August 13, 2024 • 20 mins
In this episode, we dive into the unique challenges expats face when returning to their home country after an international work assignment. We’ll explore why early planning is essential to make the transition smoother and how having a slush fund can help bridge the gap during potentially longer periods without predictable income. We'll also discuss the changing cost of living — what might have shifted while you were away — and why it's crucial to broaden your perspective on career opportunities, possibly even considering a different path. We’ll tackle the question, “Will anyone care?”, addressing the lack of understanding around your experiences and the importance of communicating why your time abroad matters.
Finally, we’ll reflect on what “home” might mean to you now and how your new global perspective will likely influence how you see your old surroundings.
Tune in to gain insights and strategies for navigating this complex, often emotional, journey back home.
𝙏𝙬𝙤 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙨 – 𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝘾𝙪𝙡𝙩𝙪𝙧𝙚𝙨 is the world’s #1 show on the business of culture and the culture of business. Christian Höferle and Brett Parry ponder culture in short bursts and deep dives, featuring your questions and comments related to culture, business, and personal growth.
Be sure to check out and subscribe to our YouTube channel for even more great content: https://www.youtube.com/@TwoChapsManyCultures
Visit https://theculturemastery.com/ for more information about the skills for working in a global context.
The music on this episode is provided courtesy of Sepalot.
“Duum Diip” - Artist: Sepalot - Label: Eskapaden - Copyright control
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In a wonderful old song by a gentleman by the name
of John McCormick, went keep thehome fires burning.
It was designed to inspire thepeople at home and the people
that went away to know that backhome there was a warmth and a
comfort that they could expectif they made it through the hell
of war.
Well, we're not talking aboutwar today.
(00:22):
We're talking about just asimple expat assignment where
you might leave and go overseasfor a period of time and the
importance of maybe keepingthose home fires burning and not
letting them burn you when youget home.
Let's talk about that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome to 2Chap's Many Cultures.
In an increasingly globallyconnected world, it is vital to
possess the essential skills ofcultural intelligence.
Listen along as we present thetopics, tips and strategies you
can use to develop the power ofcultural understanding in your
personal and professional life.
(00:58):
Here are your hosts ChristianHuffala and Brett Parry.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Christian Huffler and Brett Parry.
Welcome back everybody to TwoChaps Mini Culture, the number
one show on culture and businessand how the two things connect.
The show where too much cultureis barely enough.
This is Brett and Christian.
Yeah, those two chaps.
(01:21):
So while you're here, make sureyou click on that bell-shaped
icon and make sure to subscribeto this program.
You will get notified whenthere's a new episode coming out
, like this one, and have a goodtime and share our knowledge,
(01:44):
or what we consider to beknowledge, and you don't have to
look at us.
So it's a podcast without thevideo.
You can get that on Spotify andon all the other premier
streaming platforms, so makesure you subscribe to the one
that fits your needs best.
And today we're talking aboutreturning home from an
(02:07):
assignment.
What's the technical term forpeople who return back home from
a foreign assignment?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Repatriates Repatriation Repats.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Yes, hey, repat, yeah , when you repatriate, when you
go back to your homeland afteryou've been gone a while, there
is a few things you want toconsider.
And have you done that, brad?
Have you returned home fromtime?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
abroad?
I have not.
After 24 years almost, I'mstill to do that process process
.
However, I've worked with a lotof people and they are
sometimes surprised at theadvice we give them as to when
to prepare or when to startthinking about going home.
When might you think that is,and that's what we're talking
(02:55):
about today.
It might surprise you whetherwe're talking about the six tips
or what we consider, maybe thesix tips.
It's not exhaustive.
It is a list that we havecobbled together in the two of
our loosely matched brains, inwhich we will bloviate about
what we think you should preparefor or be ready for, and one of
(03:15):
them, the first one, is when toprepare.
Well, most people might thinkunder the madness of planning to
go away and get to your newhost destination and actually go
through the process of doingyour assignment, working,
settling in, getting your familyto enjoy the experience.
Then, when do you actuallythink about pointing your boat
(03:39):
home?
Well, we actually say it shouldbe probably pretty soon after
the day that you leave.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
And that sounds surprising to a lot of people.
Why might that be, mate?
I would even say, point yourboat back home, or know how to
point your boat back home beforeyou leave the harbor.
