find an interesting and suitable employment in a host country, she or he tends to

have a positive attitude towards relocation and adapt better to a host country environment (Challiol

& Mignonac, 2005; Ravasi, Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013).

Although working permits are not considered as an obstacle to continue a career in many countries

(NetExpat & EY, 2018), the empirical research shows that some peculiarities of gaining a working

permit in Austria may be perceived as a challenge. In this study, the necessity to provide a local

language skills conformation for a working permit for a trailing spouse is seen as a challenge.

Among further obstacles to pursue a career mentioned in the literature (Lauring & Selmer, 2010;

Mäkelä, Känsälä & Suutari, 2011) the interviewees faced unrecognized educational credentials,

forcing an accompanying spouse to opt for an alternative professional occupation (see Chapter

6.2.1.1).

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Research papers in this field show that DCFs are subject to the inter-role conflict caused by

simultaneous pressure from work and family domains and their incompatibility in some respect

(Jiang, 2012; Schütter & Boerner, 2013). The empirical findings confirm that all the interview

partners find it challenging to combine work and family during expatriation. The most vital work-

family conflict according to the practical research is a time-based conflict (see Chapter 6.2.1.2).

Previous literature states that long working hours deprives other roles and tasks of proper

completion (Elloy & Smith, 2003; Mäkelä et al., 2012). With the intention to smooth the work-

family interference during expatriation, to support family during a period of increased stress and

tension due to relocation and adaptation, most of women work part-time during expatriation. Thus,

they decrease work-family conflict and gain more time to spend with the family (Haddock et al.,

2006). They not only become a “highly reliable source of instrumental family support” for their

partners (Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020, p. 583), but also for their children as participants admit

that supporting children requires more time and energy due to the expatriation. On top of that, short

working hours of all the organizations put a time pressure on working mothers in Austria.

Consistent with the previous findings (McNulty, 2012; Ravasi, Salamin & Cudré-Mauroux, 2013),

this research shows that the absence of local language skills among expatriates and their trailing

spouses possess an additional stress for DCFs. Women in DCFs have a lot of contacts with host-

country nationals not only dealing with household and everyday activities, but also due to the

children. Inability to speak the local language is crucial also in Austria. Although many people in

Austria speak English, dealing with the administrative and bureaucratic issues requires German

language skills. Thus, not knowing the local language makes private issues more challenging and

time-consuming to deal with (see Chapter 6.2.1.2).

Although dual-career families differ from a traditional family structure in a way that both partners

pursue a career, the previous research (Rusconi, 2002; Bird, 2005; Haddock et al., 2006; OECD,

2016) and the practical findings show that women are still responsible for the majority of household

and child-rearing tasks (see Chapters 6.2.1.5 and 6.2.2). The majority of participants admit that as

their husbands have more challenging positions during expatriation (Bartley, Blanton & Gilliard,

2005), and due to their part-time employment they spend more time and resources on family duties.

The interview partners admit that they have less time for work, personal activities, and relaxation

during expatriation because they are deprived of an extended support system they had in a home

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country. Some women explain this uneven distribution of tasks in a family by their personal

characters, whereas other women perceive this distribution as the influence of a traditional gender

role model still widespread in many cultures. However, the practical research does not support the

conclusion that lack of sufficient support from one partner lowers the level of happiness in a family,

which may lead to separation and divorces (Ezzedeen & Ritchey, 2009). The interviewees underline

that they are satisfied with the roles and tasks distribution in a family, although some of them have

agreed for this uneven distribution only for a certain period. This satisfaction may be attributed to

the fact that many women rely heavily on external support in terms of planning and organization,

thus do not need a lot of instrumental support from a husband. Another explanation provided by the

literature may be that uneven distribution of tasks in a family may reflect the highly necessary

flexibility for a DCF (Lysova et al., 2015). While one partner devotes more time to a career, the

second one becomes responsible for manual household tasks or childcare at certain moments.

