What is the process called when employees returning from international assignments reintegrate into their home country's culture, conditions, and employment?

The process of employees returning from international assignments reintegrating into their home country's culture, conditions, and employment is known as repatriation. This term specifically refers to the return of expatriates to their home country after completing their overseas assignments.

Repatriation encompasses not only the logistical aspects of returning, such as moving and settling back into their home environment, but also the challenges associated with readjustment to the workplace, cultural norms, and social dynamics they may have altered while abroad. Employees might experience a range of emotions during this phase, including reverse culture shock, as they adapt back to familiar routines and expectations that might now feel foreign to them after extended exposure to a different culture.

While the other choices touch on related concepts, they do not specifically capture the complete scope of the repatriation process as it pertains to returning international workers. Reintegration typically implies a broader concept of adjusting back into a system but lacks the specific international context defined in repatriation. Cultural assimilation refers to the process of adopting the cultural traits of another group, which isn’t the main focus when discussing returning to one’s own culture. International transition might imply a general movement across borders but doesn't specifically address the aspects of returning home that repatriation does.