A lot of expats, who are atleast first-time expats, are
easily overwhelmed with themultitude of tasks that they
have to complete that they'venever done before, and it's
perfectly understandable thatyou get bogged down by the
(04:14):
logistics of such a move thatyou wouldn't even consider the
return home at that very point.
The opposite is actually whatwe would advise people to do.
If you can.
If you are negotiating the termsof your foreign assignment with
your employer, with a companyor the organization that is
(04:35):
sending you, I or we wouldadvise you have a sit down with
them and also include yourreturn in that conversation, and
that could be for variousreasons.
One would be, of course, thelogistics of it, and those are
often part of the planning inany way because of the logistics
services that are ordered andplanned for your move away, so
(05:01):
usually that the return move isfactored into that.
But it's not only the logistics, it's also what will you be
professionally?
Who will you be?
Where will you be?
How will your employer utilizeyour foreign experience after
your return?
(05:22):
And a lot of companies that wehave worked with over the years
seem to struggle with an answerto that question.
It is very often a clearlydefined requirement or need for
you to go away because youremployer, your company, has a
project abroad where yourexpertise, where your brain or
(05:45):
man or woman power is needed,because you're the best person
for that job.
Very often these very sameorganizations do not really pay
too much attention or planningon how are we going to use you
when you're back and what youwill learn abroad.
The intercultural competence,the behavioral flexibility you
(06:10):
acquire while you're abroad, thebroadened horizon, the widening
scope of your brain capacityhow can that be harnessed in
your role back home?
A lot of companies have adifficult time in defining that,
so it is upon you to help yourorganization to find that with
(06:35):
you so you're not left out uponyour return.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, so maybe the lack of recognition of the
impact, and we know that thereare certainly many studies done
and statistics recorded abouthow people often are left to
kind of swim in what essentiallyis assumed to be a comfortable
ocean or body of water, and thenthey find that they're not even
(07:00):
able to tread watersufficiently in order to keep
themselves afloat.
So that's what we're talkingabout today.
So the first one obviously isstart thinking about this even
before you leave or very soonafter you arrive in your new
host culture, to kind of forwardframe how that return home is
going to look like.
That would be the first tip.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yep, Also make sure that and this is a logistics tip
.
I mean, yes, we're talkingabout culture and we also
include in this case themechanics of such an assignment.
So make sure that your fundsare in order, that your finances
are structured in a way thatyou can handle the return move
(07:45):
without delay, too many hiccups.
A lot of long-term assignmentsfind themselves surprised by the
changes that happen within afew years in their home markets,
whether it be real estate,availability of housing, cost of
housing, cost of living, howlegislation may have changed,
(08:08):
how taxation may have changed.
While you were gone, you had aninvestment vehicle that
benefited you when you left.
Now rules and regulations mayhave been slightly modified.
You may have not kept in touchwith that enough, and now that
is catching up with you.
(08:29):
So having a slush fund, havingsome built-in reserves, might be
a good thing.
It's easier said than done.
A lot of expats have a lot ofexpenses while they're on
assignment and I've met plentyof assignments or assignees who
barely scraped by on the budgettheir organization allowed them
(08:52):
while abroad, so they weren'treally able to squirrel away a
slush fund like that.
If you're in a position to dothat, we would advise you think
about that early during yourexpatriation so it doesn't catch
up with you in a negative waywhen you return back home.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Well, some of this can be cultural.
When we go through the processof doing training, we obviously
encourage people to identifytheir own style, and some people
might be driven by a kind of ashort-term thinking style where
they might come from a culturewhere long-term thinking and
planning is just a natural partof their upbringing, so it's
kind of already built in.
(09:30):
But in this case, if you feelthat you maybe have not built
like that, then perhaps nowstarting to practice that and
adjusting your culturalpreference to that would be a
good thing.
So that kind of goes into thenext point.
Obviously we've got number oneprepare early.
Number two do whatever you canto think about the cost.
(09:52):
But why would you think aboutthe cost?
Well, if you're away for anextended period of time, how
much or what are you going to doto stay in touch with the
changing dynamics of financialenvironment?
In your home culture?
You may go to a culture wherethings are rather stable, but
your culture back home goesthrough political changes,
(10:14):
economic changes, social changesthat in that impact the way or
the cost of living on aday-to-day basis.
So obviously you're keeping intouch with family and you may be
traveling home and you might beenjoying family events and
things like that, but also buildinto some time keeping in touch
, looking at these dynamics,seeing what's happening, what's
(10:36):
changing on the ground whileyou're away.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And it's not only the cost of life back home and
abroad that will potentially gothrough an adjustment period
while you're gone.