The previous research papers highlight that children are one of the most significant challenges

women in DCFs face while trying to pursue an international career and find a work-life balance

(Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016; Silberbauer, 2016). The participants of the empirical study

confirm this outcome. Children under 18 years old require care and support. The mothers as the

main childcare providers in the study not only thoroughly organize their own time, but also plan in

advance who and when take care of the children to enable them to work and travel for work (see

Chapter 6.2.2). During expatriation care needs grow significantly. Children require more support

due to the lack of German and English language skills and the necessity to adapt to the new country,

lifestyle, and new school. Furthermore, mothers tend to help children rebuilt their social network

and organize after-school activities and hobbies in Austria.

Women in Austria are expected to experience challenges related to the organization of after-school

care for their children (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016). However, the participants of the study do

not complain about availability and short opening hours of kindergartens and after-school care

facilities. What is more important for them is that the majority of parents pick up their children

early. As a result, they feel guilt when their children remain longer in childcare facilities. Some

working mothers even pick up their children earlier in order not to stand out against others. Among

other challenges of the childcare organization in Austria the respondents mention long summer

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holidays in Austria accompanied by unavailability of the after-school care in an international school

during the holidays (see Chapter 6.2.2.3).

In spite of the challenges children face during expatriation, the interview partners admit that their

children become more independent and self-confident when the adaptation is over, as it was

mentioned in the previous research (Tzeng, 2006). Furthermore, public transport and security in

Austria are assumed to facilitate the process.

In order to deal with DCF-related issues during expatriation women rely on internal and external

support. Internal support is provided by the family, while external support may be provided by the

government, friends, hired help, and a company (Silberbauer, 2016; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr,

2017). The extended families of all participants stay in home countries. While all the husbands tend

to provide emotional support for the women (Davoine et al., 2012) and the working mothers regard

this support as very important for their well-being and adjustment (van der Laken et al., 2019), not

all the men provide instrumental support (Tzeng, 2006). Therefore, external sources of support gain

importance. The half of the respondents of the study resort to hired external help (e.g. nannies,

babysitters, and housekeepers) on a regular basis.

The social network of friends, neighbors, and colleagues in a host location tends to provide a lot of

support while an extended family is away and not ready to help. All the respondents regard

emotional support as important not only for the partners in DCFs, but also for the children.

Instrumental support may include the following aspects: taking care of the children (also in case of

an emergency), providing professional instrumental support, helping to deal with household and

bureaucratic issues (see Chapter 6.3.2). Furthermore, friends, neighbors, and colleagues provide

information about the country and culture (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). Although the

respondents of the study have friends both at work and outside work, among expatriates and local

country residents, they admit that they have less friends among host country nationals than among

other expatriates. Consistent with the previous research (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016), HCNs

are ready to help DCFs in many different situation, no matter how their traditional family lifestyle

differs from that of a DCF. Local country nationals may share information about how everything

works in a country, whereas expatriates tend to be more aware of specific issues related to

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expatriation and share their experience about how they deal with challenges during expatriation in a

particular country.

Governments in host countries are assumed to create a particular environment in which employer,

employees, and citizens in general operate (Permits Foundation, 2009; Fischlmayr & Puchmüller,

2016; ILO, 2016). The government in Austria is perceived by the respondents of the study as

creating family-friendly conditions within the country. In general, the working mothers appreciate

the public transportation and security in Austria, whereas laws and requirements are seen as

adequate. Flexible working arrangements are legally possible in the country and support women in

DCFs while in Austria (Evertsson, 2016; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020). Furthermore, respondents

regard the Austrian practice of a sick leave for parents and the possibility to take a parental leave by

both parents as necessary to be implemented in other countries to support women pursuing a career

and men who would like to be more involved in family life. Although the government of Austria

provides families with tax benefit and allowances, the participants of the research tend to regard the

provision of public childcare facilities as more relevant and useful. According to the previous

research, women are expected to perceive governmental support according to the welfare state

system they had in a home country (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017). However, the research does

not show significant differences in the perception of the governmental support in Austria. This may

be attributed to the quality, availability, and affordability of public childcare institutions which are

regarded as very satisfying by the working mothers in the study. Moreover, they mention the

quantity and quality of programs for sports, education, culture, entertainment, workshops, and

camps for children as very comprehensive (see Chapter 6.3.4).

