The type of employee stressors and the incidence of workplace crises are strikingly similar across the world, according to a global benefits report from ComPsych Corporation, the world’s largest provider of employee assistance programmes.

Some 51 per cent of workplaces globally experienced a crisis (natural disaster, civil unrest, employee death, etc.) in the past year. In addition, the HR and benefits professionals of multinational organisations polled reported the top five global workforce challenges as:

1. Work-related stress and anxiety
2. Balancing family responsibilities
3. Financial pressures
4. Weight management
5. Depression

“Given the universal nature of workplace stressors, employee assistance programmes are a relatively easy and highly cost-effective benefit to globalise,” said Stuart Creasey, EMEA Sales and Account Services Manager for ComPsych. “In addition, government social programmes and regulations are often not as cumbersome for emotional health and work-life benefits as they are for medical programmes.”

Nearly forty per cent of the organisations surveyed report they plan to expand EAP services to their multinational employee population. “Multinational organisations are realising the importance of support services to help employees – wherever they work or live – recover from critical incidents that can cripple business operations as well as productivity,” Creasey adds.

Other key findings of the report include:

• The more countries in which a company operates, the less centralised its benefits strategy
• HR practitioners looking to centralise their company’s benefits strategy do so to ensure organisational consistency and fairness, statutory compliance and cost containment.
• Top benefits that companies are planning to expand in the future are wellness initiatives and employee assistance programmes.
• Employers cite vendor limitations, local policies/regulations and implementation costs as the biggest obstacles to implementing global benefits
• The most important factor for a successful global EAP is a local marketing adaptation and flexibility, followed by employee education and communication.

“Finding a vendor capable of globally consistent service delivery is very important to overcoming inherent obstacles in globalising an EAP,” says Creasey. “At the same time, a successful programme requires localised understanding and communications. At ComPsych, we believe both are important to developing a proactive programme that drives results in both worker productivity and cost containment.”

To view the complete Global Trends Report, which includes data on global companies’ benefits strategies, benefits currently offered and benefits planned for expansion, CLICK HERE

ComPsych Corporation is the world’s largest provider of employee assistance programmes (EAP) and is the pioneer and worldwide leader of fully integrated EAP, behavioural health, wellness, work-life, HR and absence management services under the GuidanceResources brand. ComPsych provides services to more than 15,000 organisations covering more than 40 million individuals throughout the UK and more than 100 countries. By creating “Build-to-Suit” programmes, ComPsych helps employers attract and retain employees, increase employee productivity and improve overall health and well-being.