In an increasingly global marketplace, global mobility has become a strategic necessity for many companies. Whether it’s project-based deployment, a secondment, or a permanent overseas transition, global assignments can be key to unlocking business growth. However, research by MetLife shows only 59% of globally mobile employees describe themselves as feeling ‘holistically healthy’, with 9% facing burnout [1]. Expat employees often face unique challenges – living away from a support network, navigating an unfamiliar culture, and using different health and social systems; companies need to provide tailored support.
A robust benefits strategy can be a powerful tool for building resilience in a global workforce, ensuring employees remain healthy, engaged and productive wherever they are. We’ve explored how benefits can strengthen resilience for globally mobile teams:
Defining your globally mobile workforce
The first step in building resilience is understanding who your globally mobile employees are. Global mobility no longer applies only to long-term expatriates – it can include fully remote staff living abroad, frequent business travellers, international contractors, employees on rotational programmes and digital nomads.
Each of these groups faces different risks and pressures, from navigating local healthcare systems to managing financial compliance and coping with isolation away from home. By mapping out who these employees are, companies can design benefits that match an employee’s reality rather than based on assumption.
Our research has found a persistent gap between benefit provision and employee needs [2], which is why this is a vital step to ensure employee satisfaction and cost maximisation.
Clarity around what globally mobile looks like in your organisation is the foundation for resilience because it ensures your support is targeted and relevant.
Providing robust health and protection benefits
Physical and financial security underpin resilience in the workplace. Without adequate healthcare, income protection, and travel insurance, employees working abroad can face major vulnerabilities. In some countries, public healthcare is unreliable or inaccessible to non-residents – or standard insurance doesn’t meet requirement needs.
To combat this, employers should consider International Private Medical Insurance (PMI), to ensure consistent, high-quality healthcare coverage worldwide. This often includes direct billing with providers, access to a wide network of hospitals and evacuation in emergencies. Appropriate life insurance and income protection policies can ensure employees remain covered as they move between jurisdictions. For those working in higher risk locations, these add an important safety net.
By adding this protection, companies help employees feel secure, allowing them to focus on their work rather than anticipating crises. Additionally, providing tailored benefits will also help with attraction and retention in a competitive landscape.
Navigating compliance and tax challenges
Resilience is more than employee wellbeing; it’s also about pre-empting future shocks. Benefits that are perfectly compliant in one country could cause issues in another; pension contributions that are tax deductible in the UK, for example, may be penalised abroad. Research by MetLife shows that financial stress is a key concern for expat employees; 13% of expat employees are worried about their financial wellbeing.
Taking a proactive approach to knowing what challenges employees might face can prevent any issues destabilising assignments and ensures employees always have access to their benefits.
Supporting mental wellbeing and connection
A workforce that is truly resilient will not only be physically healthy but emotionally supported. Global mobility can be exciting but often comes with challenges like reduced access to familiar support networks, difficulty integrating into a host culture, and burnout.
Without the right support, globally mobile assignments can falter rapidly, research suggests failure rates can reach up to 70% in developing countries and drop to 25-40% in developed countries – often due to isolation and poor cultural adjustment [3].
Companies can address these risks by offering virtual counselling services, employee assistance programmes (EAPs), and access to wellbeing support via an app or portal. The power of flexible hours and regular check-ins should not be overlooked, as they enable employees to manage their workloads and maintain a work/life balance.
Creating opportunities for globally mobile employees to connect through virtual team events or local networking groups, can also help strengthen a sense of belonging.
Communicating benefits effectively
Even the most comprehensive benefits strategy can fall short if it’s not communicated effectively, or if employees simply do not understand what is available to them. Our research found that 37% of employees do not access information about their benefits [2], which highlights the challenge at hand.
Clear, accessible, and inclusive communications are key, especially for a workforce spread across countries and cultures. Employers should look to provide benefits information in employees preferred languages, highlight specific availability for each location, and make resources easy to access through centralised platforms.
In summary
Building resilience in a global workforce isn’t about offering the same benefits package to everyone, it’s about creating a framework that moves with your people, protecting their health, safeguarding their finances and supporting mental wellbeing, while making sure they feel connected to your organisation.
At PIB Employee Benefits, our global team help companies design and manage benefit strategies that put their people first.
Next steps for companies:
- Identify and segment your mobile workforce: get to know their distinct needs
- Invest in effective communication: make your benefits clear and accessible in any location
[1] https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20241008418432/en/Globally-Mobile-Employees-Are-Looking-for-Enhanced-Care-on-Their-Assignments
[2] Mind the Gap 2024
[3] HR Zone: https://hrzone.com/blog/tracking-international-assignment-failure/#:~:text=Assignment%20Failure%20Rates-,International%20assignment%20failure%20rates%20will%20depend%20on%20the%20country%20and,the%20rate%20jumps%20to%2070%25.