Interviewees complain about administrative and bureaucratic issues being carried out only in

German which makes it significantly more challenging for expatriates who do not speak the local

language. Therefore, they usually require external help provided by the social network or a

company to deal with the bureaucratic issues. Besides, information about official procedures is not

always explicitly available.

Consistent with previous findings (Ahmad, Hudelist & Wieser, 2013, Fischlmayr & Puchmüller,

2016), the Austrian society tends to be quite socially conservative with a widespread traditional

family structure. Men are supposed to be the primarily breadwinners, while mothers who have

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children at a certain age tend to stay at homework or work part-time and be responsible for the

majority of household duties (Ahmad, Hudelist & Wieser, 2013; OECD, 2016; BKA, 2020;

Statistik Austria, 2020a). The Austrian society implicitly expects mothers to pick their children up

early from the childcare institutions and in general participate in the life of children more than in

some other cultures. Parents tend to be actively involved in the children's school life and activities

what is difficult to achieve for the parents who work full-time. As a result, the research findings

show that the working mothers find it challenging to have longer working days. They do not want to

differ from other families and be perceived as bad mothers by HCNs and tend to pick their children

up from the childcare facilities earlier than they did it in their home countries (see Chapter 6.3.5.1).

When it is not possible for mothers, they rely on external help of friends and babysitters that help to

take care of children. Although the full-time working mothers are not confronted with direct

criticism and judgments as predicted (Fischlmayr & Puchmüller, 2016), they admit feeling that their

lifestyle is relatively new and rare for the Austrian society.

Apart from family, social network, and government, companies in which partners in DCFs work

may be a valuable source of support regarding family-related issues during expatriation. The

participants of the study assume that in general companies are still very inflexible and reluctant to

admit the change towards equal gender rights and support women in DCFs (Fischlmayr &

Puchmüller, 2016). Among the reasons which explain the limited organizational support for

families are mentioned restricted financial budget. As a result, companies are not able to support all

the expatriates and may reduce this support to high-level jobs or exclude families from recipients.

The research in the thesis shows that the companies may not adequately define and explicitly

publicize all the available support for DCFs, thus reducing its availability to potential expatriates

and their spouses (Eby, DeMatteo & Russell, 1997). Besides, some organizations may prefer not to

directly contact partners of assignees, thus making information about available programs of

assistance second-handed through employees who may not view it as relevant or necessary and not

inform spouses about the possibilities provided by companies (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004;

McNulty, 2012). Last but not least, the respondents mention a relatively new trend in IHRM. Some

companies reduce their support for expatriates and their families assuming that as they have enough

potential employees interested in relocation and expatriation, there is no need to support them

during this process.

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The empirical research shows that the majority of the respondents received support as a family from

their employer or the employer of their husband. Although the amount and quality of support may

depend on the company, generally international organizations operating in different countries tend

to provide a more diverse and solid support for DCFs (see Chapter 6.4.2). Presence of other

expatriates in the company is assumed not to influence the provided support. One company in the

study has a number of expatriates, but leaves it to the family to deal with private challenges during

expatriation, whereas other company has little experience dealing with expatriation of DCFs, but

learns along the way and supports their employees intensively. As far as SIEs is concerned, the

previous research assumed that SIEs receive limited support from organizations in comparison to

CAEs (Chen & Shaffer, 2017; Farndale et al., 2014). This result cannot be supported or declined by

the research as from two SIEs in the sample one women receives an extended support from the

organization, while the other one does not.

