Home sweet home: Creating a sense of place in globally mobile working lives

Abstract

Globalization has transformed spatial relations, increasing the demand for mobility. Literature tends to see the de-emphasizing of national identity and the foregrounding of a cosmopolitan identity as central to an individual's ability to navigate this global landscape. For individuals who are constantly moving the question is how do globally mobile workers navigate the intersection of identity, meaningfulness and place? This interpretivist study explores this question through an analysis of 68 semi-structured interviews with individuals engaged in different forms of global mobility, ranging from traditional expatriate assignments through to global commuting and business travel. Our findings highlight how a complex interplay between national and cosmopolitan identities influences the search for meaningfulness in the lives of these workers. Drawing on notions of meaning and place, we argue that employers should provide opportunities to access identity narratives though networking and other international human resource management (IHRM) practices that enable these workers to create a sense of meaningfulness in their lives. Thus, we offer a contribution to identity studies and the field of global mobility.