1/8/2007
Employees on foreign assignments face a number of issues that other employees do not, which is a reason 21 percent of expatriate employees leave their companies in the midst of international assignments and another 23 percent of expats leave their company within a year of returning home, says the GMAC Global Relocation Services’ 2005 Annual Global Relocation Trends Report.

In addition, because the report says more than two-thirds of employees—67 percent—who do not complete a foreign assignment cite family concerns for returning to the home country early, companies are looking to “employee assistance programs” (EAP) to help expats resolve such problems and therefore reduce expat attrition.

“Martial and relationship problems are the number reason we get called, whether expats or not,” says Anita Madison, vice president of training and consulting for CompPsych, an international EAP provider, headquartered in Chicago. “But for expats the overseas assignment often exacerbates the situation.” Part of the problem is that companies forget they are sending more than an employee to a foreign location, they are also sending the entire family, she said.

Not only can relationships be strained, but expatriates and their families also face other adjustments, including living in a different culture, learning a new language, dealing with concerns about healthcare, being far away from other family members, safety if the assignment is in a remote area and even recreational limitations, says Dr. Sandy Weimer, CEO and medical director of Worldwide EAP in Glendale, CA. Families may find themselves living in a place that offers no recreational activities for their children or themselves, which can make drug use or alcohol consumption more attractive, he said.

Even assignments in countries like Canada and England, which on the surface appear to offer little adaptation problems, can be difficult, especially for spouses or partners who are setting up the household in the new location, Weimer said. The fact is, the United Kingdom can be a very foreign place if you are trying to do banking business or find educational opportunities for your children, he said. Even the tax laws are quite different, he adds.

Anticipating Needs

There are a number of things employers can do ahead of time to help diminish some of these problems, Weimer said. Screening employees to make sure they can deal well with change is often quite beneficial and even though a company probably cannot screen spouses and children, providing them with as much information about the new location can be extremely helpful, he says. Employers should make use of their international relocation companies for information about the new country, he said. Those companies often have representatives available in overseas locations, and the representative can help families with any difficulties getting settled, he said.

Ensuring that employees and their families can make trips home can also make the transition easier, says Margo Lamont, director of Benefits and compensation for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, a global law firm with offices in the United States, Europe and Asia. The firm has been providing a lump sum allowance for their expatriate employees to use for trips to the home country, she said. Older style expatriate programs would clearly define how many times the employee could travel home, she said. A lump sum allowance lets employees make their own decisions about how often they want to come home, she said.

More Formal Programs

If an employer has expatriates in only a small number of locations that offer behavioral health providers, they could work with local practitioners to provide employees with any necessary services. However, companies with workers in several locations—or in areas where there are few behavior health resources—may want to work with an EAP provider that offers international services. While those EAPs may provide 24-hour call centers with trained professions, employers also need to address other issues.

There are pluses and minuses to having local practitioners for referral services. Language can certainly be a barrier, says Weimer who adds her firm is usually able to find English-speaking providers for U.S. employees. In addition, some locations, such as Beijing, may have a large expatriate community already there and finding counselors can be relatively easy. In areas where there are little to no psychological services available, Worldwide EAP partners with medical doctors, who have often been trained overseas, speak English, and are well respected in their communities.

Companies will also want to ensure their EPA provider is well versed in the cultural differences of the employees they will be providing services to. For instance, women from many Muslim countries will only be able to talk to a female counselor who shares their religion, and the same is true for Muslim men. Or, if an employee or spouse may be Japanese, the EPA should make certain that whoever the person talks to first on the phone is the same counselor he or she deals with throughout the process. In Japanese culture, it is taboo for additional people to know about a person’s personal problem, so there should only be one contact, Madison said.

While local EAP practitioners can provide helpful services, occasionally their facilities or practices are not up to standards Americans are used to. Companies dealing with local counselors will want to be certain that whomever they partner with will provide the proper services, especially when it comes to confidentiality.

Emergency Situations, Repatriation

There can be emergency behavioral health situations that need immediate attention, which may even include returning the employee and his or her family to their home country. Some international EAP providers offer such services, but employers should also check with their international healthcare provider to see if such services are offered.

In addition, behavioral health concerns do not magically disappear when the employee returns home, therefore employers should ensure there are services available are available for those workers when they return home. The provider should be well versed in expatriate issues and ways to help families readjust.

Nancy Hatch Woodward is a freelance writer based in Chattanooga, Tenn.