The Nuclear Family Fallout of Globalization

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. (more…)