The empirical research confirms that career-related support for trailing spouses is still not a wide-

spread policy (Brookfield GRS, 2015; NetExpat & EY, 2018) and was offered only to the half of

the respondents. However, almost all the participants were interested in this type of support

(Silberbauer, 2016). All the participants to whom instrumental career-related support was offered

used it and regarded it as very effective. When the company helps a trailing partner to secure a

position in a host country, expatriates tend to be more satisfied with the organization and stay

longer in a company. Moreover, it can foster adaptation and reduce stress experienced by a DCF

(McNulty, 2012).

As it was mentioned in the literature (Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012; Silberbauer, 2016;

Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020), work-place flexibility is a very

helpful practice which can support women in DCFs during expatriation. The research shows that in

general organizations tend to provide time flexibility, whereas place flexibility tends to be not

tolerated in Austria to regret of working mothers. At the same time, respondents highlight that this

time flexibility may be attributed to the high managerial level or a more professional type of job,

thus be not available for all the employees. Although time flexibility may support women

combining career and family, recent research (Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020) shows that part-time

work of less then 30 hours per week may significantly slow down the career development.

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Companies may consider this part-time work as a signal of poor commitment and motivation, hence

women may be less likely considered for a promotion (Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020).

Not only flexible working arrangements tend to foster work-life balance for women in DCFs during

expatriation, but also the proper childcare organization (ILO, 2016; Beham, Baierl & Eckner, 2020).

The majority of the interviewees in the study report that organizations helped them with the

application and admission to the schools and kindergartens. Previous research suggests that

companies should provide international schooling for expatriates (Silberbauer, 2016). In accordance

with this statement, the respondents underline that the childcare support and the provision of paid

places in an international school is of vital importance for them as children do not speak German.

Among other supportive services that women in the thesis find very helpful are mentioned mentors

who provide them with informational support and help deal with bureaucratic issues and German

language courses. The help of mentors is especially relevant in the light of the absence of the local

language skills. Language training develops those skills which is supposed to help expatriates to

interact with HCNs while dealing with everyday activities (McNulty, 2012; Ravasi, Salamin &

Cudré-Mauroux, 2013). Besides, it allows partners to satisfy their aspiration for a smooth

integration in the host location and rebuilding their network (NetExpat & EY, 2018).

7.2. Answering the research questions

Previous research and empirical findings discussed in Chapter 7.1 should help to answer the

research question formulated in Chapter 1:

How do female expatriates, being a part of dual-career families, handle family and

career issues during international expatriation?

The following sub-questions are aimed at the elaboration of the research question:

• Which factors and family issues do influence women's relocation and adaptation process?

• How difficulties women encounter trying to combine family and career in a host country do

influence family and work domains?

• Which types of support and in which areas do help women to deal with family issues in a

host country?

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• How does organizational support in a host country help and potentially may help female

expatriates to handle DCFs' issues and facilitate adjustment during expatriation?

A number of factors and family issues influence the relocation and adaption process of women in

DCFs (Selmer & Leung, 2003; Haslberger, 2010; Bastida, 2018). First of all, the possibility to work

in a host location for both partners plays a significant role (Permits Foundation, 2012; Silberbauer,

2016). It may be difficult to receive a working permit and find a position in a host location for a

trailing partner. When a position is secured, partners need time and other resources to adapt not only

to a new culture in a country, but also to a new organizational culture, new team members, and

boss. Furthermore, family require more support while adapting to new circumstances. Women are

not only responsible for more household and child-rearing tasks, but the distribution of duties

between partners tends to become more uneven when it is initially a husband who gets an expatriate

assignment and a woman follows him to a host country (Hutchings, Lirio & Metcalfe, 2012).

Besides, children require more support due to the lack of local language skills, absence of usual

social circle, and adaptation to new circumstances. In addition, women are forced to deal with lots

of new everyday activities and administrative topics in a foreign language. At the same time, they

are deprived of the support system they had in a home country.

