Research and results: A look at current trends and data
| Pages | 14-15 |
| Published date | 01 November 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/14754390680000935 |
| Date | 01 November 2006 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour |
14 Volume 6 Issue 1 November/December 2006
RESEARCH AND RESULTS
,
A look at current trends and data
locations such as the Middle East.
Support for partners
“Studies suggest partners of successful
women also tend to have high-
powered careers. When a woman is
offered an international assignment,
their partner may be less willing to
make career concessions to accompany
them,” said Sonsino. “This may
strengthen the need for companies to
have well-defined spouse-support
policies which include assistance for the
partner in finding work.”
Two-thirds of companies (66
percent) provide no incentives or
support to help partners settle in the
host location, the survey found. Where
support is available, it’s usually only
given when specifically requested.
“An unhappy spouse can often
cause an assignment to fail, so not
spending money on support services
can be a false economy for companies.
While integrating partners into the
local community may take time and
money, it can ultimately pay off,” said
Sonsino.
,
,
M
ore women are being sent on
international assignments than
ever before, but they’re far
less likely to be accompanied by a
partner than male assignees, according
to a new survey by Mercer Human
Resource Consulting. The global survey
covers over 100 multinational
companies with nearly 17,000 male and
female international assignees.
Companies in Asia-Pacific said they
have 16 times more females on
assignment this year than they did in
2001. Companies in North America have
nearly four times as many while those
in Europe have over twice as many.
“The huge growth in the number of
females sent on assignment by Asia-
Pacific companies reflects the fact that
businesses in this region, particularly in
China, are becoming increasingly
global," said Yvonne Sonsino, principal
at Mercer Human Resource Consulting.
Expectations for the future
Over half of the companies (55 percent)
expect the number of female assignees
to continue to increase steadily over the
next five years, while 35 percent believe
the number will remain the same. Just 4
percent believe it will decline.
Though the companies surveyed
generally don’t have separate policies
for female expatriates, the study found
some differentiation in the treatment
of male and female assignees. For
example, 15 percent of companies said
they wouldn’t send women to hardship
More female staff take on international assignments
Research shows major opinion gaps between generations
Nearly two thirds of employers offer flexible working
Global talent shortage to worsen, says The Economist
The survey covered 104 multinational
companies. Mercer Human Resource
Consulting provides HR and financial
advice and services. It has 15,000
employees in 40 countries worldwide.
www.mercerHR.com
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Y
ounger people’s attitudes towards
business have almost nothing in
common with those of older
people, a new UK survey, commissioned
by AMEC, The Sunday Times and The
Work Foundation, has found. People
over 45 years tend to think of
smokestacks and coal mines, noise and
grime; those under 30 – and particularly
those under 24 – tend to be future-
oriented in their word-associations,
summoning images of computers,
success, money and technology.
The top word associations among
people under 24 for “industry” were:
“money,” “busyness,” “computers,”
“success” and “technology.” People over
45 said: “factory,” “decline,” “dirt,”
“strike” and “masculinity/maleness.”
The older the respondent the less
“money” tended to be associated with
industry. Sir Peter Mason, chief executive
of project management firm, AMEC, said:
“Younger people are recognizing that
industry is more about computers today
than hard hats. We’re still short of new
graduates in engineering, science and
technology – as these graduates enter
the workplace, they’ll reshape industrial
relations, as their expectations of their
careers will be quite different.”
,
,
The survey, of 1,002 people, was
conducted in August.A summary of the
results is available from The Work
Foundation: www.theworkfoundation.com
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