Beyond the Expatriate Model: An Exploration of Global Work and Reconciliation of Work and Family Demands among Global Generation X Managers in Dual-Career Families

In this dissertation I explored how women and men global managers from the generation aged 30 to 45 in the United States and Canada called "Generation X", navigated global work and family demands while pursuing a global career. I conducted in-depth interviews with 25 Generation X global managers in dual-career families ("Global Gen Xers") to examine the scope and nature of global work and the importance of international travel and technology in pursuing alternative forms of global careers. I also investigated how working globally interweaves with family routines and how participants assessed their ability to manage work and family demands.;This study reveals a unique global work-family interface as involving navigation between periods of: physical or virtual "presence" coupled with 24-7 "availability", which is facilitated by workplace flexibility and the use of key information and communication technologies. The findings suggest that alternative forms of pursuing a global career can under certain conditions satisfy both organizational global work demands and individual desires for work-life balance. The dissertation contributes to knowledge on global careers, work-family issues and generational diversity.;Three configurations of global work emerged from the data based on an examination of the degree of Travel Salience and Global Scope in each Global Gen Xer's job. These configurations represent different patterns of international travel and technology employed to meet the demands of global work. To reconcile these global work demands with family demands, a Global Gen Xers' individual discretion over international travel played a key role in their global careers. Moreover, I uncovered strategies and tactics employed to effectively manage boundaries between global work and family when the Global Gen Xers were both traveling abroad and working in the domestic location. Finally, I explored the Global Gen Xers' conceptualizations of "work-life balance" and analyzed their personal assessments relative to their individual: 1) Global Work Configurations, 2) Travel Discretion and 3) Boundary Management Strategies.