QUALITY OF WORKING LIFE OF EXPATRIATED PROFESSIONALS FOR INDIA AND CHINA

ABSTRACT

One of the forms encountered by enterprises to develop professional is by expatriation, but expatriate refers to significant and consequent changes in the way people perceive, interpret and behave in the environment in which they live. Due to psychosocial, cultural and family faced changes, expatriates and their families are left without contingencies to feel safe. These elements cited impact on quality of life of these people, because they need to adapt to a new economic, political, psychosocial and cultural context are often forced to postpone personal projects, have to live far away from their family, changing their social relationships. The need for adaptation in the professional´s personal lives generates reflections in professional life, affecting their relationships at work. This is a complex environment that resulted in the main objective of this research, which was to characterize the perception of expatriates to India and China about their quality of work life. The research was qualitative, descriptive with exploratory features. We chose the case study and data collection through interviews with ten Brazilian professionals expatriated to China and India, interview with the manager of the Expatriates Department and analysis of company documents. Data analysis was documentary and content, made by triangulation of data. In the results, it was realized that an expatriation with QWL is the one that serves expatriates´ professional and personal expectations beyond worrying about their repatriation. The QWL for expatriates requires more than eight elements considered by Walton (1979) as important to their assessment, requires also consider the existing cultural differences between countries of origin and destination as well as the inclusion of the meaning of work for professional and cultural adjustment.

Keywords:
Expatriation; Quality of working life; Cultural adaptation