*

International Social Work 46(2): 221±233

i s w
Sage Publications: London, Thousand Oaks, CA and New Delhi
0020-8728[200304]46:2;221±233; 032642

Roles and opportunities for social work

intervention in expatriate work
environments

* Soochan Choi

The world economy has become globalized. International trade

represents about $10.5 trn or over one-third of the world economy
(Fontaine, 1997). As a result, more and more of the industrial work-
force will work in other nations and experience different cultural
settings. General Electric, for instance, estimates that 25 percent of
its managers need to take international assignments to keep pace
with the requirements of global work (Black et al., 1992). However,
overseas working often causes con¯icts and tensions associated with
foreign work settings and cultural differences.
According to a recent study, 16±40 percent of the US citizens who
went overseas returned home early because they could not adjust to
differences in the new environments (Wagner and Hollenbeck,
1995). This means that approximately one or two out of every ®ve
US expatriates sent overseas will be unable to adapt. This problem
is even more serious when we consider `burn-outs', employees who
do not return prematurely, but who are nevertheless ineffective in
performing their duties. Some observers have assessed that 30±
50 percent of all US expatriates fall into this category (Black et
al., 1991). Moreover, higher failure rates among US multinational
corporations than among European and Japanese ®rms have been
reported (Tung, 1982).

Soochan Choi is Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare at Yonsei

University, 134 Shinchon-dong, Sudeamoon-ku, Seoul 120-749, South Korea.
[email: choisc@yonsei.ac.kr]
222 International Social Work volume 46(2)

Individual expatriates encounter a variety of dif®culties due to

different socio-economic systems, languages and social customs.
They often develop symptoms of culture shock, anxiety, frustration,
disappointment, adaptation problems and feeling abandoned by
headquarters (Ronen, 1986). The expatriates' families also suffer
repercussions from an international transfer. Most of the spouses
stop pursuing jobs and leave relatives and friends, not to pursue
their own careers, but rather to be with their husbands or wives in
overseas assignments. If the expatriates and their families, should
they bring them, fail to overcome dif®culties abroad and return
home prematurely, they may lose self-esteem and self-con®dence
and experience distress due to a real or imagined loss of prestige
among their peers (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1995).
The price for this failure is paid by work organizations as well.
The company typically gives global workers substantial allowances
for relocation, cost-of-living differentials, travel expenses, housing
allowances, education grants and often a `risk allowance' in the
case of assigning them to a `dangerous' destination. These may
increase workers' salaries by 25±100 percent. In addition to the
loss of the higher costs of supporting a worker, failures in operating
overseas may also mean lost contracts or sales, damaged reputa-
tions, failed mergers, joint ventures or acquisitions and the attrition
of valuable human resources (Dowling and Schuler, 1990; Hiltrop
and Janssens, 1995).
When the costs in both human suffering and material losses are
considered, companies will ®nd that facilitating their workers' adap-
tation to culturally different work environments must be a priority
when sending employees on global assignments. However, few
assignees and family members experience any speci®c training to
encourage cross-cultural adaptability. Fontaine (1997) estimates
that about 70 percent of US expatriates and 90 percent of their
families are sent abroad without preparatory cross-cultural training.
However, it is social workers who can diagnose the distinct
problems of expatriate workers and families overseas, respond to
cross-cultural training needs to assist in their adapting to the new
environment and ease their readjustment back home. Based on the
ecological perspective that emphasizes the `person-in-environment
(PIE)', social workers understand the interdependence of the overall
procedures of dispatch and can examine the expatriates' need at
various levels, rather than simply focusing on one or the other
issue. However, traditional social work researchers have conducted
few experimental studies investigating the impacts of foreign assign-
 Choi: Social work intervention 223

ment on global workers. Furthermore, social work intervention stra-

tegies aimed towards helping troubled expatriates and their families,
a major concern of this study, have not been addressed.
This study suggests several types of services that occupational
social workers should provide for overseas workers and their
families in order to facilitate their successful adaptation to a foreign
setting. It is expected to contribute to an understanding of the
patterns of adjustment in international settings and to promote
cross-cultural training needs and social work service interventions
for the overall improvement of the quality of life in the global work-
place. The term `international adjustment' is used throughout this
study as the conceptualized degree of an individual's psychological
comfort with various aspects of a new overseas environment
(Black, 1988).

