For Multi-National Companies, EAPs Are a Great Resource - and a great challenge

(Article originally published by WFC Resources, February 2003, as a Guest Column written by Larry Anglin, Director of Product Management for Ceridian's LifeWorks®)

Employee Assistance Offerings must be Packaged and Promoted with Cultural Sensitivity

Talk of travel always sparks interest whether you are at a dinner party, a family gathering, or a work-related function. In fact, there are those individuals who do more than just travel to a destination to enjoy the highlights. Some people experience other countries on a very personal level through overseas assignments which can bring both tremendous rewards as well as stress.

As the world economy continues to evolve, more and more companies are becoming multi-national and employing a diverse workforce. Employees working for multi-national companies often face cultural challenges that can impact them on personal, family and work-related level. Since such matters may negatively impact not only quality of life but also on-the-job productivity, employers have a tremendous incentive to offer Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) containing resources for helping members of their workforce as they adapt to changing corporate and international cultures.

A multi-national employer cannot assume that "American-style" EAP offerings will be universally embraced by all members of its workforce. And, in fact, the knowledge and acceptance of EAPs will vary greatly within the following employee groups:

• Expatriates—Americans working overseas for a limited period of time;
• Local nationals—employees who work in their country of residence for organizations based elsewhere; and,
• Third country nationals—employees who work in foreign countries outside their country of residence.

Of these groups, expatriates are the most likely to be familiar with the benefits of EAPs as well as other services that help non-residents cope with a new culture and environment.

How employees react to EAP offerings will depend to a great extent on the level of cultural awareness and sensitivity with which those offerings are presented. For example, while Americans are typically rewarded for openness about emotional concerns and consider certain kinds of support, such as counseling, to be commonplace, employees of other nationalities may be confounded by overt encouragement to seek help for problems of a personal nature. Hence, rolling out an emotional wellness offering with an "Are You Stressed?" tag line may not elicit the desired response in Asian societies where such an admission might be viewed as a stigma. Likewise, promoting counseling services without an appropriate level of sensitivity may cause consternation in a country such as Italy, where family members or clergy would likely be consulted before a mental health professional.

To avoid committing cultural faux pas of their own, multi-national companies should incorporate some of the following tactics into their EAP rollout plan.

• Prior to rollout, confer with HR staffers and other decision-makers in foreign countries about how to package, explain, and internally promote EAPs in a manner that all members of a global workforce will be able to absorb and appreciate;
• Be certain EAPs offered abroad encompass translation services that take into account not only the national language but also local dialects and vernacular (Portuguese spoken in Portugal, for example, is different than that spoken in Brazil);
• Obtain the buy-in of managers – who can encourage their direct reports to access EAPs for assistance with personal or work-related issues;
• Verify that the EAP staff includes clinicians well versed in the culture of the countries relevant to your business.

Workforce diversity will continue to emerge as one of the key business trends of this unfolding decade. Those multi-national companies that rise to the challenge of fine-tuning their EAPs as they roll them out around the world will reap a competitive advantage as they honor their cultural diversity and increase their levels of employee effectiveness.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ceridian’s LifeWorks® services offers a wide range of comprehensive employee effectiveness services including employee assistance programs, work-life services, and worksite wellness services. Ceridian is a leading provider of managed business solutions for human resources.