New data reveals a significant gap between what employers believe they provide and what international assignees actually experience
New research from AXA Global Healthcare has revealed a significant disconnect between how HR decision-makers view their mental health support for internationally mobile employees and how assignees experience that same support in practice.
The findings form part of the third edition of AXA Global Healthcare's World of Work series, which surveyed 689 HR decision-makers and 641 non-native assignees across ten markets on what is needed to keep internationally mobile employees performing at their best while on assignment.
According to the research, three in four assignees describe their employer's mental health policies as proactive and innovative. However, two-thirds of the same group say more could be done to support them, pointing to a gap between how support is designed and how it is actually delivered or experienced.
The disconnect is most pronounced in specific areas of provision.
The research found differences of up to 21 percentage points between what HR decision-makers report offering and what assignees say they actually receive, particularly around access to expat support groups and buddy systems.
Sebastian Judez, Head of Proposition and Medical at AXA Health International, said the in-assignment period was the most complex stage of the assignment journey, and one that organisations often struggle to plan for.
"The in-placement stage of the assignment journey is not static. It shifts as people settle into new environments, navigate challenges and build lives abroad, and the most effective support responds to these changes," he said.
The report suggests the answer is not necessarily more provision, but better alignment between what is designed at a policy level and what assignees can access and use in reality.
How assignees want mental health support
That theme also emerged in how assignees prefer mental health support to be delivered.
While 86% of HR decision-makers said they planned to increase investment in virtual mental health provision over the next two years, two-thirds of assignees said they still preferred in-person support, particularly those on long-term placements.
The preference for face-to-face support comes as more assignees report feelings of isolation.
Some 37% said hybrid working arrangements had contributed to feelings of loneliness and disconnection, reinforcing the value assignees place on in-person engagement over remote alternatives.
The research also linked family circumstances to mental health outcomes on assignment.
Assignees living apart from their families were found to be 47% more likely to experience mental health difficulties than those who relocated with their families, underscoring the extent to which family support and mental health provision are interconnected rather than separate considerations.
Judez said organisations needed to treat the in-assignment period with the same strategic focus applied to other business priorities.
"Keeping people brilliant on assignment does not happen by accident. It happens when employers treat that stage of the journey with the same strategic focus they bring to their many other commercial objectives," he said.
"In return, organisations will see stronger retention, higher performance, and a greater return on the considerable investment that every international assignment now represents."