It is also that you and the wayyou look at your career may
change while you're gone.
Right, and that leads us toconsideration number four.
(11:02):
Your perspective of who you areprofessionally might change
because you recognize skills inyou or you will recognize what
you like about your work ordon't like as much about your
work compared to when you left,and maybe even like about your
company or don't like about yourcompany after you've come back.
(11:23):
So your view of your career andhow it might continue through
such a foreign assignment,through a time abroad, is likely
to go through some changes.
And we've seen it multipletimes that people do change
their career when they return ormodify it to a certain degree
(11:45):
where they say I'm not ready forthe career path that my
employer has designed for me.
I think I want to go in adifferent direction.
That is quite possible.
And should that be your reality, Should you recognize in you
that, okay, I'm here now for anassignment in country XYZ and
(12:06):
I'm fully dedicated and devotedto the project I'm working on
and I'm recognizing this is notwhat I want to continue doing
for the rest of my life, thensetting those plans in motion
can be done while you're abroad.
So when you come back and dodecide to take a left or right
turn in your career path, thosetracks have already been at
(12:30):
least designed, maybe even built.
But it could easily be that youjust return back to the role
that you've been comfortable infor a long time and you don't
want to change your career.
Then it means you at least wantto negotiate your position
within the organization.
And if that's not possible,then which competitor might be
(12:54):
offering you a position?
Because of your globalexperience we see that
frequently that returnees getpoached because their
organization, their employer,was unable to offer them
something compelling and acompetitor might pick that up.
As, oh, Anita of ABC Companyhas been doing all this abroad,
(13:17):
we could use her here and lookat the offer that we're making
you.
So all of this is quitepossible.
We would not rule this out whenyou go away.
So as you plan your foreignassignment, keep those things in
consideration and have a sitdown if you have a life part,
and have a sit down with themand discuss these options as
(13:39):
early as possible.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, and as a result , of course, the last two we're
going to talk about are probablymore rooted in the cultural
side of it, and that is when youdo arrive back remember, before
you left you were kind ofswimming.
When we're in our own culture,we are kind of in a situation of
anonymity where we're speakingthe same language as everybody
(14:00):
around us.
We are working in a style thatsuits our local environment.
When you're in a foreignenvironment, you have a focus on
you and you are different thaneverybody else, so the
expectation changes.
You might perform even betterthan you would perform or in a
different way than you wouldperform back home.
(14:20):
And then when you return, yougo back into that anonymity and
you find yourself surrounded bypeople who no longer see you as
special, no longer see you as adifferent person, and that can
be a confronting thing.
We're not talking about an ego.
It's just a natural humanperception of seeing that I used
(14:42):
to be somebody and now I'm kindof just like one of the regular
folks, and that's a change thatyou have to adapt to.
You get this perception thatpeople around you don't actually
care about where you've been.
They care about the languagesyou've learned or the schools
that your kids have been to, theplaces you've been able to
(15:02):
travel.
So therefore, it really is acultural perception that you're,
as Christian said before, yourmind has expanded, the minds of
your family have expanded.
You've become different people,you have changed the way you
see the world and it is going toimpact how you land back in
(15:23):
your home culture again by notbeing burnt, by feeling that
you're now not kind of specialin any way, shape or form.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I had this experience myself.
I was a young lad.
I was on a foreign exchangeprogram, not a work assignment.
I had a school year abroad and,yes, I thought I was special
when I returned and I was forabout 15 minutes and people
wanted to know how was it?
Welcome back, tell us what youexperienced?
(15:56):
And I had to realize quicklythat the interest peaked early
and faded off quickly.
So my, my feeling of beingspecial didn't last very long
and that was confronting it.
Of course, at my age there was alittle bit of ego involved as
well.
I'm not going to diminish that.
And yet it is very similar tofully grown, mature people that
(16:22):
you all the perks I wouldn'tcall them perks, but all the
logistics around being an expat,all the the different living
scenarios, housing, how you movearound, your mobility, much of
that changes on a foreignassignment.
And then you get used to thatand you come back and all that
(16:44):
extra that you had goes away andit's almost like being dropped
right.
It's a feeling of free fall.
So where am I now and what isthis place in which we return?
So which will bring us to oursixth bullet point.
So to say, what's the land,what's the home that we return
to.
