A new study co-authored by Bayes Business School characterises four types of 'home' and the various psychological benefits they bring – concluding that people in an increasingly mobile world may identify with more than one single setting.
The traditional home has been considered a 'place' – a physical building that drives a sense of ownership and pride. With mobile consumers and an increasingly globally nomadic workforce setting up multiple dwellings to serve different purposes, the question of what people consider a 'home' is being redefined. Many of today's outwardly mobile individuals, which include transnational consumers, company expats, long-distance transnational families and digital nomads, consider themselves to have more than one place they would identify as home for a range of purposes – including domestic activities, dwelling practices, possessions, and relationships.
The study by Fleura Bardhi , Professor of Marketing at Bayes, Dr Zahra Sharifonnasabi, Queen Mary University London and Dr Laetitia Mimoun, ESCP Business School, examines what 'home' means to people in an age of nomadism and remote working that has been accelerated by the recent pandemic. The research builds upon more traditional thinking of what a home represents to explore it as a 'space' where social interactions occur, and a 'set of practices' or rituals that make somewhere feel like a home .
A sample of 40 globally mobile consumers were surveyed to discover what home and homemaking practices meant to them, and how this has influenced their current and previous international mobility. Pillars on which questions were based included the level of access to different consumer markets, the formation of commercial friendships, and participants' commitment to places – whether they owned or rented.
From data collected, the study thematically uncovered four main types of home, each signifying different psychological meaning and values:
- The emotional home – where the majority of extensive domestic activities, ownership and strong social ties emerge. Emotional homes bring a sense of belonging and grounding, and are therefore the most 'traditional' kind of home.
- The home away from home – where strategic possessions are situated, with selective social relations. These homes provide routine and psychological ownership, but lack the personal involvement and memories of an emotional home.
- The base-of-operation home – where outsourced domestic and professional activities take place, and where productivity is at its highest. This home is often found within office complexes and serves the purpose of advancing one's career. It is therefore commonly vacated at weekends and outside of working days.
- The home on the road – occasional social relations and access-based residence brings flexibility to a consumer. Homes on the road are often signified by commercial spaces such as hotels, and play an important role in short, temporary stays such as repeatedly moving in and out of countries.
Alongside the four characterisations, the study suggests how strategic selection of these dwellings could help consumers overcome challenges of settlement. These may include loneliness, guilt, fear of missing out and relocation planning through use of marketplace resources and commercial contacts. The study finds that domestic activities, dwelling practices, possessions, and relationships are all combined to create different types of homes in mobility.
Professor Bardhi said the findings contained many layers of interest for brands and industries.
"In an age of global mobility, the traditional home is no longer a single entity," she said.
"The emotional home may be where we grew up or feel the most closely tied to with regards to belonging, but increasingly nomadic work settings have led to more time being spent on making other places 'home'.
"There are many reasons why this might be the case. Workers could have offices in areas that are difficult to commute to each day, or prove logistically prohibitive – like needing to flying between different countries. They may work long hours which require a dwelling nearby. They may even enjoy a lifestyle where they move around and travel regularly for work and leisure in different locations.
"Our study should be of interest to the travel and hospitality sector towards reimagining more temporary workplace dwellings – such as 'homes away from home' and 'homes on the road' – as homes all the same with commercial and psychological benefits to consumers.
"Marketing practitioners and consumer brands should also take the lessons from our findings to tailor approaches to consumers in the four types of home uncovered.
"Finally, human resources professionals and leaders must recognise different types of home and the needs of modern mobile workers. This includes providing support and local services to help wellbeing, allowing flexible work possibilities, and being culturally sensitive to internationally based employees."
'Home and psychological well-being in global consumer mobility' by Professor Fleura Bardhi, Dr Zahra Sharifonnasabi and Dr Laetitia Mimoun is published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.
