Increasingly, MNEs are recognizing a duty to take care of their global workforces.

Increasingly, MNEs are recognizing a duty to take care of their global workforces. In this case, we take a short look at two situations in which global firms have been confronted with crises due to unexpected health and safety problems among their global employees and the potential consequences of not taking seriously enough their duties of care.

Work-Life Balance (WLB) for Overworked Professionals in Emerging Markets

Sometimes, in emerging markets, the eagerness to succeed can lead to employees working lots of overtime and neglecting their private lives and personal health in stark contrast to the WLB notions of their multinational employers. Thus, even though it was never the intention of 31-year-old Raluca Stroescu of Romania, an audit manager for Ernst & Young, to work herself to death, that is essentially what happened in May 2007. Her friends and family relate that she had been working every day and her local management had not accepted her missing even one day. Within the three weeks prior to her death, she had been working on an important audit project and had lost a lot of weight, reaching less than 40 kilos (88 pounds). Her case was widely discussed in Eastern Europe and according to local public opinion it was considered the first case of a death due to overwork.

The central debate in these discussions was whether young professionals in emerging markets really do want work-life balance or would really rather trade WLB for advancement, fame, and fortune. Many (maybe most?) young professionals in emerging markets work very hard because exciting developmental opportunities are opening in their countries and there always seem to be new and interesting projects in which to become engaged. They do it because they receive recognition for their achievements, better annual reviews, and better chances for advancement. They also do it because they do not want to fail. They fear that if they slow down or take a break someone else will take their place.

In many emerging markets, there is the feeling that WLB is a concept that is valued only in the West; it is of no concern or interest in their own countries. MNEs may have the long-term well-being of their employees in mind, but young professionals in the emerging market subsidiaries must overcome the "we have to catch up with the rest of the world" mentality.

Potential Consequences of Sending an Expatriate on a Foreign Assignment with Inadequate Preparation

Kate Cawthorn, a young British trainee solicitor (attorney), was sent on a traineeship assignment to Ghana on very short notice (three days). Because of the short notice, she was unable to get the necessary vaccinations (her law firm did not provide any advice as to what preparations she should make and gave her no time to prepare) and they provided no support after arrival. On her first day in the country she contracted a severe dose of shigella dysentery. She continued to try to do her job for five weeks, with no medical tests or treatment, but finally needed to fly home for medical care. Her symptoms got worse, which left her unable to complete her internship and thus unable to complete her qualifications to become a solicitor. She never recovered well enough to go back to work. Eventually Kate sued her employer for a high six-figure sum. Not only did her firm not provide adequate preparation and advice, but they also showed too little concern about the implications of the locale of the assignment and its consequences for her career.

Sources: Claus, L. (2010). Duty of Care of Employers for Protecting International Assignees, their Dependants, and International Business Travelers, International SOS White Paper, Trevose, PA: International SOS; Claus, L. and Bucur, S. (2007). Work life balance (WLB) for young professionals in emerging markets, vignette published in Briscoe, D. R., Schuler, R. S., and Claus, L. (2009), International Human Resource Management, 3rd ed., London/New York: Routledge, accessible at www.willamette.edu/agsm/global_hr; and Dawood, R. (1998). Bills of health. HR World, winter, 57.

Discussion Questions

• 1 Are WLB issues different in newly developing countries from what is experienced in developed countries? Why or why not? Is there a trade-off between WLB and career ambition?
• 2 What is an employer's duty to prepare its employees for foreign assignments?
• 3 What is the employer's responsibility if something happens to its employees while on foreign assignment?
• 4 What is the responsibility of IHR in both of these circumstances? How could IHR have prevented these situations from occurring and having such dire consequences?