It’s not easy working when you are a trailing spouse and expat mum. First of all, working expat mums face all the well-known issues all working mums face: juggling work and family life, feeling guilty, regaining confidence after a period out of work, finding flexible work, finding childcare and lack of opportunities due to the recession.
On top of that there are a set of more specific issues:
Setting up a family in a new country takes time and energy
Most expat partners initially have little time to work. Children need more support and attention after a move, and on top of that all other practicalities do too. It typically takes between 6-12 months to sort out all practicalities of moving and rebuild your social and practical network -schools, sports clubs, dentist, GP, hairdresser, favourite shops
Most of the family and household tasks are done by the stay-at-home partner. Expat jobs offer high rewards, but in return request dedication. Companies usually expect long working hours, jobs often include a lot of travel, working flexibly is not an option, and especially after just moving, will be really full on. Basically you are on your own.
Finding work and becoming effective in a new culture easily takes 1-2 years
The job context is different in each country. It takes time to understand job-titles and requirements, adapt a CV accordingly and/ or even acquire new degrees. Networks need to be found, as do places to hunt for jobs. Once a job is found, it takes time to become effective. As a result most women don’t even bother to get started.
There is no support network to help https://www.buyambienmed.com with childcare, finding a job or sorting practical issues
Some of the issues any working mum faces are much harder in a new country without a support network. As one of the people I interviewed for this article said “My worry wasn’t just finding the right school, but finding how on earth the schooling-system worked in the first place”
Ulrike D., German expat who is an executive coach explains: “Childcare options in the UK are costly. In Germany my friends and family would be helping out, here I have to outsource which brings high extra costs. In addition commutes are much longer and clients can be far away, so I need much longer days of childcare than I would in Germany.”
Clearly it’s not easy to work as an expat mum, so if you decide not to, you will not be the only one. Actually for some partners the opportunity to take a career break can be attractive. It can be a chance to provide the time and space to re-think career direction, a point reported by 25 percent of the non-working partners surveyed by The Permit Foundation (2008) who stated that they did not wish to work while abroad.
If you do want to work though, do not despair, it can be done! Top 6 ways to find work for expat mums and trailing spouses
Author: Inge Woudstra. She followed her husband abroad, giving up her life and career in The Netherlands, and relocated 3 times in 10 years time. She has one seven-year old son. Now she lives in the UK and runs Mum & Career.
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