After Midlife, What Next? Rethinking Future Orientations, Belonging, and Success Among Executive Expatriates in Singapore
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.1211.19555Keywords:
Executive expatriates, midlife transition, future orientation, identity, belonging, success, Interpretative Phenomenological AnalysisAbstract
This paper explores how executive expatriates navigate post-midlife transitions by re-evaluating their sense of success, belonging, and future direction. Drawing from qualitative interviews with midlife professionals living and working abroad, the study reveals a shift in priorities from achievement-driven identities to values rooted in emotional connection, legacy, and existential meaning. Using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA), we uncover key themes such as disillusionment with career-defined success, the longing for deeper community integration, and emerging aspirations for retirement, contribution, and self-actualization. These insights reveal an urgent need for organizations and policymakers to support the aging expatriate population with holistic frameworks that address both career wind-down and psychosocial transitions.
References
Amrith, M. (2022). The Temporal Borders of Transnational Belonging: Aging Migrant Domestic Workers in Singapore. American Behavioral Scientist, 66(14), 1912. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642221075258
Anderson, H., Stocker, R., Russell, S., Robinson, L., Hanratty, B., Robinson, L., & Adamson, J. (2022). Identity construction in the very old: A qualitative narrative study. PLoS ONE, 17(12). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279098
Barglowski, K., & Bonfert, L. (2022). Beyond integration versus homeland attachment: how migrant organizations affect processes of anchoring and embedding. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 46(7), 1290. https://doi.org/10.1080/01419870.2022.2139150
Black, J. S., Mendenhall, M., & Oddou, G. (1991). Toward a comprehensive model of international adjustment: An integration of multiple theoretical perspectives. Academy of Management Review, 16(2), 291–317. https://doi.org/10.5465/amr.1991.4278938 112
Chan, M. M. (2014). Impacts of expatriates’ international experience on self-identity. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1487&context=etd
Coelho, J. V. (2022). Recruiting business expatriates in Portugal: a surefooted endeavor? Employee Relations, 45(7), 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/er-05-2020-0233
Dunaeva, V. (2020). WOMEN AND MEN IN MIDLIFE CRISIS. PEOPLE International Journal of Social Sciences, 6(2), 436. https://doi.org/10.20319/pijss.2020.62.436443
Ehsan, A., Bolano, D., Guillaume-Boeckle, S., & Spini, D. (2020). Reducing loneliness in older adults: looking at locals and migrants in a Swiss case study. European Journal of Ageing, 18(3), 333. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10433-020-00577-4
Elo, M., Täube, F., & Servais, P. (2021). Who is doing “transnational diaspora entrepreneurship”? Understanding formal identity and status. Journal of World Business, 57(1), 101240. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jwb.2021.101240
Erikson, E. H. (1959). Identity and the life cycle. International Universities Press.
Gaitán-Aguilar, L., Hofhuis, J., Bierwiaczonek, K., & Rodríguez, C. C. (2022). Social media use, social identification and cross-cultural adaptation of international students: A longitudinal examination. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1013375
Hershfield, H. E. (2011). Future self‐continuity: How conceptions of the future self transform intertemporal choice. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1235(1), 30–43. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06201.x
Hsu, L., Fong, C., & Tripathi, S. (2024). “Navigating between Worlds: Understanding the Mental Health Dynamics of Corporate Expatriates in Multicultural Environments in Singapore”: A Qualitative Study. Psychology, 15(2), 247. https://doi.org/10.4236/psych.2024.152014
Hsu, L. and Tripathi, S. (2025) Relationships, Loneliness, and Life Satisfaction: Emotional Well-Being of Executive Expatriates during Midlife in Singapore. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 13, 490-506. doi: 10.4236/jss.2025.139029.
Igarashi, H., Hooker, K., Coehlo, D. P., & Manoogian, M. M. (2013). “My nest is full:” Intergenerational relationships at midlife. Journal of Aging Studies, 27(2), 102. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaging.2012.12.004
Jin, R., Wei, J., Wang, X., & Le, T.-T. (2024). The darkness of reacculturation: examining factors influencing depression among Chinese international student returnees in the post-COVID-19 era. Frontiers in Psychology, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1407742
Lachman, M. E. (2004). Development in midlife. Annual Review of Psychology, 55, 305–331. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.55.090902.141521
Lee, L., Nguyen, P.-T., & Vu, M.-Q. (2021). The Influence of Social Capital on Expatriates’ Adjustment: The Moderating Effects of Work-Role Demand and Work-Family Conflict. Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research/Advances in Economics, Business and Management Research. https://doi.org/10.2991/aebmr.k.210507.012
Levinson, D. J. (1978). The seasons of a man’s life. Ballantine Books.