Selection
Global companies should ®rst ®nd employees who are quali®ed for
international assignments. A sophisticated planned selection system
enhances the likelihood of the best candidate for the overseas job.
The vast majority of US multinational corporations, however,
select their expatriates based on managerial or technical excellence
(Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991). They may presume that managing
well in the United States means being able to do the same in Japan or
Saudi Arabia. Yet the expatriate's technical competence, which
would be a crucial key to solving mechanical problems in a factory,
would not be the key to solving maladjustment in a foreign country.
Occupational social workers evaluate the following factors in the
process of the selection of expatriate employees by:

1. assessing a worker's cultural attributes and the host-country

culture respectively and comparing them with each other;
2. considering his or her previous expatriate experiences in overseas
assignments;
3. examining the potential adaptability of the spouse and other
family members.

First, social workers help select appropriate assignees who are

likely to adapt to the foreign assignment through a careful com-
parison of both the home culture the workers belong to and the
host culture they are about to experience. The bigger the gap
between the two cultures, the harder it will be for the expatriates
224 International Social Work volume 46(2)

to adjust. Information about the national culture might be obtained

by Hofstede's study, which has a great deal of empirical support
since it was based upon a large sample of over 117,000 responses
across 53 countries (Hofstede, 1980). In fact, his framework has
been utilized in various cross-cultural literatures (Hoecklin, 1995;
Matsumoto, 1989; Wagner and Hollenbeck, 1995; Westwood and
Everett, 1987).
Hofstede's Culture's Consequences (1980) discusses the cultural
attributes of a nation, which are classi®ed by power distance, un-
certainty avoidance, individualism and masculinity. The ®rst of
the four dimensions of national culture, power distance, involves
the degree to which inequality or hierarchy is seen as a clear fact
of life. It will affect the extent to which employees accept that
their boss has more power than they have and that their boss's
opinions and decisions are simply right because he or she is the boss.
In general, people in a country with a large power distance ®nd it
easier to accept existing hierarchy systems in the society and be faith-
ful to the directions of the boss, while people in a culture with a small
power distance tend to resist the strict power structure. Countries
in Asia and South America show high power distance, but those
in Europe indicate relatively small power distance. The second
dimension of national culture, uncertainty avoidance, implies a
degree of tolerance for ambiguity and the need for formal rules.
This dimension measures the extent to which people in a society
feel threatened by and try to avoid ambiguous situations. Lifetime
employment is more common in countries with strong uncertainty
avoidance, such as Japan, Portugal and Greece, whereas a high
degree of job mobility is more prevalent in countries with weak
uncertainty avoidance, such as Singapore, Denmark, the United
Kingdom and the United States. The third dimension of national
culture is called individualism. It denotes a concern for oneself as
an individual, as opposed to collectivism, which is oriented to the
rules of the group to which a person belongs. People in a society
where individualism is predominant tend to classify themselves
and others by individual characteristics rather than by group mem-
bership. The United States had the highest individualism score
among 53 countries, whereas countries in Asia and Latin America
had a low individualism. The fourth dimension to be considered
along with national cultures that can be systematically shown to
differ is masculinity, with its opposite pole femininity. Hofstede's
masculinity-oriented culture is founded on values that emphasize
independence, aggressiveness, dominance and physical strength,
 Choi: Social work intervention 225

