Companies seeking to support the well-being of a distributed global workforce must be mindful of the cultural dimensions that impact how people engage with them. In this new report, we share first-of-its-kind research and guidance for activating a global, culturally aware well-being strategy.
80% of global enterprises agree that workforce well-being is important. However, leaders of multinational and global companies can’t afford to assume that the well-being of their employees will take care of itself; poor mental well-being has a direct, negative impact on business outcomes. And in a recent Gallup survey, more than 40% of employees worldwide reported feeling stress and worry the day before. A workforce well-being solution is needed, for your people AND your business.
Deep-rooted cultural differences shape attitudes toward many employee benefits. For example, a popular mindfulness program in Southeast Asia may falter with employees in Latin America if it’s not messaged appropriately. For a global population, messaging about digital well-being tools also has to cut through the noise of high-volume corporate communications.
To date, leaders haven’t had research-backed guidance for crafting effective, culturally aware messaging to activate global populations with a well-being and resilience solution.
They do now.
meQ partnered with Hofstede Insights, a world leader in the study of cultural dynamics, to examine how culture influences people’s interactions with well-being messaging, and how leaders can leverage this information to improve enrollment and engagement across their well-being programs.
Together, we drew on research by the late Professor Geert Hofstede (who wrote the book on how culture affects values in the workplace) and colleagues, and then leveraged large data sets on resilience and cultural dynamics to focus on three questions:
Our findings revealed concrete, transformative intelligence on how leaders can deploy well-being programs across cultures, who is best situated to deliver them, and what skills resonate with which populations.
Download the full report and India case study:
What Stops Us from Starting? How Cultural Dynamics Impact Global Well-being Activation
For example, cultures that value individualism, as in northwestern Europe and the U.S., tend to respond to well-being messages of self-improvement and personal achievement. However, over two-thirds of the world’s population lives in Collectivist cultures, like those found in Vietnam and China. Messaging to these employees more often connects when it acknowledges group benefits, social relationships, and trustworthiness.
Our new report shares the essential cultural dimensions that shape successful well-being activation for multinational and global companies. We also cover:
Mental well-being is critically important for the global workforce. By prioritizing it, organizations can improve the health and wellness of their employees, increase productivity, and create a positive and supportive work environment.
Our research with the Hofstede Institute is unequivocal: These positive outcomes occur only when leaders tailor employee well-being communications to local culture.
meQ is the #1 global digital resilience solution to build workforce well-being and performance. We offer our platform in 14 languages spoken by 57% of the world’s population, with proven activation best practices and cultural support. Reach out to a meQ specialist to make your global workforce a force for growth.
