Expats Home but Not Happy

Restless Repats: Many expatriate workers experience “career wobble” during the first year after returning to their home country, when the chances of losing them are greatest. On average, 15 percent of international assignees resign within 12 months of completing their overseas assignment, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Cranfield School of Management in England. What’s worse, these people often are among an organization’s highest performers. The fault apparently lies with human resources managers who “fail to devise a career path” to retain repatriated employees, according to the report. The study also finds that “each international assignment costs companies an average of $311,000 per year.”