Relocation and the corporate family: unexplored issues

Maxine G ay lord, BA, is an MSW student, Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University at Tarrytown, Tarrytown, New York. People in the United States have most mobile of all Americans and always placed a high value on social compares corporate executives who as well as geographic mobility. Acmove from city to city to life-size cording to the U.S. Census Bureau, pawns on a chessboard. Although he approximately 40 million Americans refers to these executives as the "new —1 out of 5—moved every year durnomads," they have also been called ing the early 1970s.1 More than half "corporate gypsies," and these terms these individuals, or an estimated 22 reflect an increasing focus on their million, made moves that were job reproblems.3 "Future shock" is the lated. Until the last decade, it was phrase Toffler uses to refer to the generally believed that most Amerishattering stress and disorientation that cans adapted to the geographic moves is experienced by individuals when of contemporary life with relative ease they are subjected to too much change and little anxiety. In reality, however, —such as too many geographic moves a substantial number of individuals —in too short a time. Packard's gen experience intense suffering when they eral thesis is that although some argu move, even though many people move ments can always be advanced in favor each year and experience few, if any, of moving, the modern trend toward problems. The 1970s have brought the mobility is malignant, and far too realization to many that the stressful much uprooting is taking place in the effects of geographic mobility have United States today, been underestimated and that a psyOther factors have significantly af tchosocial problem exists requiring hufected the willingness of corporate mane and intelligent attention. employees to relocate at their com Although not primarily concerned pany's behest. In the last five years with social issues, psychoanalytic litmany articles have substantiated a erature has always dealt with the consmall but growing trend in the reluc sequences of separation and object tance of employees and their families loss. Until the last decade, however, to pull up roots and move.4 The "man surprisingly little in the literature in the gray flannel suit" loyalties ap dealt with geographic moves and their parently do not always hold true any potential detrimental effects on the more. Part of the impetus for this individual or family. Also noteworthy change has come from the youth is the fact that until approximately movement of the late 1960s, with its five years ago sociological and psyaccent on personal values, self-fulfill chiatric studies focused mainly on the ing life-styles, and questioning of the effects of uprooting on immigrants and "establishment's" way of doing things, on geographic moves made by workThese attitudes appear to have affected ing-class and lower-class subjects. It is various corporate elders as well as toward this gap in the research that other segments of the population, the present article is directed, and it The women's movement has also in will explore the impact of geographic fluenced family attitudes toward job moves on middle-class and upperrelated transfers, even in families middle-class corporate employees and where women do not actively support their families. the movement itself. As they become more conscious of the importance for BACKGROUND them personally of exercising their own choices regarding their destiny, Several factors have recently helped women are beginning to realize they increase the public's awareness of the do not have to move every time their potential detrimental effects of geohusbands suggest. Popular literature graphic mobility on corporate emhas helped some women by bringing ployees and their families. Specifically, into focus the existential dilemma of Packard's A Nation of Strangers and the corporate wife who previously as Toffler's Future Shock, which both desented dutifully and with little com scribe the trauma of moving, must be plaint to geographic moves initiated by given some credit.2 Toffler describes her husband.5 people in professional positions as the In addition, with women constitu