Adaptation and relocation

Written by Dr. Hanna Ornoy and published with her courtesy. 

The adaptation of a person traveling for relocation to the new working and living conditions is a decisive factor in the success of the international assignment. The individual and his family are required to adapt to a new environment and understand what is happening in it so that they can be partners in it quickly. If they do not adapt quickly enough, their ability to perform tasks effectively will decrease, family tensions will begin, and expressions and feelings of hostility towards the host environment will begin.

Maladaptation causes the following:

• A high rate of employees abandoning their assignment before completing the pre-agreed period, causing significant damage to the parent company.
• Employees who continue to perform their duties in the host country, but fail to adapt properly and cause the parent company even more serious damage than if they had returned prematurely.

We can talk about three modes of adaptation:

Environmental adaptation  – which refers to the degree of adaptation to the physical and environmental components of the new culture, including: food, transportation conditions, living conditions, local entertainment, cost of living, weather, and the like.

Relational adaptation  – which refers to the quality of relationships between the relocated employee and the locals.

Work adaptation  – which refers to the person being relocated feeling comfortable with their new job and its demands.

There are certain behaviors that may predict an individual’s level of potential ability to adapt to a foreign culture:

• People with  intellectual curiosity and interest  in foreign cultures – those with this trait enjoy, for example, eating at foreign restaurants or watching foreign artists perform in plays. Living in a new country will give them the opportunity to have these kinds of experiences.
• The extent of  the employee’s previous experience  with the cultures of other countries, such as learning and knowing a foreign language, or traveling to foreign countries, on his own initiative, shows the employee’s curiosity about cultures different from his own.
• Some people who are accustomed to socializing with  people who are different from them in  terms of education level, race, religious background, age, and socioeconomic status will feel comfortable in a culture that is foreign to them and their adaptation will be quick and effective.
• A person’s adaptation to carrying out an international mission  in a country that is relatively similar in culture  to their own country will be relatively easier.
• A person  whose partner is cooperative  and interested in her partner’s role involving the transition to a foreign culture will also benefit from an easier adaptation.
• A person who has dealt with complex situations and incidents in his previous role   may be better prepared to perform the new role and will be able to use this previous experience during the adaptation process .

A study that examined 35 American outposts drew a parallel between the overseas journey of these outposts and the journey of warriors fighting monsters (adaptation difficulties) in a foreign fantasy land (the host country). The journey of the “warriors” (the outposts) is described as a five-stage adaptation journey:

1. The hero’s departure for the journey (the departure of the post to the host country) 
   80% of the respondents reported a feeling of excitement when they heard about the possibility of carrying out an international mission. Most of them realized that there is no way to understand a foreign culture before actually experiencing it. They reported a high level of uncertainty about their family’s adaptation to the foreign culture and that they expected to face a difficult challenge with the foreign culture, which could increase uncertainty and anxiety and create unexpected adventures.
2. Entering a foreign country
   Entering a foreign country’s culture greatly affects adaptation, mainly because there are language difficulties and new customs that must be understood and internalized. There are those stationed who directly assimilated the culture and easily abandoned their own, and there are others who acted in the opposite way and zealously preserved their culture. The preferred path, according to the study, is the middle path, and this path is likely to be respected by the locals as well.
3. Guides for
   the outposts were needed, people who could help them adapt to the foreign country. This assistance greatly improved their adaptation and prevented tensions arising from entering a foreign culture and a lack of knowledge regarding integration into the new society.
4. A Road Full of Bumps
   The deployed reported that their adaptation to the new culture was full of bumps that can be overcome with patience, humor, and a positive attitude. This road is full of difficulties and cultural paradoxes, such as: the relationships between the deployed and the people around him that require cultural understanding, paradoxes that speak of the contrasting demands placed on the individual between the parent company and the host country, and identity paradoxes that speak of the contrast between the local culture and that of the home country.
5. Returning home
   Returning home was also not easy due to the sharp cultural changes, changed habits, and adopting a new way of life.