whereas a femininity-oriented culture is based on interdependence,

compassion, empathy and emotional openness. Japan was the
most masculine culture in his study, and the most feminine culture
was Sweden, followed by Norway.
Hofstede's framework does not merely provide a simple com-
parison of cultures, but also allows for an assessment of the extent
to which cultures differ from one another. Occupational social
workers are thus able to evaluate in advance whether the candidates
can adjust to the host country. For example, expatriate workers
from a small power-distance society like the United States tend to
have more dif®culties in adjusting to a large power-distance society
like South Korea than do the expatriates who are assigned to a small
power-distance society from a large power-distance society, as in the
case of Koreans. Likewise, expatriate workers who show strong
uncertainty avoidance, like the Koreans, are likely to face dif®culties
more often when they are assigned to a society with weak un-
certainty avoidance, like the United States, than are expatriates
who show weak uncertainty avoidance but work in a society with
strong uncertainty avoidance, as in the case of the Americans
(Choi, 1998). Therefore, sending a worker from a society with a
small power distance to one with a large power distance, or assigning
a candidate who is inclined towards strong uncertainty avoidance to
a society with weak uncertainty avoidance, will be inappropriate.
However, if it is necessary to send a worker to a country where
great differences in culture exist, social workers must understand
the essence of con¯icts in cultural values and anticipate and try to
resolve the problems that the expatriates will encounter abroad.
The second aspect in the selection process that social workers
should pay attention to is the expatriates' previous foreign experi-
ence. Many researchers have speculated that simply living in a
foreign country can be bene®cial to the formation of accurate expec-
tations (Black et al., 1991; Mendenhall and Wiley, 1994). Choi
(1998) also reported that the extent to which expatriate workers
adapt to the host culture is likely to depend on the number of foreign
countries in which they have worked. The following shows the rela-
tion between the expatriates' perceived stress level and the number
of foreign countries in which they have already gained experience.

Y ˆ 2:110 :110 …X†; where Y is perceived stress in the host

country and X is the number of foreign countries to which
the expatriate has been assigned
226 International Social Work volume 46(2)

The third aspect to be considered in the selection procedure is the

examination of the adaptability of family members. Since one of the
most frequently cited reasons for the failure of a foreign operation is
the family's inability to adapt, social workers should pay attention
to the family's likelihood of succeeding overseas. Social workers
counsel and evaluate family-related issues, such as the level of
marital stability, responsibilities for aged parents, the presence of
learning disabilities in a child, behavioral problems in teenagers
and the strength of the family's ties to the community, friends and
other family members (Hiltrop and Janssens, 1995).
In addition, assigning an expatriate worker whose family will
accompany him or her is more likely to be successful than sending
the worker alone, leaving the family back home. Choi (1998) noted
that the US expatriates whose children did not accompany them
often expressed worries about their children at home and stated
that this was one of the most serious problems connected with work-
ing in South Korea. The expatriates' perceived level of stress was
statistically signi®cant, as well, when their children stayed behind
in the home country …F‰8; 216Š ˆ 4:622, p < :001†. Some companies,
however, do not allow the employees to go abroad with the whole
family; they may support spouses only, excluding children. If a
worker is eager to be assigned with the whole family, the social
worker is expected to advocate for the employee and encourage the
company to support his or her family.

Training
Once the selection process is completed, companies should offer
formal training programs to prepare expatriate workers and families
for overseas assignments. Despite the clear need of minimizing
expatriates' problems caused by culture shock, few companies do
offer proper training to help employees deal with adaptation
issues. However, a strong positive relationship exists between
cross-cultural training and cross-cultural adjustment (Black and
Mendenhall, 1991). In terms of the length of the training, Choi
(1998) demonstrated that the training might be more effective in
increasing expatriates' adaptability when it is more than 30 hours
long (Figure 1).
Pre-departure training should include general education (different
social and business customs), role playing, ethnic sensitivity encour-
agement, confrontation, incidents prevention, and ®eld practice in
 Choi: Social work intervention 227

