October 27,1997

Employees' reluctant relocation

By Anita Harris

Lauren Bigelow of Acton was offered  "exactly the job"  she wanted this summer, when her employer, Cybersmith, Inc., moved its corporate headquarters from Cambridge to New York City. Moving with the company would have meant a promotion, a raise, continuing to work with a boss she liked, and getting to choose the computer game technology for all of the on-line cafes the company was setting up across the country. Bigelow's husband was game to move and even their kids, ages 11 and 15, were "pretty positive." But Bigelow turned down the offer. Why?

"[Moving] would have meant two new jobs, two new schools, a new house, and a new community," Bigelow said. "It was going to be too much." But the bottom line was that Bigelow felt "connected" here."My parents are here," she said, and she did not want to lose "the entire network of friends" that she had made through high school and college and while her children were growing up. "It was the hardest career decision I have ever made," Bigelow said. But, while she is now selecting the technology for just the company's Boston area stores and expects to transition into another role, she believes her decision was the right one.

Time was when your company said "move," and you did -- to accept a promotion and what you hoped would be a better life. Nearly 43 million Americans -- nearly 17 percent of the US population -- relocate each year, reports the American Movers Conference, and relocation professionals expect these figures to rise in the next few years, according to a survey by Atlas Van Lines. But with changes in the economy, employee attitudes, and the composition of the workforce, it is not uncommon, these days, for people to refuse to move.

When the broadband company MediaOne recently an-nounced the move of its corporate headquarters from Boston to Denver, just 19 of the 134 managers and staff who were asked to relocate had agreed to do so by a company-set deadline. This, the company reported, is about average for such moves. There are many reasons people do not want to relocate.

In the Boston area, "People may like the culture or the intellectual atmosphere," said Philip Nachman, an executive recruiter based in Cambridge." They may like the seasons or maybe they have a vacation house in New Hampshire...Or they say 'I'm not happy unless I'm near an ocean.' "

It may be that in an age when downsizings and consolidations are common, people are concerned about what would happen if they relocate and get laid off or if the company gets bought out. "Then [you're] living in a place with no contacts and less industry," Nachman said.

Deborah Knox, a career and life planning coach in Newton, suggested that "People feel the [corporation's] loyalty is not there. They ask, 'Why should I move?' " Steve Mumma, senior vice president for marketing and public relations at Atlas, speculated that during periods of low unemployment, employees may feel in demand, and believe that they can refuse to relocate without jeopardizing their careers. (Although many companies reported to Atlas that turning down a move does not negatively impact an employee's career path, Mumma questioned whether this is true.)

It also matters where people are asked to move, Nachman said. In the software industry, for example, "if someone moves from Boston to the San Francisco Bay area and gets laid off he can get a job in two days. It might be less easy elsewhere." If you are a plastics engineer, "it would make sense for you to move to Minnesota, northern New Jersey, northern California," which are industry centers, he added. But if your job takes you to Atlanta or Kansas City and it does not work out, you might have trouble finding another job.

Another major factor is the cost of living. While Boston is among the most expensive areas in the nation, it is "a bargain" compared with the San Francisco Bay area, Nachman said. According to the Atlas survey, until three years ago, "cost of living" was the reason most companies heard when employees declined to move. But in the last two years, "cost of living" has been surpassed by "family ties." In 1996, nearly 55 percent of companies surveyed reported that "family concerns" was given as a reason for declining to relocate; in 1997, the percentage rose to nearly 75 percent.

Among the people likeliest to decline to move for family reasons are those who are married and have "trailing spouses" -- working husbands or wives who do not wish to move, according to the Atlas report.

A typical turn-down situation involves a married man with three children in school and, possibly, an elderly parent living nearby, Nachman said. "If the kid is in first grade, it is not as big a deal, but if the kids are in high school, he is likely to say, 'If I make them move, my kids will never speak to me again.' Or he may say, 'My spouse has a great job and there is not a big market for what she does there.' The two-career family issue is 'major.'"

But there can be other issues, as well. Dave Wood, manager of corporate communication for Media One, nearly turned down a promotion and the move to Denver because of concerns about his father's ill health; he agreed to move when the company offered to pay for him to commute back to Boston several times a month for a year.

Companies, which have commonly paid for moving and other relocation expenses, are increasingly offering assistance with family relocation matters, according to the Atlas report. Spousal employment counselling is now common, and approximately 18 percent of the 165 companies surveyed offer elder care assistance.

Some employees, however, will not be persuaded to move. Julie Smith, director of brand marketing and communications for Media One, plans to leave the company rather than move to Denver, even though she does not have another offer. Having grown up in New Jersey, she has, in the past, moved to accept jobs in New York, North Carolina and Washington, DC; she relocated to Brookline to work for Media One just a year ago. The Denver job would be an "excellent professional opportunity, " she said. But as a single person, "I know how hard it is to create a life for yourself." Smith has a foundation of close family ties and friendships in this area.

"I love it here in Boston," she said. "I don't want to pick up and start again."

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