臺灣女性是否跟隨丈夫外派移居之決策考量

Expatriates Wives’ Decision-making on Whether to Relocate Overseas: A Qualitative Analysis

本研究從女性配偶的視角來討論外派事件，包括她們如何理解丈夫必須外派、是否跟隨移居、考量因素、及如何在丈夫的外派事件中抉擇出最適的自處之道。研究採取質性方法，以深度訪談法了解事件發生後七位女性配偶的思考脈絡並探索其內心感受。結果發現：在外派移居方面，台灣家庭有類似80年代西方社會中兩地家庭的非傳統婚姻型態：夫與妻、子分居；而家庭移居者多因家庭情感依附、外遇隱憂、重要他人影響力、公婆同住壓力、組織親善制度等因素下移居；反觀不移居者的原因為不願職涯中斷、不能適應海外生活、海外教育不符期待、冷卻婚姻衝突，及收入最大化。不論留台還是跟隨移居，配偶們皆支持外派，多數受訪者更是為了家庭權益犧牲自己。

This study aimed to explore how wives made the decision on whether to relocate overseas, and how they deal with their husbands’ expatriation. We found that wives could make joint decisions with their husbands about relocation, but not about expatriation. Wives may even decide to live separately from their husbands. Some of them didn’t relocate due to considerations such as their own career perspectives, not being able to adjust to foreign environment, poor local education for children, readjusting the conjugal relationship and maximizing family income. The others followed abroad due to considerations such as firming family affection, preventing affairs, meeting significant others’ expectations, avoiding living with in-laws, and taking advantage of family-friendly policies. No matter what they decided, wives were all strong supporters of their family, putting family welfare at the forefront.