Guest Post by Oyindamola Adedokun, m Working for Angie Weinberger helped me a lot. I had just graduated from studying international relations at the university; I was frantically searching for a role that would give me some global experience. Coupled with that was a desperate desire to find someone who could mentor and guide me in an international setting. On one of those days, when I was surfing the internet to see what opportunity I could get, I came in contact with Angie on Instagram. Unknown to me, she is the managing director of Global People Transitions, GmbH, so I asked that she mentor me in the global mobility field. She graciously requested that I share my resume and informed […]

Embarking on an expatriate journey is often portrayed as an exciting adventure, promising new experiences, cultures, and personal growth. However, beneath the surface of this exhilarating chapter in your life lies a lesser-explored aspect – the risk of expatriate burnout and trauma. When moving to the land of cheese and chocolate, many of us had an idea of a dream country, and I used to remember my favorite childhood cartoon series, “Heidi,” as a mental reference. During the transition phase, I soon realized that there was another reality about Switzerland.  The Swiss Reality This a reality you might not be familiar with when you listen to touristy advertisements, and it’s probably not the issues you had in mind (e.g., the […]

Recent legislative and policy changes in many countries around the world seem to signal a global shift from an open market to a form of protectionism. Today, I would like to discuss what exactly this is and how it impacts everyone in Global Mobility, using the dreaded Brexit as an example. Before we delve into Brexit, let’s take a look first at how open market policies were and still are beneficial to Global Mobility. Open Markets and Free Trade It all boils down to the fact that free trade agreements specifically include concessions for mobility. Combined with reduced taxes and government programs to encourage foreign investments, this literally opened the door for GM professionals to successfully ply their trade in […]

Prevent Family Separation in Global Mobility Stop me if you have heard this before. Still, the general belief among people seems to be that separation rates among expatriates are higher than those among native (aka stay-at-home) professionals. I want to point out that this is not the case. The reality is that this idea comes from the fact that the impacts of family separations are much more significant. Consider the difficulty of handling separation and potential custody disputes through geographical boundaries. Discussion among multinational Global Mobility circles is centering on the issue of Dual-Career Expat Couples.  Why You Need To Care About This You may be wondering how their relationships and related problems impact businesses. The answer is simple:  People […]

We discussed how family challenges and marital issues significantly impact the outcome of international assignments. We also saw that many companies list the Expat Spouse’s unhappiness as the primary cause of “Expatriate Failure,” highlighting the importance of the Expat Spouse and Partner career support programs.  We will discuss more extensively the kind of support you can give Dual-Career Expat Couples and why that matters. I have always advocated for Global Mobility Managers to involve Expat Spouses proactively. Sometimes I sound like a broken record, though. I reiterate what I’ve been repeating for years. The days of the passive “trailing spouse,” when they were marginally involved in any decision to move abroad, are gone. Most expats (mobile employees) actively involve their […]