The results illustrate that the interplay between work and family for women in DCFs becomes more

prominent during expatriation. Time is assumed to become an even more limited resource as a

number of available sources of external support tend to shrink during expatriation, while number of

tasks and requirements from both domains tend to increase significantly (Kollinger-Santer &

Fischlmayr, 2013). Working mothers find it difficult to develop careers of both partners in a DCF

simultaneously during expatriation.

One possible strategy for women in DCFs to combine work and family is to adapt the career

progression during expatriation. Some women decide to put their career on hold and have more

babies. Others provide the required flexibility by taking a break to support the family during

expatriation for a few months. Moreover, they may decide to slow down their career during

expatriation, opt for a less challenging position or work part-time when the husband has a more

challenging position. It should be mentioned that women should not be expected to always provide

flexibility for a family, follow the husband, and adapt afterwards. The DCF structure implies that

114

both partners should react to the demands and aspirations of each other. Careers of partners in a

DCF may take turns allowing women to pursue a career more actively. Apart from a career

adaptation, change of a lifestyle for a more quiet one while restricting social contacts appears to be

helpful while combining work and family during expatriation. Moreover, planning and

organization, along with external support, are named as the main strategy.

During expatriation women rely on emotional, instrumental, and informational support provided by

husbands and children, social network, government in a host country, and organizations (Linehan &

Scullion, 2001; Tzeng, 2006; Varma & Russell, 2016). Most of women need a well-developed

support system which consists of friends among local country nationals and other expatriates,

neighbors, colleagues, babysitters, housekeepers, and support groups in social media to deal with

family issues in a host country.

The Austrian government creates a family-supportive environment for the families. Although the

government offers a number of supportive policies and services for families, not all of them are

tolerated by organizations. It may never be told directly, but the use of these policies and services

may influence an individual’s career within the company. Especially this may be relevant for

flexible working arrangements and parental leave in male-dominant companies. Researchers

(Silberbauer, 2016; Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017) underline that to be able to resort to these

family-friendly policies employees should feel themselves in a family-friendly environment.

Therefore, a change in the organizational culture supported by the adaptation of norms within

societies is required to support working mothers pursuing an international career.

In order to make an international company more professional organizations resort to expatriation.

Therefore, organizational support for DCFs helps to attract the most valuable employees as the

number of DCFs is increasing (NetExpat, 2018). Companies should be aware of DCF-related issues

and adapt their support system according to the challenges families face (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr,

2017). Organizations tend to possess significant resources to support women in DCFs through the

provision of a working and living permits for the whole family, career-related support for the

accompanying partner, work-place flexibility, mentors, and help with the childcare organization for

children of all ages, including the availability of international schooling. Furthermore, companies

need to provide and improve language training and language support while dealing with

115

administrative and bureaucratic issues. These types of support are expected to foster adaptation of a

family to a new environment, reduce stress, and help both partners to combine work and family

duties during expatriation. Although it may be suggested that a more standardized approach to

creation of a support system for families would suit best the interests of both companies and

families (Warneke & Schneider, 2011; Farndale et al., 2014), some level of adaptation should be

tolerated to react to the needs and requests of a particular family when the resources of a company

allow it (Silberbauer, 2016).

7.3. Limitations and future outlook

As all the studies are subject to several limitations, the empirical research of this thesis is not an

exception. Although the research provides interesting information and an insight into experience

women in DCFs have trying to combine work and family during expatriation, the number of the

participants in the study is restricted. The variety of the interviewees may be too limited to

generalize the influence DCF-related issues have on working mothers and the support they need to

deal with those issues in a host country.

Secondly, all the participants are based in Austria. As it was mentioned before, governments create

environment, “underlying welfare state systems” (Puchmüller & Fischlmayr, 2017, p. 34) for their

citizens and residents. As a result, not only companies operate within the boundaries of a particular

law system, but also expatriates may perceive governmental support based on the welfare system

they had at home. Furthermore, available governmental policies and services for families, cultural

norms and values of a particular country influence the organization of day-to-day life, work-life

balance of women, thus the amount and kind of support women need to combine work and family

during expatriation may vary across countries.

