A harmonious work-life balance is difficult to manage even in the best of circumstances. Today many people are expected to not only satisfy the responsibilities of one role in the workplace but multiple roles and responsibilities at the same time to keep up with a competitive work environment. Because these people are successful at taking on more responsibilities they are often also selected to go on an International Assignment for their corporation. They are the type of people who might struggle with the work-life balance in their home country. Add on top of that the nuances and complexities of an International Assignment and they might be in for some tough times ahead. Once someone has decide that they are a good candidate for an International Assignment, how can they develop a good work-life balance while on an International Assignment?

In short, by planning, focus, and a good sense of boundaries you can be more productive at work and enjoy a more fuller experience outside of the office while working abroad.

The Problem With Work-Life Balance on an International Assignment

Dr. Sebastian Reiche, of the IESE Business School and author of the blog, EXPATRIATUS, recently wrote about the topic in the post titled, Expatriates have less work-life balance abroad than at home. Some evidence.
To summarize, here are the top three obstacles that get in the way of a good work-life balance abroad:

1. Achieving the goals of the assignment in a short amount of time.
2. Stress on the family due to a loss of a social support structure.
3. Difficulty assimilating with the culture, which limits options outside of the workplace.

In addition to the reasons listed above for many employees on an International Assignment the work-life balance may be off because the workplace can be used an escape from the stresses of family and assimilating to the culture. In the workplace you have opportunities to connect with things that are familiar to you so working at the office might be “less work” than your life outside of the office. This behavior however, might make developing a good work-life balance even more difficult.

How to Have a Great Work-Life Balance While on Assignment

With a little planning and effort your International Assignment can be personally fulfilling and professionally productive. Here are some tips on how to succeed at creating a good work-life balance while on International Assignment.

1. Plan on Planning: To be successful while on assignment it is essential that you develop a plan of action. The goal is to be productive as possible during your working hours so that you can set boundaries to leave the workplace behind and be freed up to have the experience of being in a different culture. Some tips to be more productive that might work for you are: only turning on email twice a day, once at the beginning of the day and once at the end of the day, for example. This helps you to be more productive because you are less distracted from the tasks at hand. Or another idea is making a list of what needs to be accomplished in the day and then prioritizing and scheduling what is important and urgent. In addition, you may want to look into productivity resources online such as posts on Lifehack.org tagged “productivity”, or by reading popular productivity books such as the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey, or Getting Things Done by David Allen. The goal is to find a system that works for you so you can do more in less time and be freed up outside of the office.
2. Stick to a Schedule: If you begin your new role with a fairly well-defined schedule it will likely be respected by your superiors and co-workers with the understanding that you get what is required of you done in that time frame. Even if you need to more than 8 hours a day, having a well-defined schedule will help you stay balanced and give you an opportunity to have an “on and off” switch. An idea to help you with this is setting an alarm on your computer’s calendar program to remind you when to take a break and or when to leave the office for the day.
3. Communicate Freely with Family: The effects of an International Assignment on family can be one of the most difficult aspects of developing a good work-life balance. During the assignment it is essential that each family member is given the space to be heard – to be able to share freely the challenges of the relocation. A special emphasis should be given to family time during the first couple of months of the assignment to set the tone. Ideas to help with this could include, being intentional about scheduling family meals and family days together.
4. Get Out: Get outside of the familiar world of family and coworkers. Take up a hobby, join the local community, find a community of like-minded expats. Find a reason to not be at work so that you have a chance to clear your mind. We have written in the past about advice on assimilating into the culture in posts such as How to Deal with Culture Shock, and How to Live the Good Life While on International Assignment. These posts might help you get past specific challenges you might face on your International Assignment and they also offer some resources to help you assimilate into the local culture.
5. Sharpen the Saw: In some ways this relates to the previous point. In the 7 Habits book referenced above Stephen Covey makes the analogy that an employee is like a man sawing down a tree. As the story goes a man is sawing down a tree for five hours until another man asks him if he would take a break from sawing to sharpen his saw to which the man replies that there isn’t enough time to sharpen the saw. However the truth is that had the man who was sawing took a 20 minute break to sharpen the saw, he would have been able to saw through the tree in half the time. The principle from this analogy is that actually by taking time away from work it would have made him more productive at work. While on assignment you need this time away from the grind to be able have a clear mind for when you are on the job. Having this time away from work opens our minds to new solutions that may have been impossible to see without a little bit of perspective and time away from the workplace. How can you build in time away from the daily grind to sharpen yourself so your International Assignment is more effective? What are the things that help you feel recharged? Put those things on the calendar so that you are full of energy and ready to go to meet the goals of your International Assignment!

Please let us know YOUR tips on how to have a good work-life balance while on an International Assignment? Leave us a comment below, or on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter!

This was posted by

Mike Morabito – who has written 170 posts on The Paragon Relocation Blog.

Mike has over 10 years of relocation experience working for Paragon Relocation. Mike is recognized by Worldwide ERC as a Certified Relocation Professional (CRP) and a Global Mobility Specialist (GMS).

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