So we established Brett justsaid it you're not the same
(17:06):
person, so you're not returningthe same person that left, and
you're also not returning to thesame place that you left,
because home, the place that youwent away from several years
ago, underwent some changes aswell, and the people that didn't
go away, they had lives too andtheir storylines maybe went a
(17:30):
different way than yourstoryline.
People that you were close withmaybe even friends, close
colleagues that you had sympathyfor, where you maybe even were
friends, maybe that diverged alittle bit and you find yourself
back home, where you thoughtyou belonged, where your root
origins are, and you will feel alittle unrooted and you will
(17:56):
feel is this still the placewhere I belong?
Is this my home?
People don't seem to act likeit and I don't seem to feel like
this is the same home that Ileft.
I don't want to over-dramatizethis, or what is that the word
Dramatize?
Make it a bigger deal than itis for some people.
(18:17):
But I've met plenty of repatswho struggled more coming back
home than they struggled goingaway, because they anticipated
adjustment going abroad.
They anticipated behavioraldifferences as they went away.
They did not anticipate havingto adjust coming back home and
(18:38):
that hit them like a ton ofbricks, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
So that's kind of six pretty short but, we think, a
good start of a list of whatpeople need to think about and
what might impact you the most.
What's been your experience?
Have you had the chance to liveand work outside of your
culture for an extended periodof time?
And what has been yourexperience in returning home?
And just let us know, We'd loveto hear from you.
(19:06):
Of course, as Christian said,you can subscribe to whatever
medium you are listening to usthrough, whether it be here on
YouTube, where you can subscribeand hit that bell, but also the
podcast where we publish hereevery week.
And you know we like to getback home every week.
And let me just reassure you,sir, you are still special, even
(19:31):
though you've been back andforth a few times.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
I am special in a different way, I guess, very,
very special, whereas mydaughter would say, dad, don't
be extra, don't be extra.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Oh, that's the one.
Okay, don't be extra Excellent,no problem.
Well, two Chaps, many Cultcultures, another episode in the
can.
Thank you very much for joiningus and enjoy your week.
Mate, any big plans.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
I'm going to keep the fire burning and maybe roll
something over that fire.
We shall see.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
That's a good idea.
We didn't add that to the list.
It's actually, you know, takeadvantage of some of these fires
and do some cooking.
And getting back to your homeculture, what did you?
You know, getting the taste ofhome, which is one of the
important things ofunderstanding your home culture,
that's great.
Well, we'll see you next time,mate, and thanks again,
everybody.
Two chaps, many cultures, wheretoo much culture is barely
(20:26):
enough, barely enough, ciao fornow.
We'll see you next time.
Yeah, enough ciao for now.
We'll see you next time, yeah.
In a wonderful old song by a gentleman by the name
of John McCormick, went keep thehome fires burning.
It was designed to inspire thepeople at home and the people
that went away to know that backhome there was a warmth and a
comfort that they could expectif they made it through the hell
of war.
Well, we're not talking aboutwar today.
(00:22):
We're talking about just asimple expat assignment where
you might leave and go overseasfor a period of time and the
importance of maybe keepingthose home fires burning and not
letting them burn you when youget home.
Let's talk about that.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Welcome to 2Chap's Many Cultures.
In an increasingly globallyconnected world, it is vital to
possess the essential skills ofcultural intelligence.
Listen along as we present thetopics, tips and strategies you
can use to develop the power ofcultural understanding in your
personal and professional life.
(00:58):
Here are your hosts ChristianHuffala and Brett Parry.
Speaker 3 (01:01):
Christian Huffler and Brett Parry.
Welcome back everybody to TwoChaps Mini Culture, the number
one show on culture and businessand how the two things connect.
The show where too much cultureis barely enough.
This is Brett and Christian.
Yeah, those two chaps.
(01:21):
So while you're here, make sureyou click on that bell-shaped
icon and make sure to subscribeto this program.
You will get notified whenthere's a new episode coming out
, like this one, and have a goodtime and share our knowledge,
(01:44):
or what we consider to beknowledge, and you don't have to
look at us.
So it's a podcast without thevideo.
You can get that on Spotify andon all the other premier
streaming platforms, so makesure you subscribe to the one
that fits your needs best.
And today we're talking aboutreturning home from an
(02:07):
assignment.
What's the technical term forpeople who return back home from
a foreign assignment?