Although the focus of the thesis is to develop an understanding of DCFs' issues in the international

relocation context from the female expatriates' point of view, the fact that only women in DCFs

were interviewed may represent a limitation. As the previous research (Caligiuri & Lazarova, 2004;

McNulty, 2012) and empirical findings show, women as trailing spouses may not be aware of all

the support that is offered by the husband's employer as men may consider something as not

relevant and not share this information with a family. Therefore, they may see and represent only

part of the picture of family processes.

116

A final limitation is formed by the qualitative research method. Giving an interview implies sharing

individual's own experience. However, it may be influenced by the social believes and norms of a

particular culture or respondents may try to answer the questions in a politically correct manner.

Furthermore, the interpretation of the results may be subjective as there is comparatively little

written on the kind of technique which was selected to analyze the interviews (King, 2004).

Although this thesis provides an insightful analysis of the challenges women in dual-career families

are facing trying to pursue an international career and support mechanisms that allow women to be

successful in a DCF during expatriation, it would be interesting to broaden the research. One

possibility to extend the existing research may be to conduct interviews in different countries in

order to compare the influence of the cultural and welfare state systems on women in DCFs

pursuing an international career and their perception of the relevant support. Furthermore, female

expatriates at different hierarchical levels in a company may be interviewed to control whether the

management level of assignees shapes the amount and quality of assistance they receive. Besides,

husbands of female trailing spouses may be attracted to receive a less biased picture of the

organizational support offered for families. Last but not least, it would be interesting to include

same sex female families into the research as their non-standard family arrangements are assumed

to influence the experience they may have in a host country.

117

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Appendix A – Interview guide

Date

Name

Age

Nationality (country of origin)

Current profession/position

Name of the company/institution

Since when in Austria

In a DCC since

Partner’s profession

Number of children and age

A: General information

1 Could you please describe how the expatriation to Austria came about?

2 For you and your family what were the main reasons to relocate to Austria?

B: Expatriation and DCF-related issues

3 How does your current work influence your family life?

4 Which challenges do you encounter while trying to combine work and family during

expatriation?

5 You live in a dual-career family. How does your current work influence your relationship

with your partner?

5.1 Your partner has his own career. How do you combine both careers during

expatriation?

5.2 How has the distribution of roles in your family changed after the relocation?

6 How does the organization of childcare in your family look like in Austria?

6.1 Which challenges regarding raising children do occur because of this expatriation?

6.2 Does childcare differ from how it was organized in your home country?

C: Sources of support for women in DCFs during expatriation

7 How do you coordinate demands from family and professional life during expatriation in

Austria?

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8 What kind of support does help you to organize family obligations in Austria?

8.1 What kind of support do you get from your partner, children, and other family

members?

8.2 Do you get any support from your friends, neighbors, other local residents, and

expatriates?

8.3 What do friends and colleagues here in Austria think of your work-family lifestyle?

9 Are your expectations regarding governmental support in Austria fulfilled?

D: Organizational support for women in DCFs during expatriation

10 Do you have a feeling that companies in general are aware of the challenges women in

DCFs face during expatriation?

11 How does your company and the company of your husband in Austria handle these

challenges? What kind of organizational support is offered?

11.1 Is this support useful and sufficient?

11.2 Does this organizational support meet your requirements and expectations?

12 Would you like to get more support from companies to decrease challenges you face as a

DCF?

13 From your experience in this area, how companies should improve organizational assistance

for women in DCFs in order to help them to combine work and family domains during

expatriation?

