Work-life balance – a neglected issue among Austrian female expatriates

Previous research has highlighted the importance of subjective well-being and the expatriate's supportive personal environment for the success of an international assignment. As studies focusing on work-life balance of expatriates are still very rare, and research dealing with this topic from a gender perspective seems to be almost non-existent, this study emphasizes the work-life balance situation of female expatriates on foreign assignments. After having interviewed 10 female expatriates, results clearly support the existing state of the art in this field. Thereby work intrusion into family life, for example, has proven to have stronger impact on an expatriate's life than vice versa. Furthermore, several issues so far neglected in the literature have been revealed that influence women's work-life balance abroad. The importance of leisure time, social networks, sports and personal confidence can be determined. Additionally, as work-life balance has an individual meaning, support measures offered by companies are thus also required to be tailored individually. This paper reports on narrative interviews with female expatriates and provides more insight into the subject of work-life balance of international women managers. It begins by reviewing the literature on work-life balance and expatriation before analysing the specific matters of work-life balance of female expatriates and asking how women deal with the additional stress and pressure arising on an international assignment. Then, the underlying Grounded Theory Method is discussed before presenting the findings and discussing their implications in terms of future research.