Dual careers: a changing landscape?

Over the past several decades globalisation has moved forward at a significant pace. With it has come the international movement of labour to fill skills shortages and provide a talented workforce for global employers to engage. Today though, the geopolitical landscape appears uncertain. National governments are concerned with immigration statistics and the effect of this on their popularity with voters in the domestic labour force.

The geopolitical context

There are several contrasting arguments for employing foreign labour. On the one hand, bringing talented and skilled people into the receiving country helps to promote growth and economic success. On the other hand, it can be argued that employing individuals from abroad reduces the employment opportunities for the domestic labour force.Of course, this last argument only really holds true if there are skilled and capable individuals available for work in a local labour force who are denied work opportunities as a result of the direct employment of foreign nationals. More typically, either the country does not possess the skills and capabilities needed by employers, or these skilled individuals are unable to move to where job opportunities are available.

There is, of course, a strong argument for training and developing local people with skills needed by employers today and to develop skills that will be needed in the future. The reality is that short-term pressures on organisations’ economic success can limit their ability to develop people locally. As a result, many employers have to rely on transferring skilled labour internationally in order to meet their current needs.

Immigration caps, salary thresholds and other obstacles all therefore have to be navigated by global companies if they are to move employees around their international operations to develop future leaders and fill current skills shortages. This situation affects not only the transfer of labour directly employed by global organisations, but also has implications for accompanying partners and family members who wish to work.

The reality for dual-career couples

Individuals make career decisions based on immigration policy; the attractiveness of taking up employment in a different country is linked to work visa rules. Today, both partners in a couple typically work. An international assignment is not particularly attractive when one member of the couple is able to pursue their career and income opportunities while the other is unable to.

Undertaking an international assignment can be a lonely and difficult experience for non-working partners. Their career is on hold and they have no income-earning potential. There might be volunteering opportunities in some countries where work visas are not permitted for accompanying partners. However, these may not necessarily provide career growth and certainly will not offer income potential. In some jurisdictions, non-working partners are not even allowed to undertake volunteering work. In such cases, this can result in them having a lengthy period of time abroad supporting their partner emotionally, but with no opportunity for self-development and self-fulfilment.

Periods of unemployment also have implications for pension provision later on in life. Being unable to work affects individuals’ personal ambitions – for example, their ability to buy property and have children – and in turn this has an impact on family life and stability. In some countries, partners are not recognised. Only married couples are able to live in the country for the period of the assignment. Same-sex couples can also face a lack of recognition and potentially harassment and discrimination.It might seem that over the years little has changed and dual careers still present a major barrier to global mobility. In fact, progress has been made. An increasing number of countries recognise the benefits of dual-career couples being able to work and enable accompanying partners to take up employment. This may be possible using the visa status of the employed individual being moved by their international firm, or a dual-career partner applying for visas in their own right.Nonetheless, there are hurdles for couples to overcome in many jurisdictions and gaining employment status is not necessarily straightforward. Lobbying organisations, such as Permits Foundation, have made a difference in effecting change in visa regimes in countries across the world, but there is still much work to be done.

…read the rest of this article on our sister website Relocate Global.