Figure 1 The expatriates' perceived level of stress in relation to previous

cross-cultural training

order to overcome stress, frustration, accidents and a misunder-

standing of the host culture. If necessary, social workers should
consider contracted-out services and link the candidates with com-
munity resources such as foreign-language training centers.
During cross-cultural training sessions, social workers should
carefully investigate individual coping patterns and strengthen
speci®c coping abilities as needed. Individual coping styles or abil-
ities directly affect expatriates' adjustment. In particular, strategic
planning is likely to be the most in¯uential predictor in alleviating
stress in overseas assignments, while direct venting of emotion,
denial, abandonment and alcohol or drug disengagement tend to
228 International Social Work volume 46(2)

increase expatriates' stress levels (Choi, 1998). In order to promote

foreign adaptability, social workers should intervene to encourage
the employees' planning skills, as well as to minimize bad effects
resulting from the use of inappropriate coping methods such as
alcohol or drug disengagement.
Since one of the main reasons for early returns to the country of
origin is the family's inability to adapt, social work services must
involve family members planning to accompany the worker
abroad. In fact, such training seems more important for the spouse
than for the expatriate worker (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991).
Even though the employee may not experience dramatic changes
in the nature of the job during a foreign assignment, a spouse
encounters the foreign culture on the most immediate and everyday
basis. The spouse may have to relearn how to run a household,
arrange for servants, choose the best places to go for groceries and
decide whether something is a bargain or not (Harvey, 1985).
These often cause more culture shock and stress to the spouse
than to the worker.
Finally, social workers should not overlook the fact that today's
technology can play an important role in cross-cultural training.
Through conference calls or video-conferencing, an employee who
is about to leave home can converse with local experts who are
actually working in the destination and can thereby anticipate the
differences in the host culture and work environment.

Overseas support systems

To minimize the risk of failure for the expatriate, immediate com-
mitment to a foreign workplace should be restrained, because the
pressure to produce right away in a new assignment may burden
the newcomers and affect their performance on the job. The expatri-
ates' performance should be assessed on the basis of long-term
pro®tability rather than short-term ®gures. Hiltrop and Janssens
(1995) suggest that expatriate workers should be exempt from
active duties in the ®rst six months of arrival.
Once workers move abroad, social workers should consider estab-
lishing overseas support systems for the expatriates. Encouraging
supervisors to help with the newcomers' adjustment has to be of
prime concern. Supervisors in a foreign site should be responsible
for informal counseling and the sponsorship of social gatherings
to discuss problems overseas, and could serve as advisers to newly
arrived workers and families. Occupational social workers will help
 Choi: Social work intervention 229

these supervisors recognize what the essential issues in the given

acculturation are; what dif®culties newcomers are expected to
experience; and how they can refer troubled workers to quali®ed
professionals. In fact, supervisory training has been recognized as
a major component in the domain of occupational social work and
since the 1940s it has been used in the design and operation (Boone,
1995) of Employees Assistance Programs (EAPs) in the United
States. Adequate application of supervisory training to culturally
different workplaces is expected to help an expatriate's adjustment.
Communication is critical among the expatriates, not only for
ongoing information-sharing, but also to combat the `out of sight,
out of mind' dilemma. Social workers encourage expatriates to
contact their headquarters and families as often as possible. The
workers abroad may need to ask for guidance, receive advice from
former expatriates or just have someone who will listen to them.
If necessary, telephone counseling with the expatriates can be facili-
tated and social workers must be available to offer this.
Social workers should recognize that technology is an important
tool in linking expatriate workers and their families with people
in the home country. Croft (1995) showed that electronic mail
(e-mail), faxes, voice mail, conference call, video-conferencing,
online newsletters and shared databases are useful methods with
which to communicate with colleagues at home. Electronic com-
munication helps expatriates adjust to new circumstances by pro-
viding a channel to seek feedback on their foreign operations.
Some expatriate families, particularly from Far Eastern countries,
such as China, Japan and South Korea, are often concerned about
elderly parents or relatives whom they must leave behind in the
home country. Social workers should raise issues on responsibility
towards the elderly, encourage the expatriates' frequent communica-
tion with parents and provide professional social work services to
the elderly to alleviate the expatriates' concern during their work
period aboard. Industrial social workers should suggest that the
expatriates and their families, troubled or not, contact the social
workers in their company headquarters by e-mail to discuss any
dif®culties they experience as they try to adapt to their new
surroundings.
Third, social workers should link expatriates and families with
local resources in order to improve their adaptability overseas. If
the family is active in a church, for example, social workers try to
locate the nearest congregation of their faith. If the global employee
is a member of an international club, such as Rotary or Lions, social
230 International Social Work volume 46(2)

