Written by Dr. Hanna Ornoy and published with her courtesy.
Homesickness is a state of distress that affects people who are distant from their known and familiar surroundings, forced to navigate a new socio-cultural and physical environment.
It is of great importance to address this phenomenon because it has been found that homesickness has a major impact on the level of performance and commitment of the relocated personnel to the mission.
A relocated stationed person who experiences homesickness performs less well on the international mission than a relocated stationed person who does not experience the feeling of homesickness.
The feeling of homesickness is expressed in physical and behavioral symptoms
Various studies have found the following symptoms: weakened immune system, stomach discomfort, little sleep, eating problems, headaches, fatigue, depression, irritability, sadness, lack of cooperation, and lack of initiative.
Other researchers point to the loss and connection model, according to which the separation of people from their natural sociocultural environment can cause a sense of loss accompanied by anxiety, unhappiness, and disgust. If this psychological state continues, apathy and helplessness develop, which can lead to depression and dependency. These researchers use the word sick to describe the phenomenon.
Another model speaks of a sense of disruption of routine that may cause stress, anxiety, fear, and distress. Those deployed in relocation become helpless and feel they have no control or strategies to deal with the foreign environment that is perceived as hostile.
The feeling of homesickness is also expressed in cognitive symptoms
These include thoughts focused on the home country and sometimes negative thoughts about the host environment or lack of interest in the host country, as well as idealization of the home country.
How long does homesickness last?
Although one study found that homesickness is an episodic, transient condition that occurs relatively early in the relocation process, it qualifies its findings and claims that there are those in whose relocation the period of homesickness may be longer.
A recent study from 2020 states that only after 3 years of deployment do the deployed people go through the homesickness period and develop the ability to adapt to the new environment. Another previous study from 2016 found that there is a linear decrease in homesickness after two years of deployment.
What makes homesickness worse?
Relocation personnel who experience prejudice during their stay in a foreign country report increased homesickness. Personnel who reported racial and ethnic prejudice experienced increased homesickness.
Women indicated more prejudice against them than men.
This description may also be related to the theme of religion due to the “different appearance.”
Says Miriam (a Muslim): “It’s scary to go out alone with a headscarf. When there aren’t many women in South London with such a covering, you feel like a stranger and afraid of people looking at you, and sometimes even shouting at you or attacking you.”
Deployees from collectivist countries miss their extended family very much, while deployees from countries characterized by a high level of individualism may cope better without the presence of their extended family and miss them less.
The more the foreign country to which the stationed person is culturally different from his home country (high cultural distance), the greater the homesickness.
If gaps in expectations arise – the preparations did not emphasize enough what the actual role will be, and it turns out to the relocated employee that the local reality is completely different from what was presented to him by the human resources department in the pre-trip meetings – the feeling of homesickness is exacerbated.
Adaptation to the foreign country is a crucial issue. A relocated employee who feels that he has not yet adapted to the foreign country may find himself in a state of social isolation and homesickness for his home country.
What eases homesickness?
A good command of the local language gives an advantage in building relationships with employees of the host country and greatly alleviates the feeling of homesickness.
Participating in social events within the company, and attempting to become more involved in the local community in order to avoid a feeling of social isolation, helps to alleviate the feeling of homesickness.
Attachment to an environment appropriate to the culture from which they came – for example, Jews who found Jewish religious and educational institutions in a foreign country. Proximity to such institutions has a positive effect on the mental state of those stationed in relocation, on reducing homesickness and hence on the level of performance and commitment to the international mission.
for example:
https://publichealthreviews.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s40985-020-00122-9
Fisher S. Homesickness, cognition and health. London: Routledge; 2016.
