Half of Expats in China Leave Early
Over half of expats in China leave before the end of their assignment, according to this article on asiaone.com.
“China Transition Institute (CTI) president David Israel-Rosen said most foreigners are unprepared for what life will be like when they arrive in China. ‘It is moving from the West to the East,’ he said. ‘It is not like moving from Chicago to Denver.’
‘If you look at the literature, between 30 percent and 50 percent of expats go home early. The failure rates are astonishing.’”
This is not surprising given the cultural distance between China and the West, and it’s more proof that expats should not take preparation lightly.
November 7th, 2009 at 9:54 pm
This high attrition rate may be due to the fact that most Chinese entities who hire Westerners expect them to live their lifestyle, which, in most cases is below the standard of living of the Western countries they come from…