Relocating an Employee Within the United States

DISENGAGING

Let's discuss the issues involved with selling the employee’s home, packing, travel arrangements, personal effects shipments and settling in.

To an employee and their family, a relocation means breaking the ties they’ve developed both on the job and within their community. The transfer process is time-consuming, costly, and can be psychologically difficult.

The company can make this change easier or more difficult, depending on the demands placed on the employee and the help provided to the employee. Employers are providing more comprehensive relocation programs because of the competitive labor market, which is now global, and the nature of today’s mobile workforce.

Selling the Home

A home is typically the major asset and most costly expense for employees. Relocating means selling a home or breaking a lease and making arrangements for new housing. This can be stressful to the employee as well as their family members if the appropriate support is not provided by the employer.

Selling a home takes time and energy and results in incremental costs such as real estate broker commissions. The employee may even have to sell the home at a loss. Depending on the present condition of the real estate market and the length of time the employee has been in the current home, there may be a considerable investment on the line.

For more information about housing, see: www.hud.gov.