ERD Reports and Publications
European diplomatic partners’ and spouses’ pensions: problems and solutions (2023)
The work and social rights of foreign service partners are severely affected when they accompany foreign service officers abroad. While many European countries have targeted policy or legal provisions in place to mitigate the negative impact, more should be done to ensure independent and dignified pensions for this population.
Gender and Identity in a Turbulent Space and Time: An Interview Study of Dual-Career Diplomatic Couples (2021)
The first output of this longitudinal qualitative study presents main results and sets the landscape of dual-career couples in the FCDO UK foreign service. The results suggest that access to paid work and a professional identity is important for both partners for the sense of balance in their relationship as a couple. Various dual-career models and strategies have been identified. This study is being conducted in cooperation with ESCP Business School London, King’s College London, Loughborough University London and Aarhus University.
Burnout and Resilience in Foreign Service Spouses during the Pandemic, and the Role of Organizational Support (2023)
The results of the ERD’s first research study on burnout, resilience and organizational support were published in the journal Sustainability in January 2023.
Foreign service spouses during the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from two studies on burnout, resilience, and MFA support (2022)
The ERD’s follow-up survey of foreign service partners and spouses found that resilience had improved and the rate of personal burnout had fallen since early 2021, but personal burnout rates remained somewhat high. The war in Ukraine appeared to be contributing to stress levels in spring 2022. Partners and spouses reported having a variety of coping mechanisms, but MFA support remained insufficient and MFA policies sometimes conflict with partners’ coping strategies.
Read the 2-page summary report here
Read the longer report with data here
Impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Foreign Service partners: stress, burnout and MFA support (2021)
The ERD’s first survey of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic from January 2021 found that levels of personal burnout among foreign service partners and spouses was very high, and resilience low; some measures of MFA support were found to be correlated with better outcomes, but support measures on average appeared insufficient.
Supporting diplomatic partners and spouses during a crisis – lessons from Covid-19 (2021)
Based on the ERD’s research findings on burnout and resilience among partners and spouses during the pandemic in 2020/2021, EUFASA produced a policy paper on how to support partners and spouses during crises.