The work and non-work adjustment and adaptation of New Zealand business people while overseas on assignment

Abstract

The present study examined the predictors of adjustment and adaptation in two life domains (work and non-work) for a sample of New Zealand business sojourners. One hundred and thirty-seven expatriates participated in the research while on assignment overseas. They completed questionnaires used to assess four outcome variables (psychological adjustment, socio-cultural adaptation, job satisfaction, job performance) and 16 predictor variables, including interpersonal contact and socio-demographic, culture-related, and work-related variables. From multiple regression analysis, the most important findings were; (a) each of the outcome variables were distinct and largely predicted by a unique set of variables; (b) the work-related goal of the sojourn impacted strongly upon the sojourners' feelings of psychological adjustment; (c) culture-related variables impacted the sojourners' adaptation to the foreign culture; (d) no relationship was found to exist between the sojourners' job satisfaction and job performance. These results are discussed in terms of the impact of cross-cultural transitions upon work and non-work outcomes. In addition, methodological limitations and recommendations for further research are addressed.