Corporate culture and working practices are having a negative impact on expat employees wellbeing, according to a new survey from Aetna International.
The global health insurer surveyed 2,000 expat employees to discover what aspects of international relocation affects their health and wellbeing.
The survey revealed a number of negative and positive effects on expat’s health: around a fifth of employees (21 per cent) said adjusting to a new corporate culture had a negative effect on their wellbeing. In total, respondents were seven times more likely to report that a new corporate culture was a negative factor, rather than a positive effect on their wellbeing.
Within this, men are more likely to say that challenges relating to settling into a new job have a negative impact on their wellbeing, with 88 per cent citing this as a problem compared to 75 per cent of women.
Linked to this, working practices, including attitudes to flexible working, were also having a negative effect on workers’ wellbeing, with 13 per cent stating this had a detrimental effect. Again the survey shows this is particularly affecting men, with 33 per cent of men and 26 per cent of women stating the work/life balance in their new country had a negative impact on their well-being.
However the survey also shows that moving abroad can have a positive impact on wellbeing. Among the reasons cited were higher wages. A total of 28 per cent of respondents said their salary (and its spending power) had the most positive impact on their wellbeing.
Overall the survey showed that moving abroad generally impacts wellbeing more positively than it does negatively. Among the other reasons cited were good education options for children, corporate wellbeing programmes, access to better healthcare options (including private medical insurance) and an increased use of technology as a means of improving wellbeing.
Other negative factors and challenges cited included finding, settling children in and getting to grips with the local language.