Where everybody knows your name: the role of social capital in resettlement after an employee relocation.

Whitaker, ElizabethAnn

This exploratory research investigates the process of adaptation that follows the intra-national migration of families moved for a professional employee's job. The research suggests the existence of 'relocation enclaves' or areas of residence that are densely populated by relocated families. Qualitative interviews with wives relocated for their husband's jobs reveal the importance of building social capital to rebuild families' lives and the positive role that relocation enclaves can play in offering that social capital. Additionally, findings suggest that, contrary to Putnam's proposition that an influx of relocated families into a community would contribute to the erosion of community connections, relocated women are highly active in their new communities and they invest time and inject new ideas into local schools and organizations.

SOCIAL capital; EMPLOYEE relocation; FAMILIES; ADAPTATION level (Psychology); SOCIAL networks; INTERVIEWING

Community, Work & Family, 2010, Vol 13, Issue 4, p429

1366-8803

Academic Journal

10.1080/13668801003619415