Corporate employees undertaking expatriate assignments rely on support from local employees. This dynamic is underappreciated and understudied. Both individuals and their employers will benefit if people understand and correct the mythology that’s grown up around the vital role local employees play.
Expatriate assignments are fraught. Performing well in them can be a steppingstone to career advancement in multinational companies. Failure can take a heavy toll on expats and their families. While various factors contribute to expats’ over- or under-performance, a secret that many are reluctant to acknowledge — or even recognize — is the role host-country national colleagues play in their international assignments.