workers should offer him or her information about the local chapter
(Hiltrop and Janssens, 1995). If available, contracted-out EAPs,
non-pro®t community facilities and private social work practice in
the destination may be used.
Fourth, social workers should recognize the potential bene®t of
the host country is the community and offer practical guidance on
how to become involved in it. Choi (1998) posited that the expatriate
worker who becomes more involved with the host country commu-
nity is more likely to adjust to that culture than one who interacts
mainly with others from his or her home country. Although it is
important to maintain social networks among the expatriates,
active interactions with host nationals will help the newcomers
adjust to the host culture. Social work theories regarding community
organization can be applied here.
Finally, joint efforts with another corporation must be con-
sidered. If another US-owned ®rm or subsidiary in the same
region has expatriate employees, the two ®rms might cooperatively
encourage their employees to share information and help each
other in other ways (Mendenhall and Oddou, 1991). Therefore it
is essential to contact occupational social workers in other multi-
national corporations and cooperate with them in order to pursue
the successful adjustment of expatriate workers and their families
who, despite belonging to different companies, face similar dif®cul-
ties in the same region.

Repatriation
Repatriation to the home country is also becoming recognized as
problematic (Black et al., 1992; Harvey, 1985). Overseas workers
who return to the home country after an extended period of time
face a number of dif®culties. Although they do not expect anything
unusual upon returning, they often quickly realize that their country
and company have changed considerably since they accepted their
foreign assignment (Hiltrop and Janssens, 1995). Their children
also need to readjust to the new school system at home.
A study revealed that 65 percent of United States expatriates were
actually demoted after returning from an international assignment.
Twenty-®ve percent of repatriated employees left their company
within one year, and 40 percent within two years. If the expatriate
is not integrated successfully upon his or her return, companies
may lose valuable human resources. However, most workers return-
 Choi: Social work intervention 231

ing to the United States have not received any forms of repatriation
counseling to prepare them for re-entry (Shepard, 1997).
Social workers must understand the essence of this re-entry
problem and develop a succession plan that identi®es the appro-
priate job upon repatriation. This repatriation program should be
designed at least six months before the termination of the overseas
assignment, and should apply not only to individual workers but
also to their families. Social workers should advocate the expatri-
ates' involvement in the corporation's decision-making process on
repatriation and take the clients' needs into account to minimize
`culture shock in reverse'.

Discussion
Recently the workplace has become a target for social work inter-
vention, and the number of EAPs has correspondingly increased
through the efforts of occupational social workers. Despite the
growing number of EAPs in work organizations, few occupational
social workers have responded to the increasing personnel needs in
today's global environment. They have not yet been actively
involved in strategic planning for human services in multinational
corporations, at least not in the procedures of assigning expatriate
workers. In fact, international assignees have a higher chance of
success when the social worker links the elements of their overseas
assignment together from the beginning to the end. Rather than
looking at the expatriate processes in a fragmented way, profes-
sional social workers are able to analyze how one part of the pro-
cedure links with other parts, on the basis of a designated systems
perspective.
Expatriate workers continuously interact with internal and
external environments in overseas assignments, and their adjustment
is most likely to be in¯uenced by biopsychosocial factors such as
individual attributes, national culture, work organization, family
and community relations, and social support systems. For social
workers, it is important to understand the nature of interactions
both between and among cross-cultural factors when they intervene
to assist employees overseas. Through a recognition of the accul-
turation framework, social workers in the global workplace will
perform valuable roles as counselors, consultants, advocates and
therapists, particularly in the processes of selection, cross-cultural
training, overseas support and repatriation, and thereby will
enhance an expatriate's adaptability in the new environment.
232 International Social Work volume 46(2)

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