Speaker 1 (02:13):
Repatriates Repatriation Repats.
Speaker 3 (02:18):
Yes, hey, repat, yeah , when you repatriate, when you
go back to your homeland afteryou've been gone a while, there
is a few things you want toconsider.
And have you done that, brad?
Have you returned home fromtime?
Speaker 1 (02:33):
abroad?
I have not.
After 24 years almost, I'mstill to do that process process
.
However, I've worked with a lotof people and they are
sometimes surprised at theadvice we give them as to when
to prepare or when to startthinking about going home.
When might you think that is,and that's what we're talking
(02:55):
about today.
It might surprise you whetherwe're talking about the six tips
or what we consider, maybe thesix tips.
It's not exhaustive.
It is a list that we havecobbled together in the two of
our loosely matched brains, inwhich we will bloviate about
what we think you should preparefor or be ready for, and one of
(03:15):
them, the first one, is when toprepare.
Well, most people might thinkunder the madness of planning to
go away and get to your newhost destination and actually go
through the process of doingyour assignment, working,
settling in, getting your familyto enjoy the experience.
Then, when do you actuallythink about pointing your boat
(03:39):
home?
Well, we actually say it shouldbe probably pretty soon after
the day that you leave.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
And that sounds surprising to a lot of people.
Why might that be, mate?
I would even say, point yourboat back home, or know how to
point your boat back home beforeyou leave the harbor.
A lot of expats, who are atleast first-time expats, are
easily overwhelmed with themultitude of tasks that they
have to complete that they'venever done before, and it's
perfectly understandable thatyou get bogged down by the
(04:14):
logistics of such a move thatyou wouldn't even consider the
return home at that very point.
The opposite is actually whatwe would advise people to do.
If you can.
If you are negotiating the termsof your foreign assignment with
your employer, with a companyor the organization that is
(04:35):
sending you, I or we wouldadvise you have a sit down with
them and also include yourreturn in that conversation, and
that could be for variousreasons.
One would be, of course, thelogistics of it, and those are
often part of the planning inany way because of the logistics
services that are ordered andplanned for your move away, so
(05:01):
usually that the return move isfactored into that.
But it's not only the logistics, it's also what will you be
professionally?
Who will you be?
Where will you be?
How will your employer utilizeyour foreign experience after
your return?
(05:22):
And a lot of companies that wehave worked with over the years
seem to struggle with an answerto that question.
It is very often a clearlydefined requirement or need for
you to go away because youremployer, your company, has a
project abroad where yourexpertise, where your brain or
(05:45):
man or woman power is needed,because you're the best person
for that job.
Very often these very sameorganizations do not really pay
too much attention or planningon how are we going to use you
when you're back and what youwill learn abroad.
The intercultural competence,the behavioral flexibility you
(06:10):
acquire while you're abroad, thebroadened horizon, the widening
scope of your brain capacityhow can that be harnessed in
your role back home?
A lot of companies have adifficult time in defining that,
so it is upon you to help yourorganization to find that with
(06:35):
you so you're not left out uponyour return.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, so maybe the lack of recognition of the
impact, and we know that thereare certainly many studies done
and statistics recorded abouthow people often are left to
kind of swim in what essentiallyis assumed to be a comfortable
ocean or body of water, and thenthey find that they're not even
(07:00):
able to tread watersufficiently in order to keep
themselves afloat.
So that's what we're talkingabout today.
So the first one obviously isstart thinking about this even
before you leave or very soonafter you arrive in your new
host culture, to kind of forwardframe how that return home is
going to look like.
That would be the first tip.
Speaker 3 (07:21):
Yep, Also make sure that and this is a logistics tip
.
I mean, yes, we're talkingabout culture and we also
include in this case themechanics of such an assignment.
So make sure that your fundsare in order, that your finances
are structured in a way thatyou can handle the return move
(07:45):
without delay, too many hiccups.
A lot of long-term assignmentsfind themselves surprised by the
changes that happen within afew years in their home markets,
whether it be real estate,availability of housing, cost of
housing, cost of living, howlegislation may have changed,
(08:08):
how taxation may have changed.
While you were gone, you had aninvestment vehicle that
benefited you when you left.
Now rules and regulations mayhave been slightly modified.
You may have not kept in touchwith that enough, and now that
is catching up with you.
(08:29):
So having a slush fund, havingsome built-in reserves, might be
a good thing.
It's easier said than done.
