Clash of Cultures? German Expatriates' Work‐Life Boundary Adjustment in South Korea

Abstract

Managing work-life balance abroad is considered as one of the key challenges associated with expatriation. That is particularly true when the enactment of the work-life boundaries of expatriates' home and host countries diverge. Drawing from boundary theory, we investigate whether and how expatriates experience cross-cultural challenges in terms of their work-life boundaries abroad. We interviewed 28 German expatriates in South Korea because both cultures differ substantially in terms of their preferred work-life boundaries. Our study shows that perceived worklife boundary pressures in the foreign environment and willingness to adjust to the local work-life boundary culture vary substantially among expatriates. Based on a function of these two forces, we develop a typology of four work-life boundary adjustment styles and relate them to work-life balance satisfaction. Furthermore, we identify individual and organizational factors that influence expatriates' work-life boundary adjustment styles. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

The Cultural Context of Long Working Hours: Workplace Experiences in Korea

“…With regard to harmony, the Korean culture emphasizes emotional relationships in which people care about other people's feelings and satisfaction, which is shown through behaviors of respect or saving face (Cho & Yoon, , Yang, ). They are also pressured to conform and socialize with group members (Chai, Jeong, Kim, Kim, & Hamlin, ; Bader et al, ).…”

“…Therefore, employers and leaders tend to take care of employees' careers, development, and personal concerns, while employees provide absolute loyalty to the organization in return (Chai et al, ; Koo, ). Foreigners in Korea often describe the Korean working style as spontaneous and speedy as the pace of daily work is hurried and appears to be performed in an ad hoc manner (Bader et al, ; Hemmert, ). These cultural traits, deeply rooted in Korean organizations and among Korean employees, affect norms, climates, attitudes, and decision‐making standards in the workplace, either tacitly or explicitly, and shape employees' long working hour behaviors.…”

“…To our knowledge, two studies have involved factors related to working hours in Korea (Bader et al, ; Zhang & Seo, 2016). Although these studies found cultural behaviors associated with working hours, neither of them adopted an emic approach in which researchers focused on how employees perceive, understand, and perform long working hours from an insider's viewpoint.…”

“…Although these studies found cultural behaviors associated with working hours, neither of them adopted an emic approach in which researchers focused on how employees perceive, understand, and perform long working hours from an insider's viewpoint. In a qualitative study that investigated the experiences of German expatriates in Korea, Bader et al () found that long working hours in Korea resulted from the unclear distinction between work and life domains. With so much emphasis on work, the high power distance, and collectivism, employees are expected to be devoted primarily to their jobs resulting in personal relationships with their colleagues.…”

The dark side of expatriation: dysfunctional relationships, expatriate crises, predjudice and a VUCA world

“…Yet another stream of research has explored drivers of assignments failure. Among the many factors associated with "failed" assignments (for an overview, see Harzing, 1995), scholars have identified personal crises like burnout (Bhanugopan & Fish, 2008), insufficient work environments, high workloads, and poor work-life balance (Bader, Froese, & Kraeh, 2018), as well as extreme occupations (e.g., oil and gas, security and terrorism, international aid)…”