WELL-BEING AND CULTURAL COMPETENCY

Alain Verstandig • February 1, 2023

Well-being has become increasingly important in our society, due in large part to the disruptions caused by the global pandemic. But as it relates to an employee’s experience, what exactly is an employer’s duty of care when it comes to well-being and family experience?

There are different types of well-being (Mental, Physical, Financial, Social) and what is often overlooked is Cultural Well-being. Cultural well-being is the ability to work across boundaries and workstyles to develop relationships and feel grounded in your awareness and work style approach. Includes our sense of connection, belonging, and engagement.


Even at the World Economic Forum, well-being was discussed. Till Leopold stated, “It is clear that health and total well-being have become more central to the debate on the future of work.”

Many organizations struggle with talent attraction and recognize the importance of supporting the family experience and overall well-being, but have trouble implementing the right types of services to truly support their employees. 


We also know that the expat experience weighs heavily on the overall family experience with the quality of emotional connection that an entire expat family has during an expatriation, including the repatriation phase, being the most critical. This connection is shaped by a variety of factors including: interactions with the employer's GM department and their vendors, other expats families, communities, and locals; the fairness of GM policies; support customized to their needs; perceptions of ownership of their GM journey and being treated fairly. 


The consequences of not prioritizing employee and family well-being can be costly and potentially detrimental to your talent pool. Whether you are just getting started or have already implemented policies in this area, you can gauge your organization’s progress utilizing a well-being scale. 


As health and well-being have become more central to the debate of the future of work post Covid, we know that some of the components of international team cultural well-being include the right to bond, to be transparent and honest with each other, learn how to trust others, rely on people, respect each other, and understand your and your leader's management style. How well are you doing in this regard? 

Contact us to schedule a call to learn more about best practices in intercultural training.

Contact Us

Share this post

Human-Centered Mobility in a Tech-Driven World

By Alain Verstandig • September 9, 2025
Editorial from NetExpat Perspectives Newsletter Q3 2025

Tech Can’t Do It Alone: Isabela Sena on Human-Centered Mobility

By NetExpat Account • August 28, 2025
In a recent interview, Isabela Sena, Director of Global Mobility at Stellantis, shared her thoughts on talent mobility’s future. Read on to discover her views, and why people will stay central and elevated by AI.

Helping Children Adapt to a New School

By NetExpat Community • August 18, 2025
This blog post offers a glimpse into the exclusive content available to members of the NetExpat Community —designed specifically for the partners and spouses of transferees. From curated resources to peer-driven insights, this sample reflects the kind of meaningful support that helps partners/spouses feel seen, connected, and empowered.

Balancing AI & Human Expertise to Elevate Talent Management & Mobility

By Laurette Bennhold-Samaan • August 18, 2025
Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing talent management and mobility, making some administrative processes faster and more efficient. As businesses look to AI-driven tools to streamline everything from visa applications to predictive mobility analytics—they hope to control costs and ease the burden on internal talent mobility teams and mobile employees alike. But can technology alone accomplish all of that? While AI excels at automation and generating data-driven insights, the human touch is still essential for fostering positive experiences among employees and the businesses that employ them. Personalized coaching, relationship-building, and cultural adaptation are all areas where human empathy, intuition and expertise far surpass automated systems. As organizations embrace AI to optimize talent management and global mobility, finding the right balance between technology and human connection will be key to their success.

CULTURAL COMPLIANCE: THE COST OF IGNORING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES WHEN DOING BUSINESS

By Lisa Marie Desanto • August 4, 2025
Discover the costs of ignoring cultural differences and strategies to ensure compliance for thriving international business operations.

