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Career and Expatriation: Expat Communication 2023 Barometer, results survey N°2

Career and Expatriation – key trends in 2023

The Covid crisis precipitated the transformation of international mobility. What impacts has this transformation had on expatriate careers?

2504 expatriates participated in the second survey of the 2023 Expat Communication Barometer. The theme:the impact of international mobility on expat careers and those of their spouses or partners. This volume of responses enabled us to carry out numerous analyses – notably by country – and investigate the specific behavior of 6 categories of expatriates: expatriates who have been transferred by their company, expat spouses, expatriates leaving with a local contract, “adventurers” leaving without a pre-established work contract, retirees, and students.

In addition, our 9 years of experienceallow us to analyze results over a longer period of time, to compare evolutions within similar themes, and to identify new trends emerging.

The 6 institutional partners on our Barometer Board: April International, Banque de France, BNP Paribas, Caisse des Français de l’étranger, Carrefour, and Choose Paris Region. This is an opportunity to examine at topic at hand from a variety of perspectives, and to present unprecedented points of view.

A big thank you to all the expats who participated in this survey, our media partners who relayed the survey to their networks, and our Board members who contributed to the excellence of this project.

1. Local contracts continue to grow in popularity

When the Expat Communication Barometer was first launched in 2014, expatriates transferred by their companies represented about 20% of the international mobility community.

Today, they only represent around 16% and include those benefitting from a “local plus” contract. This represents a slow and steady erosion which is shaking the international mobility landscape, as confirmed by all of the Board’s partners.

2. Telecommuting, the new norm for expats

In March 2022 when we last examined this topic, the Asian lockdowns were still happening and telecommuting was still widely used as a preventative mesure in the context of the epidemic.

In May 2023, this isn’t the case. Telecommuting or remote work linked to health risks has largely regressed in favor of part-time telecommuting. The percentage of in-person attendance at the office seems to have stabilized for over a third of those surveyed. This undoubtedly represents the incompressible proportion of jobs that cannot be carried out remotely.

Telecommuting has become so much a part of the international mobility landscape that 45% of expatriates request it – – a demand that was almost unimaginable before the Covid crisis, since expatriation has almost always rhymed with extensive presence in the office. This is in line with the shift in the reasons for international mobility, moving from primarily professional reasons to “personal and family reasons” (43%).

3. Expatriation, career booster?

When questioned during their expatriation (results are more nuanced upon their return home), 74% of expatriates believe that expatriation helps their career to progress.

The vast majority develop their intercultural intelligence and adaptability (7 on a scale of -10 to 10). Progression with language skills is more homogenous and depends on the situation and country. However, attentions is still focused on improving hard skills, despite an increase in the use of in-house training.

4. Expat spouse and partner careers

The Covid crisis forced numerous expat spouses and partners to renounce their careers and professional ambitions.
Survey results shows a “return normal,” and even an obvious necessity for spouses and partners to continue their careers.

68% of the spouses who took part in the study have been looking for work, and 48% are currently working (of which 60% are working full-time and 20% fully telecommuting).

However, only 45% feel that expatriation has helped their careers to progress, and 45% have experienced a decrease in salary.

48% of spouses and partners stopped their careers or started looking for a new job. The survey shows that for almost two-thirds of them, NOT working is a sacrifice.

5. The level of morale has stabilized

After a significant drop in 2020, followed by major swings as borders were confined and then reopened, the expatriate morale index has stabilized at 68/100, though still more than 5 points below pre-covid levels.

Differences depending on geographic regions and expatriate profiles have held steady over the past few surveys; for example, there is a significant gap between men and women, spouses and expat employees, students and retirees.