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?

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