Global Mobility has always required careful planning, but recent world events have fundamentally changed what ‘business as usual’ means for relocating talent and their families. From geopolitical tensions to natural disasters and evolving regulations, the risks to employees on assignment have never been more diverse or unpredictable. In this rapidly changing environment, a robust duty of care policy is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’; it is an absolute necessity.
The evolving landscape: Recent world events
Geopolitical instability
2024 and 2025 have seen continued conflict in Ukraine and heightened political tensions in a number of regions, e.g. the South China Sea. Companies must be ready to adapt relocation programmes quickly, to facilitate rapid evacuations, and to provide round-the-clock support to assignees in affected regions.
Economic volatility
Persistent inflation, sudden currency fluctuations, and cost-of-living increases in major cities across the globe have made relocations more expensive and complex. Mobility teams are finding it more and more challenging to balance business needs with assignees’ financial wellbeing. A common issue is the need to raise an assignee’s salary so that they can maintain their current standard of living in their destination country. But doing this creates a salary disparity with employees who hold the same role in the home country, stirring up discontent and raising questions of equality which extend the GM function, impacting the wider business.
Health & Safety
New health threats are disrupting travel and increasing anxiety amongst assignees, which is already heightened in the wake of COVID-19. Companies are facing an increased volume of questions about medical insurance and policies relating to the regional outbreak of a disease or another global pandemic, plus they are having to absorb the unpredictable costs of travel disruptions – for both assignees and cargo.
Changing immigration and regulatory environments
Driven by a desire/need to clamp down on immigration and to strengthen controls in the face of increasingly sophisticated terrorist threats (including cyberthreats), many national visa requirements and regional/local regulations are changing – often significantly and often at short-notice. In order to manage these changes effectively, protecting their mobile population and their GM programme as a whole, flex within policies and agility within operations are absolute musts.
Natural disasters and climate events
Wildfires in North America, flooding in Europe, and earthquakes in Asia: these are just three of a frightening number of natural disasters and climate events which have stricken the globe over the past two years and forced companies to evolve or even completely overhaul their GM policies as well as their business continuity plans.
The everyday challenges that never go away
In addition to the huge impact of the new set of challenges that has emerged in recent times, assignees are continuing to face a catalogue of more familiar issues:
- Delays relating to visas, work permits, and HHG shipments
- Navigating unfamiliar healthcare and education systems
- Adapting to a new culture (including family integration)
- Security concerns, from petty crime to civil unrest
These familiar challenges mustn’t be forgotten in the face of headline-stealing events; whilst they may not demand an emergency response, they do require mitigating actions and careful monitoring.
Why duty of care matters now more than ever
Duty of care is about more than just compliance. It is about creating an environment in which your talent and their families feel protected, supported, and empowered to thrive, no matter where in the world their work takes them. Companies that demonstrate a genuine commitment to their people’s safety and wellbeing stand out as employers of choice in a competitive global market.
Want to join the conversation?
We are inviting clients, mobility leaders and our wider audience to take part in a short interactive video survey exploring the events/circumstances which have made them think most deeply about duty of care over the past two years. (Your response is confidential and will only be used to inform future discussions).
Want to keep exploring?
Download our new guide: Resilient Global Mobility: A practical guide to duty of care in a changing world