Lewis, J. C. J., Drentea, P., & Warner, D. F. (2024). How Does Successful Aging Apply To Black Women? A Latent Class Analysis. The Gerontologist. https://doi.org/10.1093/geront/gnae111
Li, G., Ng, Z. Z., & Yow, W. Q. (2022). HOW COVID-19 NEWS AFFECTS OLDER ADULTS’ MENTAL HEALTH. Innovation in Aging, 6, 510. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac059.1953
McAdams, D. P. (2001). The psychology of life stories. Review of General Psychology, 5(2), 100–122. https://doi.org/10.1037/1089-2680.5.2.100
McNulty, Y. (2015). Till stress do us part: The causes and consequences of expatriate divorce. Journal of Global Mobility, 3(2), 106–136. https://doi.org/10.1108/JGM-02-2015-0005
McNulty, Y., & Brewster, C. (2017). Theorizing the meaning(s) of ‘expatriate’: Establishing boundary conditions for business expatriates. International Journal of Human Resource Management, 28(1), 27–61. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2016.1243567
Mello, R., Suutari, V., & Dickmann, M. (2024). Exploring the determinants of career success after expatriation: a focus on job fit, career adaptability, and expatriate type. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 35(16), 2674. https://doi.org/10.1080/09585192.2024.2364211
Myers, B., Inkson, K., & Pringle, J. K. (2017). Self-initiated expatriation (SIE) by older women: an exploratory study. Journal of Global Mobility The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 5(2), 158. https://doi.org/10.1108/jgm-10-2016-0050
NDAGI, A., & ALI, A. J. (2022). Adaptation: Retrospection of a Decade. International Journal of Academic Research in Economics and Management Sciences, 11(3). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarems/v11-i3/14887
Olry-Louis, I., Cocandeau-Bellanger, L., Fournier, G., & Masdonati, J. (2022). Temporality: A fruitful concept for understanding, studying, and supporting people in transition. The Career Development Quarterly, 70(4), 256. https://doi.org/10.1002/cdq.12306
OpenAI. (2025). ChatGPT (GPT-5) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/
Prihadyanti, D., Sari, K., Hidayat, D., Laili, N., Triyono, B., & Laksani, C. S. (2021). The Changing Nature of Expatriation: The Emerging Role of Knowledge Transfer Readiness. Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 13(2), 1496. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13132-021-00777-y
Richardson, J., & McKenna, S. (2002). Leaving and experiencing: Why academics expatriate and how they experience expatriation. Career Development International, 7(2), 67–78.
Rohman, N. A., Omar, R., Rahman, R. H. A., & Siwok, S. R. (2023). An Explorative Study: The Challenges of Cross-Cultural Adaptation among Expatriates in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 13(2). https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v13-i2/16397
Schwarz, S., Aufschnaiter, C., & Hemetsberger, A. (2022). Social linking practices across physical distance: The material constitution of sociality. Marketing Theory, 23(2), 321.
Sgaramella, T. M., Zammitti, A., & Magnano, P. (2024). Navigating Adult Life from Emerging to Middle Adulthood: Patterns of Systemic Influences and Time Perspective in Migrants. Behavioral Sciences, 14(2), 86. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs14020086
Shaffer, M. A., Kraimer, M. L., Chen, Y. P., & Bolino, M. C. (2012). Choices, challenges, and career consequences of global work experiences: A review and future agenda. Journal of Management, 38(4), 1282–1327.
Sharifonnasabi, Z., Mimoun, L., & Bardhi, F. (2024). Home and Psychological Well-being in Global Consumer Mobility. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4947544
Skerrett, K., Spira, M., & Chandy, J. (2021). Emerging Elderhood: Transitions from Midlife. Clinical Social Work Journal, 50(4), 377. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-021-00791-2
Skovgaard‐Smith, I., & Poulfelt, F. (2014). The Non-nationals : The Emergence of a Transnational Elite In and Around Foreign-based Headquarters of MNCs. Research Portal Denmark. https://local.forskningsportal.dk/local/dki-cgi/ws/cris-link?src=cbs&id=cbs-5e1c4ed0-7b2a-44c0-8555-0aa3c9fbb2ce&ti=The%20Nonnationals%20%3A%20The%20Emergence%20of%20a%20Transnational%20Elite%20In%20and%20Around%20Foreign-based%20Headquarters%20of%20MNCs
Stiwich, K. D., Lindsay, J. M., & Dayal, C. (2019). Woolly Stories: An Art-Based Narrative Approach to Place Attachment. Engaged Scholar Journal Community-Engaged Research Teaching and Learning, 5(2), 245. https://doi.org/10.15402/esj.v5i2.68348
Tan, P. (2000). Leaving the rat race to get a life: a study of midlife career downshifting. https://researchbank.swinburne.edu.au/file/d2f70690-4be6-4c55-b6c1-0510520b41bb/1/Philomena Tan Thesis.pdf
Valero, M. J. M. (2021). Challenges of bank senior executives at midlife: a phenomenological case study. MOJ Gerontology & Geriatrics, 6(1), 1. https://doi.org/10.15406/mojgg.2021.06.00258
Vertovec, S. (2009). Transnationalism. Routledge.
Vries, K. de, & Manfred, F. R. (2009). The Many Colors of Success: What Do Executives Want Out of Life? SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1389515
Wethington, E. (2000). Expecting stress: Americans and the “midlife crisis.” Motivation and Emotion, 24(2), 85–103. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1005615113645
Whitehead, G. (2017). The contradictory condition of ‘homelessness’ in the life of the transnational professional. Culture and Organization, 23(4), 306. https://doi.org/10.1080/14759551.2017.1341517
Wojciechowska, L. (2017). Subjectivity and generativity in midlife. Polish Psychological Bulletin, 48(1), 38. https://doi.org/10.1515/ppb-2017-0005
Wurtz, O. (2022). A transactional stress and coping perspective on expatriation: new insights on the roles of age, gender and expatriate type. Journal of Global Mobility The Home of Expatriate Management Research, 10(3), 351. https://doi.org/10.1108/jgm-10-2021-0086
Xie, D. (2020). Strategies for Multinational Corporate Leaders Managing Expatriates. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=9776&context=dissertations
Yemiscigil, A., Powdthavee, N., & Whillans, A. V. (2021). The Effects of Retirement on Sense of Purpose in Life: Crisis or Opportunity? Psychological Science, 32(11), 1856.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Leslie Hsu, Shilpi Tripathi
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
