Lives of female expatriates:work-life balance concerns

摘要

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyze female expatriates' work-life conflicts and enrichments which take place during the international assignment. Design/methodology/approach - A total of 20 interviews were carried out with female expatriates. The interview data were content analyzed. Findings - The findings indicate that females have experiences of conflicts but also enrichment during international assignments. Both aspects - the effect of the personal life on the working life and vice versa - are shown to be important for females. Life and career stages appear to be integral to these experiences. This study utilizes four metaphors - airport, seesaw, stage, and harbor - as main headings to represent female expatriates' experiences in balancing work and their personal lives. Originality/value - This study expands our understanding of the experiences of female expatriates from the work-life balance perspective and contributes by analyzing both the work-life conflicts as well as the enrichment which takes place, broadening the view of private life to include aspects other than the family.