Abstract
This chapter builds on social identity and conservation of resources theories to understand how perceived overall justice (POJ) reduces turnover intention among female self-initiated expatriates under the effect of cross-cultural resilience (CCR). A sample of 123 women expatriates from Middle East and North Africa (MENA) countries, working in Saudi Arabia, participated in an online survey. Results were analyzed using a statistical package for the social sciences (SPSS) tool to test the hypothesis regarding proposed associations. Findings show that a POJ climate reduces intention to stay among female expatriates. Furthermore, this relationship is fully mediated by CCR. This chapter offers evidence that fair policies must be cultivated and developed to retain highly skilled expatriates during turbulent times. A fair climate offers more protection for expatriates, enhances resiliency levels, and encourages them to stay in the host organizations.
TopIntroduction
After the Arab Spring, self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) from countries like Tunisia and Egypt fled their homes in search of better living conditions in Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) countries like Saudi Arabia. This wave of expatriation impacted female cohorts, although the topic is largely neglected in expatriation literature (Bastida, 2018; David et al., 2021). Those female expats are “self-initiated” because they chose to pursue international careers independent from their home organization (Alshahrani, 2022; Andresen et al., 2020; Harry et al., 2019).
In their host countries, highly skilled talents face challenges related to international assignments (Amari et al., 2022; Chen & Hong, 2016; Crowley-Henry et al., 2018; Davies et al., 2019; Harry et al., 2017). One challenge is the indigenization of human resources (HR) policies in GCC countries. For example, Saudi Arabia established an issue that expats should view as a risk to repatriation (Amari et al., 2021). This indigenization of HR policies may result in social exclusion and discrimination in the workplace (Amari et al., 2021; Stoermer et al., 2017), making female expats feel more anxious and frustrated about their employability (France et al., 2019). This situation is accentuated by COVID-19 circumstances and high levels of uncertainty (Maley et al., 2020), affecting overall well-being and mental health (Carnevale & Hatak, 2020; Godinic et al., 2020; Mousa & Samara, 2022). Feelings can lead to high levels of turnover (Marinov & Marinova, 2021; Davis et al., 2021). Hence, female self-initiated expatriates (SIEs) resemble refugees (Richardson & McKenna, 2006) because they feel torn between leaving or staying in the host countries. Given this, retaining highly skilled expats is a critical issue faced by host organizations as they develop strategies to improve female expats’ overall well-being in times of global crises.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Resilience: The ability to cope with high stress.
Intention to Leave: A thinking about leaving his/her current job.
Adversity: A difficult or critical situation.
Arab Spring: A massive anti-political movement in the early 2011 that started first in Tunisia and spread to other Arabic countries (e.g., Egypt and Syria).
Self-initiated Expatriate: An individual who decides to pursue an international career on their own initiative independently from their home organization for a determined period.
Perceived Overall Justice: A global perception of fairness judgements about his/her own experience within the company.