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Appendix B – Coding template

1. Category A - General information1.1. Personal data

1.1.1. Age 1.1.2. Country of origin1.1.3. Since when in Austria1.1.4. Family in Austria1.1.5. From where relocated to Austria1.1.6. Type of expatriation1.1.7. Current position and sphere1.1.8. Family

1.1.8.1. Since when in a DCC1.1.8.2. Partner’s profession1.1.8.3. Number and age of children

1.2. Motivation for expatriation to Austria2. Category B - Expatriation and DCFs-related issues

2.1. Challenges to combine work and family during expatriation2.1.1. Finding a position for the trailing spouse

2.1.1.1. Recognition of education2.1.1.2. Work authorization2.1.1.3. Professional contacts2.1.1.4. Language2.1.1.5. Availability of the Internet

2.1.2. Work influences family, family influences work2.1.2.1. Children2.1.2.2. Part-time work2.1.2.3. Time

2.1.2.3.1. Childcare2.1.2.3.2. Short working hours everywhere

2.1.2.4. Planning and organization2.1.2.4.1. Planning of childcare, personal time and family time2.1.2.4.2. Support system2.1.2.4.3. Reduced social life

2.1.2.5. Quality of life2.1.2.6. Lack of local language skills2.1.2.7. Information2.1.2.8. Working and living permit

2.1.3. Reconcile both careers during expatriation2.1.3.1. Decision to relocate2.1.3.2. Prioritizing of careers

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2.1.4. Relationship with the spouse2.1.4.1. Positive influence2.1.4.2. No influence2.1.4.3. Tension2.1.4.4. Time together

2.1.5. Distribution of tasks and duties2.1.5.1. Equal distribution2.1.5.2. Husband responsible for more2.1.5.3. Women responsible for more2.1.5.4. Change due to expatriation

2.2. Raising children during expatriation in Austria2.2.1. Childcare

2.2.1.1. Mother’s responsibility2.2.1.2. Kindergarten2.2.1.3. School2.2.1.4. International school2.2.1.5. After-school care2.2.1.6. External support

2.2.2. Maternity leave2.2.3. Challenges to raise children during expatriation in Austria

2.2.3.1. Social circle2.2.3.2. Lifestyle2.2.3.3. Language2.2.3.4. Autonomy2.2.3.5. After-school care2.2.3.6. Long holidays

3. Category C - Sources of support for women in DCFs during expatriation3.1. Family

3.1.1. Extended family away3.1.1.1. Absence of instrumental support3.1.1.2. Absence of emotional support

3.1.2. Support of the male spouse3.2. Social network

3.2.1. Friends instead of family3.2.1.1. Understanding and empathy3.2.1.2. Support in an emergency3.2.1.3. Information

3.2.1.3.1. Friends of the same origin3.2.1.3.2. Professional informational support

3.2.1.4. Instrumental support3.2.2. Social media3.2.3. Host country nationals

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3.3. External instrumental support3.4. Governmental support

3.4.1. General support3.4.1.1. Instrumental3.4.1.2. Informational3.4.1.3. Sick leave3.4.1.4. Parental leave3.4.1.5. Challenges

3.4.2. Child-care institutions3.4.2.1. Perceived effectiveness

3.5. Social acceptance3.5.1. Austrian context3.5.2. Expatriate environment

4. Category D - Organizational support for women in DCFs during expatriation4.1. General awareness of the challenges women in DCFs face during expatriation

4.1.1. No awareness4.1.2. Aware, but no support

4.2. Current organizational support4.2.1. Career-related support for trailing spouse

4.2.1.1. No support4.2.1.2. Offered positions4.2.1.3. Informational support4.2.1.4. Financial support

4.2.2. Work-place flexibility4.2.2.1. Relevance4.2.2.2. Time flexibility4.2.2.3. Place inflexibility

4.2.3. Support from mentors 4.2.4. Help with the childcare organization4.2.5. Supportive services

4.2.5.1. Financial support4.2.5.2. Documents4.2.5.3. Household administration

4.3. Perception of the support 4.3.1. Satisfying4.3.2. Sufficient4.3.3. Terrible

4.4. Potential areas for improvement4.4.1. Information4.4.2. Career-related support for accompanying spouses

4.4.2.1. Working permits4.4.2.2. Pool of positions

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4.4.3. Flexible working arrangements4.4.4. Parental leave/perception4.4.5. Mentors/network of women4.4.6. Language courses

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