Miguel Angel Maya Lima lives and works in Beijing as HR director for Grupo Bimbo, a Mexican company.

In our recent Cool Aid podcast, Mr. Maya Lima did an excellent job supporting Mexican and also Bimbo values in the China workplace – that is, valuing the people (employees), which isn’t a commonplace occurrence here yet.

Chatting after our discussion, I learned that Mr. Maya Lima is married, but his wife remains in Mexico.

This isn’t uncommon for those involved in international Asian business, and occurs regardless whether you’re a foreign man or Chinese woman. Your spouse might not be sharing the same national soil, let alone the same bedroom with you (and I’m not talking about cheating here).

I have a Chinese friend, for instance, who just got back from a three-year overseas work trip to New York. She’s probably happy to get back to her husband in Beijing, you’re thinking.

No, he lives and works in Sao Paulo.

I also recently met an American man in international marketing at a Cambodia conference who spends most of his time in flight overseas, racking up enough frequent flyer points on the company dime to never have to pay for an air ticket, even for personal travel. But from my understanding, his family is rarely in first class or in coach class. They’re back home, waiting for him to arrive in a city that’s more like a connecting hub than a destination.

Having worked and lived in China for two and a half years, and having spent a couple months in Vietnam mending a previously long-distance relationship, I thoroughly understand the pressures international work forces upon families and loved ones.

But companies, as Mr. Maya Lima says, have values, which often involve enhancing the lives of employees. As our world becomes a much more work traveled place, I’d like to take a moment to appeal to the members of the globalization movement.

Yes, you are important. Your work as regional director, or international marketing professional is critical to your company’s success abroad and at home.

But take a moment to reflect on your corporate values. Do they have synergy with family values?

Remember, the traditional Western loyalties are to God, country and family. In China, they’re relatively similar: Party, country and family.

The corporation is a relatively new entity that commands far less loyalty. So if we set company values ahead of family values, over the long term, where will that get us?

I suspect to a place that has a big HR problem.

Welcome to China.

Let’s not make the personnel problem worse than it already is; let’s remember to include our families in the Hainan company picnic, to say the least.

    Channel: Vital News     |