AXA Research Reveals That Global Workforces are Still Vital for Big Business Despite Economic Uncertainty and Rise in Political Populism

LONDON, July 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --

• New research from AXA reveals 98% of big businesses surveyed say a globally mobile workforce is important, with a third saying it is critical to their success  

• But staff working abroad want increasing flexibility with three-quarters (75%) of employers saying people want to commute internationally and continue living at home  

• Those working internationally reap the rewards with many workers boosting earnings and career prospects  

Despite the unstable economic climate, unexpected political change and the impact of technology on societies the world's biggest companies still view a flexible and globally-mobile workforce as key when it comes to building a successful business, according to new research from AXA's global health insurance specialists.

The study reveals that 98% of employers see a globally mobile workforce as important to achieving their objectives with a third (35%) believing it to be critical.

More than half (51%) of the businesses questioned said sending staff on global assignments has improved the performance of their international operations and 44% said it improved employees' skill level.

However, the research, conducted among 250 multi-national firms headquartered in eight different countries and 372 expatriate workers across 11 markets, reveals that while employers see international working as key, their staff don't necessarily want to move permanently to another country. Three-quarters of employers surveyed said there is a trend for staff to accept jobs based abroad while they continue to live at home: They become international commuters.

More than a third (38%) of firms said staff increasingly want to work abroad on short-term contracts and commute from their home country, with 27% saying that staff don't want to relocate permanently.

The rewards for working internationally do, however, appear to make the commute or relocation worth the effort. The majority (51%) of staff working on international assignments said they took global placements to gain higher pay and benefits with 47% saying they took roles to gain accelerated career development and improve their skills.

Two-fifths (42%) of companies surveyed said they tend to promote staff at the end of their assignments and 40% said they work with staff to find a new role within the country they are working in which utilises the local knowledge they have built up.