“You’ll never be completely at home again, because part of you will always be elsewhere, and that’s the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people and culture in more than one place.”

Reverse culture shock (RCS), often termed as re-entry shock, is the emotional and psychological challenges faced by individuals returning to their home country after an extended period abroad. It refers to the feelings of disorientation and discomfort that people face when reality dawns that one must settle permanently in a place which seems unfamiliar and estranged even though one is a native of the very same place.

Unlike the initial culture shock experienced when adapting to a new environment, RCS involves re-adjusting to a familiar setting that an individual wants to escape from. This phenomenon is increasingly relevant in our globalised world, where study abroad programs, international careers, and expatriate living are common. Understanding the repercussions of reverse culture shock is crucial for individuals preparing to return home and for organisations supporting these transitions.

Impact of RCS on my Life

This article highlights the pangs of reverse culture shock faced by me as I set foot in one of the high-tech cities of India from the exuberant city of Dubai after a twenty-year stint when the initial feeling was alienation from my culture and tradition, which may have evolved during my absence from the native soil and the personal transformation that I had undergone while living abroad.

Presumably, these acquired traits of mine might not be recognised or understood at home. Sometimes, the symptoms I faced were as intense as those experienced during the initial days of my landing in India. This included disorientation, frustration, and a sense of loss or nostalgia.

Signs and symptoms of RCS

From a general perspective, individuals may feel out of sync or uncoordinated with their home environment, emotionally. After the excitement and stimulation of living abroad, returning home can seem mundane and predictable. This can lead to feelings of restlessness and a yearning to return to the host country. Studies have shown that the emotional dissonance felt can result in anxiety, depression, and lowered self-esteem (Wielkiewicz &Turkowski;2010).

On the psychological front, individuals often struggle with identity adjustment as it happened to me after living in Dubai for twenty years. When I reached India, I still felt like a cusp, dangling between two cultures, Indian and International. It was all sweat, fret, and fright in the initial days of my brush with the native culture, to a point where the locals thought that I was ‘hubris’ personified, and foreigners were ‘intrigued’ by my dynamic.

Likewise, with RCS, one may feel they no longer fit into the social norms and expectations of their home culture. This identity crisis can lead to questioning personal values and beliefs that were once ignored or taken for granted, and adapting to their new self-perceptions can be a lengthy and challenging process.

How RCS affects an individual, socially

Socially, reverse culture shock affects relationships with family, friends, and fellow natives. This proved true in my case where I had refrained from communicating to my close associations in India after coming back from the Middle East, from where I used to communicate regularly with them.

This is a weird yet sensitive dynamic where people around may not understand the depth of transformation that has occurred, or how the individual has changed. This can lead to feelings of isolation and loneliness as returnees struggle to reconnect with their previous life, as happened with me when I was trying to find a way out, either to be rooted in my native country or take the next flight back to Dubai. Consequently, as Robert Frost puts it “the woods are dark and deep, but I’ve miles to go before I sleep…” this was the very plight that I was placed in where some hard pressing domestic responsibilities urged me homebound.

Another glitch a returnee faces is community integration which is highlighted in a study by Martin & Harrell (2004) that many individuals feel alienated in their own society upon return. The returnees discover a lack of objective worldview and inclination to global topics that they are now passionate about.

This lack might lead to frustration and disconnection. It’s therefore important for communities to create support networks for returnees, fostering environments that encourage sharing of experiences and integration of new perspectives.

Role of RCS, professionally

In the professional realm, RCS can affect career satisfaction and progression. Individuals may return home only to find out that their international experience is undervalued, or worse, perceived as a detour. This is discouraging, particularly, if professional reintegration is harder than expected due to the changes in industry dynamics or shifts in job markets.

Skills gained abroad, such as language proficiency, cross-cultural communication, and global perspectives, are invaluable but may not be immediately recognized or considered by employers. This can lead to job dissatisfaction and prompt some to seek opportunities abroad again, contributing to ’repatriation turnover’ (Black, Gregerson, & Mendenhall, 1992).

Strategies to mitigate RCS

Perceiving the potential repercussions allows for the development of strategies to mitigate them. In my case, even though a lot was worked out in preparing for acceptance and settlement in my home country, the initial reaction was one of stunned shock and regret. A pre-departure and re-entry training can be extremely helpful.

These programmes can prepare individuals for the transition by setting realistic expectations, providing coping mechanisms, and encouraging reflection on how their experiences abroad will be reintegrated into their lives at home. Moreover, programs that focus on supporting language skills and cultural immersion can keep the memories of the host country alive, reducing feelings of nostalgia.

Personally, for me, the support group which comprised of national and expatriate categories helped me overcome the ‘lack’ or ‘estranged’ feeling in me by narrating and bringing about real-time examples and stories from their own life which slowly but surely helped me transform and accept the reality of the situation, letting it sync into my system, gradually accepting life that my native surroundings rendered unto me.

Support system gratitude

Furthermore, my professional organisation played a vital role in helping me fixate on my native soil by prodding me to recognise and value my expat experience and paving the way for me to settle down at a quicker pace. This dynamic support from professional organisations helps in coping with RCS in professional reintegration. Networking events, mentorship programs, and platforms for returnees help them share their global insights and contribute to diversity and innovation within the organisation they are part of.

Conclusion

Finally, Reverse Culture Shock is a complex, multifaceted experience with far-reaching repercussions. As international mobility continues to rise, understanding and addressing these challenges becomes essential for individuals and organizations alike.

Recognising the emotional, social, and professional impacts of reverse culture shock and implementing robust support systems can greatly facilitate a smoother transition, to home, turning a potentially stressful experience into an opportunity for growth and reintegration.

For further insights on what RCS is, and how individuals can manage the transition back home, please click the following links and resources/references:

• https://www.culturaladjustment.com/guide-to-reverse-culture-shock
• https://www.transitionsabroad.com
• http://www.interchangeinstitute.org/resources/understanding-reverse-culture-shock

References:

1.Black, J. S., Gregersen, H. B., & Mendenhall, M. (1992). Global assignments:
Successfully expatriating and repatriating international managers. Jossey-Bass.
2.Martin, J. N., & Harrell, T. (2004). *Re-entry training for intercultural sojourners*. In
D. Landis, J. M. Bennett, & M. J. Bennett, (Eds.), Handbook of intercultural training
(pp. 308-336). Sage Publications.
3.Wielkiewicz, R. M., & Turkowski, L. W. (2010). *Re-entry issues for college
students*. Journal of College Student Development, 51(6), 649-665.

For additional insights, trends and perspectives about Internationalisation, visit the conversation here.