The JGM BitBlog: Expatriates under Crisis - The Good, The Bad, and The Unexpected of Coping Strategies
lexei Koveshnikov, Aalto University, Aalto, Finland
Miikka J. Lehtonen, Rikkyo University, Tokyo, Japan
The COVID-19 pandemic was a test of resilience for many, yet for expatriates it brought about even more challenges to address. With limited access to various support systems in the host country, expatriates had to rely on different coping strategies to handle stress. But which strategies actually worked? Our recent study in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), a Middle-Eastern country known for its lavish lifestyle (for some), offers important insights into how different coping strategies affected expatriates' psychological well-being, satisfaction with their overseas experience, and desire to stay or leave their host country.
In our study, we focused on four specific coping strategies that are well established in psychology and expatriation research: problem-focused, seeking social support, distancing, and denial. Each had distinct effects on stress levels and expatriate satisfaction:
1. Problem-Focused Coping: This strategy entails coping via a deliberate focus on using careful analysis to solve problems and generate possible solutions. In line with previous research, we found this strategy to be effective - expatriates who employed problem-focused strategy experienced lower stress and higher satisfaction, making them less likely to consider leaving their host country. This strategy underscored the power of proactive problem-solving even during a crisis.
2. Coping via Seeking Social Support: Surprisingly, seeking social support that refers to individuals' efforts to cope by seeking informational, tangible, and emotional support did not significantly impact expatriates' stress levels or intent to remain abroad. In a pandemic affecting everyone globally, turning to others for solace was often met with shared helplessness rather than relief. This finding highlights the unique challenge expatriates faced when everyone around them was also struggling.
3. Coping via Distancing: One might think that mentally distancing oneself from a crisis would offer respite, but our study found the opposite. Expatriates who chose to detach themselves from the pandemic's realities experienced increased stress. The pervasive and inescapable nature of COVID-19 rendered this strategy ineffective, showing that avoiding stressors can sometimes backfire when they are omnipresent.
4. Coping via Denial: Interestingly, while often seen as counterproductive, denial had an unexpected silver lining. While it did not directly enhance expatriates' satisfaction, it reduced their psychological stress. A temporary mental escape, such as wishful thinking or focusing on other accessible activities like new hobbies to distract one's attention from the pandemic and its consequences allowed expatriates to decrease stress and feel a bit more in control of an uncontrollable situation.
Understanding these varied outcomes has practical implications for organizations employing expatriates. Training expatriates to be better at problem-focused coping and more psychologically stable to mentally distract themselves from the harsh realities of a crisis can enhance their resilience during crises. At the same time, organizations might also consider different ways to offer additional support to expatriates who seek and rely on social support in their coping. As global mobility continues to grow and the threat of new crises looms, these findings are a reminder that not all coping strategies are created equal. By equipping expatriates with the right tools, we can help them better weather the storms of living abroad.
To read the full article, please see the Journal of Global Mobility publication:
Koveshnikov, A. and Lehtonen, M.J. (2024), "Stuck in a moment you can't get out of: the psychological effects of expatriates' coping with a crisis situation", Journal of Global Mobility, Vol. 12 No. 4, pp. 648-668. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-11-2023-0082" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-11-2023-0082
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Professor Jan Selmer, Ph.D.
Founding Editor-in-Chief
Journal of Global Mobility (JGM)
Department of Management, Aarhus University
E-mail:
selmer@mgmt.au.dkTwitter: @JanSelmer_JGM
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