A phenomenological investigation of the relocation experience by corporate executives

Relocation as a personnel-management strategy requires that employees and their families uproot from one environment and move to another, often unfamiliar, environment. Through phenomenological interviews, a total of eleven volunteers from the oil and gas, paper, aluminum, and electronics industries described their experiences of relocation. Transcribed interview protocols were analyzed by a phenomenological research team. An individual synopsis of each transcript was produced. Common themes across all interviews were identified and categorized into groups. From the individual synopses and common groupings a general structure of the experience of relocation was derived. This structure rendered a description of the experience of relocation. Three themes emerged from the interview transcripts: Conflict, which depicts the struggles inherent in accepting relocation proposals; Adjustment, which illustrates the processes of settling into a new environment; and Sacrifices and Benefits, which characterizes the net effects of relocation on executives and their families. Each theme was present in every transcript. The themes emerged within the context of time and relationships with others in all interviews. Results are discussed with respect to other findings on corporate relocation and are related to literature on adaptation within the context of the family.