Dr Muhao Du

(he/him)

My academic specialism is Chinese HRM, specifically Chinese employment relations and expatriation management in Chinese MNCs. In my doctoral research, it was very apparent that the impact of the expatriate life on individual expatriates and their families is serious. Intensive working schedules and long separations from family and friends have adverse implications for health, well-being and social relations beyond the workplace. For example, the respondents were frank about marriage break-up and the guilt they felt about the distanced relationships they had with their children and their wider family. Accordingly, for the post-doctoral research, I aim to complete a qualitative, micro-level study of the lives of Chinese expatriates and investigate the impact of expatriation on families as well as the individuals themselves. The study will access expatriates through established guanxi and trust relationships, independent of their employing organisation. I will adopt a 'work-life' theoretical framework to uncover the social relations of expatriation for the individual expatriate, with a particular focus on their relationships with their families and the implications for the future of work more generally.