A STUDY OF CAREER SATISFACTION OF SRI LANKAN SELF - INITIATED EXPATRIATE PROFESSIONALS IN QATAR AND OMAN

Abstract

With the impact of globalization, number of expatriates across the world is increasing at a rapid rate and most of them are Self-Initiated Expatriate (SIE) workers. Substantial number of Sri Lankan migrant professionals are currently working or hoping to work in Middle East. Past research indicates several social issues arising out of these migrant workers as well as their career satisfaction is low. There is little research on antecedents of career satisfaction of SIE professionals working in Middle East from South Asia. The objective of this research was to identify the antecedents of career satisfaction of Sri Lankan SIE professionals in Oman and Qatar. A quantitative research study was designed, and three hypotheses were tested. The data used in this study were obtained from 105 respondents. Results indicate that career capital significantly positively affect the career adjustment and career satisfaction of the migrant professionals. Further, career capital and career adjustment explained 33% of the variance of career satisfaction. This research highlights the importance of proactive personality, motivation for expatriation, cultural intelligence on cultural adjustment and career satisfaction. This research gives valuable input to policy making in selection and encouragement of most suitable professional migrant workers who expect to migrate to Middle East from Sri Lanka.