Understanding the Psychological Well-Being of Expatriates in Times of Natural Crisis, the case of Albania & Montenegro

Expatriates, or “expats,” are a key segment of the global workforce, working abroad through employer-arranged or self-initiated assignments. International Human Resource Management (IHRM) research has highlighted the challenges expatriates face, including cultural adaptation, role performance, and personal relationships, as well as their vulnerability to crises. While the impact of human-made crises like political instability has been studied, natural crises’ effects on expa­triates’ psychological well-being remain underexplored. The Covid-19 pandemic emphasized the need to understand expatriates’ psychological resilience during natural crises. Building on Bader and Berg’s (2014) terrorism-related stress model, Tripathi and Singh (2022) proposed a framework identifying stressors expatriates may face during natural crises and their impact on well-being and performance. This study applies their framework to expatriates in Albania and Montenegro during the pandemic, using a survey to: a) assess the relevance of psychological and situational stressors; b) evaluate the relevance of perceived organizational, family, and social network support as support factors; and c) analyze relationships between stressors, support factors, and expatriates’ psychological well-being. The findings enhance understanding of expatriates’ experiences during natural crises and inform improved support mechanisms.