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I’ve often dreamt of being an expatriate — somewhere dreamy like Paris or Milan, or maybe someplace exotic like Dubai. I would love the opportunity to experience a foreign country with my husband and children, and have always pictured us being welcomed with open arms by our host nation, having no adjustment issues and returning home to the States bright and shiny and bilingual.
I’d guess a lot of other expats had similar cotton candy dreams. However, a news study conducted jointly by Chestnut Global Partners and the Truman Group reveals that the expat reality is not quite bright and shiny. Expatriates, the study finds, face a higher overall risk for mental health problems and substance abuse disorders. Specifically, 50% of expatriates in the study were at high risk for problems like anxiety and depression, a rate 2.5 times their U.S.-based counterparts.
“Studies estimate that American expatriates have rates of assignment failure as high as 40%, which often results from stress caused by cultural differences and demanding workloads,” says study co-author Dave Sharar, Ph.D., managing director of Chestnut Global Partners, the international employee assistance arm of Chestnut Health Systems. “As the number of expatriates is expected to increase, our findings underscore the need to design programs and provide services that mitigate the challenges of living and working abroad.”
According to the 2011 Global Relocation Trends Survey report from Brookfield GRS, there was a 61% increase in expat assignments in 2011 following a downturn the previous year due to economic pressures.
What do you think? Does your expat program include supports to prevent mental health issues or other factors leading to assignment failure? What are they and how do you measure their success? Share your thoughts in the comments.
I’ve often dreamt of being an expatriate — somewhere dreamy like Paris or Milan, or maybe someplace exotic like Dubai. I would love the opportunity to experience a foreign country with my husband and children, and have always pictured us being welcomed with open arms by our host nation, having no adjustment issues and returning home to the States bright and shiny and bilingual.
I’d guess a lot of other expats had similar cotton candy dreams. However, a news study conducted jointly by Chestnut Global Partners and the Truman Group reveals that the expat reality is not quite bright and shiny. Expatriates, the study finds, face a higher overall risk for mental health problems and substance abuse disorders. Specifically, 50% of expatriates in the study were at high risk for problems like anxiety and depression, a rate 2.5 times their U.S.-based counterparts.
“Studies estimate that American expatriates have rates of assignment failure as high as 40%, which often results from stress caused by cultural differences and demanding workloads,” says study co-author Dave Sharar, Ph.D., managing director of Chestnut Global Partners, the international employee assistance arm of Chestnut Health Systems. “As the number of expatriates is expected to increase, our findings underscore the need to design programs and provide services that mitigate the challenges of living and working abroad.”
Indeed, according to the 2011 Global Relocation Trends Survey report from Brookfield GRS, there was a 61% increase in expat assignments in 2011 following a downturn the previous year due to economic pressures.
What do you think? Does your expat program include supports to prevent mental health issues or other factors leading to assignment failure? What are they and how do you measure their success? Share your thoughts in the comments.
