" Home " and the Expatriate

[KIFIS]

During the early part of the last century the expatriate community living in the treaty ports and concessional areas of China were kept informed of what was going on around them by the highly respected and well written English newspaper the “ North China Daily News “ ( published in Shanghai and considered the “ Times” of China. )The edition for 27th October 1928 featured a cleverly drawn cartoon that shows an Englishman (from his clothes) going on home leave. He is leaning on the railing of a large ship with a pensive and far away look on his face. His thoughts are drawn as a beautiful Chinese girl dressed in a cheongsam and holding a fan. Beneath is written the words

“ One of the sad ironies of the expatriates’ life is that home is not home at all “.

Here we are seventy three years on and surrounded by change but the lot of the committed expatriate is much the same.

KIFIS

[Thrust]

Not enough cheongsam's any more. You need to go to Vietnam to get those thought's!

[cyclops]

Now the ship would be a 747. The thoughts would still be the same. The question remains : Why should this be?

[Tom Tipper]

Which is why employers in this region need to pay significantly more than "home" to recruit appropriate staff.

Some of course decide to then reduce or supress expatriate salaries, foolishly comparing local salaries with the home of the expatriate. The inevitable trend is that over the longer-term, the employees then drift home, thus denying the employer the skill-base he sought in the first place.

Fortunately this mentality is rare in most enlightened companies in Asia and Cathay particularly could never be accused of such short-term thinking.