Expatriate success and thriving: The influence of job deprivation and emotional stability

Moving beyond the dominant emphasis in the expatriate literature on adjustment problems, we integrate self-determination and relative deprivation theories to examine the role of thriving in the expatriate experience. Using data from 121 international teachers in the United States, we found that perceptions of job deprivation with respect to cultural instruction competence were negatively related to expatriate thriving. Perceptions of job deprivation with respect to autonomy and relatedness were more negatively associated with expatriate thriving when expatriates’ emotional stability was low. Finally, thriving was a positive influence on expatriate engagement and actual retention beyond adjustment.