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Mobility : A Challenge

Vienna, October 7, 1998 by Mary MacKinnon

"Mobility - A Challenge" was the name given to a recent conference organized in Vienna by the Austrian Foreign Ministry Spouses' Association (CDA).Since Austria has the Presidency of the European Union for the last half of 1998, the government sponsored the conference and lent its support. There was also considerable support and participation from the European Union Foreign Affairs Spouses Associations (EUFASA).The stated goal was to "create an EU-wide pool for a new network between foreign services, international organizations and multinationally working enterprises." Thus the scope went well beyond just the government/public-sector conditions of working abroad, and sought to learn from, exchange ideas with, and establish networks with those doing the same thing in the private sector. To that end, the organizers brought together as speakers, an international recruiter, a foreign assignment specialist from IBM, and a University of Vienna psychologist and specialist in children and mobility.

Of particular interest to those of us who attended the Ottawa conference on Foreign Service Spousal Issues about a month later, where a great deal of focus was placed on the financial/economic factors related to the foreign service family, were some of the following points which arose from the Vienna proceedings:

At IBM:

the company supports the spouse helping to find employment if he/she is not working at IBM

  • dual assignments are found in the case of both spouses working for IBM
  • the spouse's acceptance of the proposed assignment is considered important
  • when considering a transfer, the prospective assignee is asked pertinent questions about his/her family situation because the company has an interest in the family stability of a candidate
  • the company respects and takes advantage of the different life stages of their employees - the younger and older employees being seen as more mobile than those in the child-rearing stages
  • declining an international transfer for legitimate family reasons (but three strikes and you're out), should not be detrimental to the employee's career
  • language training is granted to spouses for two years

The speaker from IBM also expressed his opinion that granting a working permit to accompanying family members should be considered as a human right and be granted automatically (!) and stressed that "it is necessary for the public and private sectors to work together, setting up job banks and taking advantage of the talents available in mobile families." In addition, the report stated that "the pension schemes for spouses become more and more important"

From the International Recruiter:

The continentalisation of Europe requires more generalists than specialists.; this offers a chance for foreign affairs spouses because of their intercultural experiences, language skills and social competence. The social competence factor could be enhanced through education in the fields of:

  • Coaching
  • Mentoring
  • Consulting
  • Mediation
  • Moderating/conflict resolution

These professions, said the speaker, are upcoming because of the need for soft-techniques in the political field of peace-keeping as well as in the multi-lateral requirements of the economy. And the implication was that foreign service spouses, having gained considerable experience in international settings would do well to identify an area of specialty among these and seek formal training in order to prepare themselves to offer such services in a professional arena.

From the Psychologist:

This speaker identified many areas affecting the mobile family which all foreign service people could relate to:

  • the need for a stable family income both at home and abroad
  • the importance of career continuity for spouses
  • the essential element of educational continuity to allow foreign service children to re-enter the school-system in their home country without penalty
  • a legal system in the home country which can accommodate those citizens with a mobile life-style
  • recognition of the special needs of foreign service partners in the case of divorce
  • the need for psychological preparation and support for the whole family throughout the assignment cycle
  • the necessity for more help for children with special needs
  • the benefit to mobile children of staying 3-5 years in a new location

All of these areas need to be worked on if the service expects to keep and increase the readiness and motivation of employees to be mobile.

The conclusions made it very clear that "mobility should absolutely not lead to the disadvantage of the person to be sent abroad" and that the pooling of information, resources and contacts among all those involved in international mobility would be of great benefit. This conference was a first step in making that happen.