A lot of expats have a lot ofexpenses while they're on
assignment and I've met plentyof assignments or assignees who
barely scraped by on the budgettheir organization allowed them
(08:52):
while abroad, so they weren'treally able to squirrel away a
slush fund like that.
If you're in a position to dothat, we would advise you think
about that early during yourexpatriation so it doesn't catch
up with you in a negative waywhen you return back home.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
Well, some of this can be cultural.
When we go through the processof doing training, we obviously
encourage people to identifytheir own style, and some people
might be driven by a kind of ashort-term thinking style where
they might come from a culturewhere long-term thinking and
planning is just a natural partof their upbringing, so it's
kind of already built in.
(09:30):
But in this case, if you feelthat you maybe have not built
like that, then perhaps nowstarting to practice that and
adjusting your culturalpreference to that would be a
good thing.
So that kind of goes into thenext point.
Obviously we've got number oneprepare early.
Number two do whatever you canto think about the cost.
(09:52):
But why would you think aboutthe cost?
Well, if you're away for anextended period of time, how
much or what are you going to doto stay in touch with the
changing dynamics of financialenvironment?
In your home culture?
You may go to a culture wherethings are rather stable, but
your culture back home goesthrough political changes,
(10:14):
economic changes, social changesthat in that impact the way or
the cost of living on aday-to-day basis.
So obviously you're keeping intouch with family and you may be
traveling home and you might beenjoying family events and
things like that, but also buildinto some time keeping in touch
, looking at these dynamics,seeing what's happening, what's
(10:36):
changing on the ground whileyou're away.
Speaker 3 (10:39):
And it's not only the cost of life back home and
abroad that will potentially gothrough an adjustment period
while you're gone.
It is also that you and the wayyou look at your career may
change while you're gone.
Right, and that leads us toconsideration number four.
(11:02):
Your perspective of who you areprofessionally might change
because you recognize skills inyou or you will recognize what
you like about your work ordon't like as much about your
work compared to when you left,and maybe even like about your
company or don't like about yourcompany after you've come back.
(11:23):
So your view of your career andhow it might continue through
such a foreign assignment,through a time abroad, is likely
to go through some changes.
And we've seen it multipletimes that people do change
their career when they return ormodify it to a certain degree
(11:45):
where they say I'm not ready forthe career path that my
employer has designed for me.
I think I want to go in adifferent direction.
That is quite possible.
And should that be your reality, Should you recognize in you
that, okay, I'm here now for anassignment in country XYZ and
(12:06):
I'm fully dedicated and devotedto the project I'm working on
and I'm recognizing this is notwhat I want to continue doing
for the rest of my life, thensetting those plans in motion
can be done while you're abroad.
So when you come back and dodecide to take a left or right
turn in your career path, thosetracks have already been at
(12:30):
least designed, maybe even built.
But it could easily be that youjust return back to the role
that you've been comfortable infor a long time and you don't
want to change your career.
Then it means you at least wantto negotiate your position
within the organization.
And if that's not possible,then which competitor might be
(12:54):
offering you a position?
Because of your globalexperience we see that
frequently that returnees getpoached because their
organization, their employer,was unable to offer them
something compelling and acompetitor might pick that up.
As, oh, Anita of ABC Companyhas been doing all this abroad,
(13:17):
we could use her here and lookat the offer that we're making
you.
So all of this is quitepossible.
We would not rule this out whenyou go away.
So as you plan your foreignassignment, keep those things in
consideration and have a sitdown if you have a life part,
and have a sit down with themand discuss these options as
(13:39):
early as possible.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
Yeah, and as a result , of course, the last two we're
going to talk about are probablymore rooted in the cultural
side of it, and that is when youdo arrive back remember, before
you left you were kind ofswimming.
When we're in our own culture,we are kind of in a situation of
anonymity where we're speakingthe same language as everybody
(14:00):
around us.
We are working in a style thatsuits our local environment.
When you're in a foreignenvironment, you have a focus on
you and you are different thaneverybody else, so the
expectation changes.
You might perform even betterthan you would perform or in a
different way than you wouldperform back home.
(14:20):
And then when you return, yougo back into that anonymity and
you find yourself surrounded bypeople who no longer see you as
special, no longer see you as adifferent person, and that can
be a confronting thing.
We're not talking about an ego.
It's just a natural humanperception of seeing that I used
(14:42):
to be somebody and now I'm kindof just like one of the regular
folks, and that's a change thatyou have to adapt to.
