The eagerly anticipated “Career Choice and the Accompanying Partner” survey conducted by Evelyn Simpson & Louise Wiles is now available, and it makes fascinating reading.
“This report provides a view of the assignment experience and the impact it has on career choices and aspirations from the partners’ perspective.”
Respondents answered questions relating to their prior employment status, factors affecting their desire and ability to work in their host locations, and their levels of satisfaction and sense of fulfillment with the international assignment, and the responses, conclusions and recommendations made will have expat partners across the globe nodding in agreement.
Their findings included:
- While 78% of accompanying partners would like to work while on their current assignment, only 44% do.
- Unavailability of work permits inhibit many accompanying partners from working, but it’s by no means the only reason seeking employment while on assignment is difficult or impossible.
- Theoretical availability of work permits doesn’t mean its practical to get one.
- Other practical factors, such as language mastery, are more frequently cited as impediments than the lack of a legal right to work.
- Working accompanying partners report higher levels of fulfilment than non-working accompanying partners.
For more information or to download a free copy of the report summary, click here.
Congratulations to Louise and Evelyn!
Rachel, thanks for your kind words about the survey and for all your help in making it happen.
Rachel, thanks for your kind words about the survey and all your help in making it happen. We hope that it will help to change the way that organisations think about and support accompanying partners.
You are most welcome, Evelyn – it’s a study that’s long overdue, and you both have done a fantastic job.
Holy guacomole!!! My family and I moved in 2010 to follow my husband’s new jobs. We moved from Quebec City, Canada (a french province) to Ontario, Canada. Then 3 months ago we moved to California USA. This survey, and this blog, makes my day or should I say MY MONTH. If you’re curious, here’s the post where I announce shutting down my little business because of work permits: http://melaniesaucier.com/2012/05/17/putting-my-dream-on-the-back-burner/
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There is not enough room in this comment box to express the feelings I feel right now, but I can say this: THANK YOU! for doing the survey and thank you for sharing all of this. For the first time since more than 2 years, I don’t feel alone. I’m looking forward to reading older and future blog posts
Hooray! I am so glad it helped (although the entire credit goes to Evelyn and Louise who carried out the survey – I merely shared it, which was a mere bagatelle compared to the many months of work that they put in!). I am off to read your post now.
p.s. I’m in California too..