Reasonable Conditions For Overseas 3 Month Placement?

September 16, 2009 3:59 PM

I’m meeting with my boss tomorrow to discuss his request for me to oversee specific departmental operations at our India facility for 3 (three) months. What are reasonable contingencies/ incentives to request in this situation?

I’ve been to this facility before for a month, and it was a great – though thoroughly stressful - experience, but that said, a month was long enough.

I *always* grab opportunities such as these, but this time round I find the thought of going there for 3 months – this time alone also – reasonably unpleasant. The location kinda blows too – I don’t want to go into details, but it’s not like Paris or New York where you’d consider being assigned there as an enviable bonus. Furthermore, I can’t help but think that I’ll kinda lose 3 months of my life living in a city I don’t want to live in, not to mention the amount of re-adjustment time it takes when you return.

However, I will hear my boss out, and there’s still a tiny part of me that thinks that the character/ resume-building benefits could possibly make this worthwhile. So; were I to accept, what kind of conditions are reasonable to stipulate?

I’m single, live in LA, no pets etc – ie the ideal person to choose to skip town for a ¼ of year.

posted by forallmankind to work & money (4 comments total)

Couple things make these sorts of assignments bearable:
* Visit home or to equivalent costing place every month/week (this basically means you'll be spending either every weekend or one weekend a month either at home or in an alternative lush e.g., beach in goa location)
* Lush expense account (gluttony is a fairly good consolation)
* Bonus for undesirable location (basically pay for being miserable)

Of the 3, first 2 are most likely...
posted by zia at 4:45 PM on September 16

Go in armed with the US government allowance and per diem figures for where you'll be.

Allowances are, per USG regs, for long-term expats, and per diem is for short termers. Do the math and figure out which works out better for you financially. Depending on where you'll be, post differential can be as high as 25% of your base salary, with an additional 5% bump everywhere for cost of living. Per diem (meal and incidental expenses only, I assume they'll be providing you with accomodations) ranges from $56-$126 a day. Guessing Bangalore, so 25% post diff and 5% COLA, or $110 MI&E

Essentially, if you keep your expenses relatively modest, you can live off of the per diem or allowances and bank your entire salary (minus rent and other fixed costs). Good way to build up ye olde nest egg.

Since you'll be there for a relatively short time, I doubt you'll be granted more than one trip home, if that. USG regs require at least 6 months at post to get anything. However, you can negotiate for some time off and a ticket to get you somewhere nice in the region.

Insist on business class for your flights.

In an earlier class you said you took yoga; ask for a reasonable amount of time off and spend some time doing that. You're going to be in India, after all.
posted by charmcityblues at 5:24 PM on September 16

Charmcityblues has it. Absolutely insist on business class travel. LA to India is gruelling (but you know that.) Time off when you get back, too, to get over the ~12-hour time-difference jetlag. Trips home mid-term really aren't worthwhile for three months in India, but do take a break in the middle to travel somewhere interesting locally.
posted by anadem at 9:58 PM on September 16

Make sure your health insurance works in India.
posted by msittig at 10:01 PM on September 16