You get this perception thatpeople around you don't actually
care about where you've been.
They care about the languagesyou've learned or the schools
that your kids have been to, theplaces you've been able to
(15:02):
travel.
So therefore, it really is acultural perception that you're,
as Christian said before, yourmind has expanded, the minds of
your family have expanded.
You've become different people,you have changed the way you
see the world and it is going toimpact how you land back in
(15:23):
your home culture again by notbeing burnt, by feeling that
you're now not kind of specialin any way, shape or form.
Speaker 3 (15:34):
I had this experience myself.
I was a young lad.
I was on a foreign exchangeprogram, not a work assignment.
I had a school year abroad and,yes, I thought I was special
when I returned and I was forabout 15 minutes and people
wanted to know how was it?
Welcome back, tell us what youexperienced?
(15:56):
And I had to realize quicklythat the interest peaked early
and faded off quickly.
So my, my feeling of beingspecial didn't last very long
and that was confronting it.
Of course, at my age there was alittle bit of ego involved as
well.
I'm not going to diminish that.
And yet it is very similar tofully grown, mature people that
(16:22):
you all the perks I wouldn'tcall them perks, but all the
logistics around being an expat,all the the different living
scenarios, housing, how you movearound, your mobility, much of
that changes on a foreignassignment.
And then you get used to thatand you come back and all that
(16:44):
extra that you had goes away andit's almost like being dropped
right.
It's a feeling of free fall.
So where am I now and what isthis place in which we return?
So which will bring us to oursixth bullet point.
So to say, what's the land,what's the home that we return
to.
So we established Brett justsaid it you're not the same
(17:06):
person, so you're not returningthe same person that left, and
you're also not returning to thesame place that you left,
because home, the place that youwent away from several years
ago, underwent some changes aswell, and the people that didn't
go away, they had lives too andtheir storylines maybe went a
(17:30):
different way than yourstoryline.
People that you were close withmaybe even friends, close
colleagues that you had sympathyfor, where you maybe even were
friends, maybe that diverged alittle bit and you find yourself
back home, where you thoughtyou belonged, where your root
origins are, and you will feel alittle unrooted and you will
(17:56):
feel is this still the placewhere I belong?
Is this my home?
People don't seem to act likeit and I don't seem to feel like
this is the same home that Ileft.
I don't want to over-dramatizethis, or what is that the word
Dramatize?
Make it a bigger deal than itis for some people.
(18:17):
But I've met plenty of repatswho struggled more coming back
home than they struggled goingaway, because they anticipated
adjustment going abroad.
They anticipated behavioraldifferences as they went away.
They did not anticipate havingto adjust coming back home and
(18:38):
that hit them like a ton ofbricks, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (18:42):
So that's kind of six pretty short but, we think, a
good start of a list of whatpeople need to think about and
what might impact you the most.
What's been your experience?
Have you had the chance to liveand work outside of your
culture for an extended periodof time?
And what has been yourexperience in returning home?
And just let us know, We'd loveto hear from you.
(19:06):
Of course, as Christian said,you can subscribe to whatever
medium you are listening to usthrough, whether it be here on
YouTube, where you can subscribeand hit that bell, but also the
podcast where we publish hereevery week.
And you know we like to getback home every week.
And let me just reassure you,sir, you are still special, even
(19:31):
though you've been back andforth a few times.
Speaker 3 (19:35):
I am special in a different way, I guess, very,
very special, whereas mydaughter would say, dad, don't
be extra, don't be extra.
Speaker 1 (19:43):
Oh, that's the one.
Okay, don't be extra Excellent,no problem.
Well, two Chaps, many Cultcultures, another episode in the
can.
Thank you very much for joiningus and enjoy your week.
Mate, any big plans.
Speaker 3 (19:58):
I'm going to keep the fire burning and maybe roll
something over that fire.
We shall see.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
That's a good idea.
We didn't add that to the list.
It's actually, you know, takeadvantage of some of these fires
and do some cooking.
And getting back to your homeculture, what did you?
You know, getting the taste ofhome, which is one of the
important things ofunderstanding your home culture,
that's great.
Well, we'll see you next time,mate, and thanks again,
everybody.
Two chaps, many cultures, wheretoo much culture is barely
(20:26):
enough, barely enough, ciao fornow.
We'll see you next time.
Yeah, enough ciao for now.
We'll see you next time, yeah.
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