The golden handcuffs? Choice, compliance and relocation amongst transnational professionals and executives

Bibliographic Data

ID3645321
AuthorsRanji Devadason
Year2017
Volume43
Issue13
Pages2265-2282
Publication date2017-10-03
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueNew Community (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-9586 • E-ISSN: 1469-9451
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/1369183x.2016.1260444
OpenAlexW2557446002
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited18

People who routinely cross borders for their jobs are often cast as beneficiaries of globalization. But in a world of economic downturns, un- or underemployment as well as political unrest access to an increasingly global market becomes the personal and organisational solution to a host of unwanted happenings. In these circumstances, it therefore becomes less clear whether the heightened mobility of transnational workers is a benefit or indeed a choice. This article examines the onus placed on employees to be geographically mobile for their jobs. Relocation enables organisations to operate in expanding transnational markets and fields; it is therefore a prerequisite of jobs in an increasing number of sectors. Through systematic comparison of the attitudes to mobility of highly skilled employees in a ‘market’ (corporate) and a ‘moral’ (UN) case-study organisation, this article makes a contribution to our understanding of work orientations in transnational institutions. It interrogates the myth of choice of highly skilled movers and identifies the aspirations, contradictions and dilemmas that are associated with relocating for their jobs. Analysis of biographical interviews in tandem with online survey data elucidates the complex ways that the competing repertoires of choice and compliance are woven into transnational narratives

Business · Compliance (psychology · Demographic economics · Economics · Political science · Public relations · Relocation · Employment and Welfare Studies · Psychology · Social Policy and Reform Studies · Social Psychology · Youth Education and Societal Dynamics

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