Gift Giving in Business: Bridging Cultural Expectations and Compliance

June 26, 2025
Multinational companies face a significant challenge when working across cultures: how to strike a balance between being compliant and honoring cultural gift-giving norms in professional settings. Why is it such a challenge? What may be expected as a gesture of respect and goodwill in one culture could be considered bribery in another. Missteps can ultimately lead to a damaged company reputation, lost business opportunities, or even legal repercussions. Finding a balance between cultural expectations and compliance is a strategic imperative, but potential conflicts can feel completely overwhelming. With training and preparation, however, workforces can learn to navigate these scenarios with skill. Cultural Gift-Giving Differences in Professional Settings Gift giving has always been used in professional settings to show respect, build rapport, and lay the groundwork for meaningful business relationships around the world. Under the right circumstances, a carefully chosen gift can symbolize trust and partnership, opening the door to successful collaboration. Failure to understand cultural norms and expectations can result in costly mistakes. Below, we provide a few examples of varying gift-giving norms to illustrate the importance of cultural agility when doing business across cultures.

Team Spotlight: Maru Machado

By Diego Marquez • June 9, 2025
As Director of Global Client Services at NetExpat, Maru Machado brings a dynamic blend of operational expertise and global perspective to her role. With a rich background in international event production, clinical travel management, and client services, Maru brings a global mindset to everything she does. Her multicultural experience—both professional and personal as a former expat—deeply informs her approach to leadership and client support. Now leading a diverse team across the U.S., Maru thrives on connecting with people around the world, improving service delivery, and creating meaningful impact for globally mobile professionals and their families.

The Cultural Implications of Mergers and Acquisitions

May 29, 2025
Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are high-stakes ventures that promise growth, innovation, and a competitive advantage, but that promise can only be realized by prioritizing a critical factor that can make or break the success of the initiative: culture. Whether it's the diversity of global cultures in multinational mergers or the differences between two distinct corporate cultures, the challenges are significant. A failure to integrate effectively doesn’t just threaten the success of the merger, it also impacts the financial health of an organization. Below, we discuss the cultural complexities of M&As, the risks of ignoring them, and actionable strategies to bridge related gaps effectively. Challenges in Cultural Integration During Mergers and Acquisitions Asking diverse groups of people to collaborate efficiently without supporting them and "translating" their different priorities, values, and cultural norms is risky under any circumstances. This is particularly important in M&As, where two diverse workforces have learned to do business in ways that have been defined by their separate employers. In multinational mergers, differences in communication styles, decision making, and business etiquette can create friction or complete breakdowns in productivity. Corporate culture clashes can also occur from contrasting leadership styles, organizational values, levels of employee engagement, and cultural attitudes about change. Without targeted attention, these challenges can undermine collaboration, erode trust, and jeopardize the success of the merger. 

Navigating APAC Business Trends: The Importance of Intercultural Agility

April 16, 2025
A series of trends and events are impacting the way APAC-based companies are doing business, as well as how international organizations engage with them. As workforce borders within this active region continue to blur, intercultural agility has become more important – and more nuanced – than ever before. Whether it’s a business that's building a diverse workforce within the APAC region or a multi-national company working across cultures to do business with them, employers and the employees that work for them must forget everything they think they know about intercultural communication. Growing workforce diversity means not just knowing about the culture a business is headquartered in, but also the many cultures making up their staff. Intercultural training has therefore become a crucial investment for any business hoping to thrive in this diverse landscape. 

Helping Mobile Employees and Families Navigate Culture Shock

April 1, 2025
Most mobile employees accept international relocations with mixed feelings that include excitement and curiosity. However, they’re often surprised when their move comes with more feelings of disorientation than they expected. Culture shock – the feelings of confusion, disconnectedness, and anxiety that people experience while integrating into a new culture – can make it difficult for mobile employees to transition into their new assignments effectively. It can also make it difficult for their accompanying families to settle into their new home, adding further stress to your employees’ relocation experiences. It all negatively impacts employees – but it has costly negative impacts for the organization, too.  Understanding the stages of culture shock can make dealing with it easier. Below, we take a look at each and offer suggestions your employees can use for navigating them. While supporting them on their journeys helps them to integrate into their new surroundings faster and with greater ease – it also benefits business productivity, organizational goals, and the company’s bottom line. Stages of Culture Shock & Suggestions for Dealing with Them
Show More