This article is written with the purpose of introducing an exciting new research project which investigates the experiences of expatriate partners who relocate abroad as a result of their partners international assignments. This research is being conducted by Louise Wiles (Success Abroad Coaching) and Evelyn Simpson (The Smart Expat).

A study conducted by the Permits Foundation in 2008 found that whilst 90% of the accompanying partners (trailing spouses) surveyed in their study worked prior to relocation, only 35% were working abroad at the point that the survey was conducted.

Whilst many different factors attract people to accept foreign assignments, one of the benefits cited by partners is the opportunity for them to take a career break and for those with children to be able to spend more quality time with their family.

Paradoxically the initial adjustment period can actually seem even more of a full-time job than the old career back home. Accommodation to be found, packing and unpacking to be organized, schools to be selected and children to be settled, new languages to learn, bureaucratic procedures to be dealt with, healthcare issues to be organized, new social networks to be built. The to-do list involved in relocating can be alarming and definitely extremely time-consuming.

All this at a time when the working partner is often stretched to the full in a new and pressurized work role, often involving travel and long hours meaning they are not available to help ease the partner’s/families initial transition period.

And so partner most certainly has an important role to play. A role that can seem far removed from the one they left behind. It can be a bitter sweet time. Exciting, busy and lonely, an exhilarating and challenging period as everyone works through the initial adjustment period, finds their footing in their new work, school, social and home environments.

It would be easy to conclude that the partner has plenty to do and would therefore have no need or desire to work. However of the respondents in the Permits Foundation Report who said that they were not currently working, 75% said that they wished to do so.

Surprising? Perhaps – but career does often contribute to an individual’s overall sense of purpose and meaning in life. In a new environment with cultural challenges, career can often have a grounding effect, giving a sense of self efficacy and personal identity that may otherwise be lost. Many partners do talk about losing their sense of who they are when they move to live abroad. The context which defined them back home: career, colleagues, friends and family disappears and they become known as simply their partner’s partner and their children’s Mum or Dad.

This survey was launched to develop a better understanding of the accompanying partner’s career options and choices whilst living abroad. With such a high percentage of partners saying that they wished to work we want to better understand their career aspirations and the obstacles that prevent them from doing so.

One of the greatest obstacles to assignment success is the inability of partners and families to adjust to the new environment. We are also interested to understand the issues that lead to life fulfillment and satisfaction whilst abroad, in particular the part that work and career play in these respects.

The Survey: Career Choices and the Accompanying Partner can be accessed by clicking on this link.

It is open to all current accompanying partners, male or female, working or non-working and is totally anonymous. You will be given the opportunity to participate in a prize draw once you have completed the survey, Louise and Evelyn are offering some great books and coaching packages as prizes as a sign of their appreciation for your participation.

Louise Wiles is an expatriate coach and founder of Success Abroad Coaching. She works with potential expatriates/repatriates as they work through their relocation decisions and then provides on-going support as they relocate. www.SuccessAbroadCoaching.com

Evelyn Simpson is the founder of The Smart Expat. She works with the accompanying partners of expats as they adapt their lives and identities in their new countries and find ways to lead meaningful lives without their familiar work, activities and support systems. www.TheSmartExpat.com