European companies take a larger interest in partner support than their American counter-parts. This is clearly shown by the Worldwide Survey of International Assignment Policies and Practices, published by global consulting firm Mercer.
Corporate guidelines
In the last edition of their survey (2012) Mercer writes that almost 52% of European companies have a corporate policy that provides guidelines on the support offered to expat partners. For American companies this figure is 37.6%.
No partner policy
Conversely, the statement “we do not have a policy on spouse/partner support nor do we address the issue” is supported by 41.7% of American companies, and 29.5% of European companies. The statement is furthermore supported by 61.8% of Latin American companies, and 67.9% of the companies from Asian and Pacific countries.
Different types of support
Looking at different types of partner support, European companies are far more likely than American companies to offer: education reimbursement, business start-up advice, day-care subsidy, and membership to internet-based expat forums and associations.
