The Pulse - February 2022

Pushing the Boundaries

One of the impacts of the pandemic is how it has changed the way employers and employees view working remotely. Employees are increasingly pushing the boundaries, including becoming “location independent” and working from anywhere in the world. Many employers’ remote work policies are narrowly defined as “working from home” and do not include benefits for employees who desire to be globally mobile and work from outside the U.S., without traveling officially for the company or on a global assignment.

As the global community recovers from the pandemic, multinational employers and their employees should be aware of the legal and tax implications of international remote work. Check out this article from Reuters^®, COVID-19’s New Expatriate Employees. There is a lot of good information in here, but it’s missing one other critical component—health insurance benefits. GeoBlue^® has product offerings that can help employers provide their employees with the protection and healthcare coverage they need if they decide to become a self-appointed international telecommuter.

Overall, digital nomads make up almost 11 million Americans. Within that group, traditional workers who now identify as being “location independent” nearly doubled from 3.2 million in 2019 to 6.3 million in 2020. Over the next two or three years, that number is expected to rise, signaling a growing trend.^1,2

Sources: 1. MBO Partners, 2020. 2. Harvard Business Review, 2021.

GeoBlue Featured in Benefits Quarterly

GeoBlue was featured in the fourth quarter 2021 issue of Benefits Quarterly, published by the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists.

	The first article falls under the Health Care Pricing and Payment Trends section and features an abstract from our e-book, Lost in Translation: How Evaluating a Global Network With a U.S. Mindset Can Lead to Misinterpretation.
	The second article, Do You Mind? Exploring Our Willingness to Discuss Behavioral Health with Expatriate Employees, is in the Global Behavioral Health section.

Giving Full Health Our Attention

As the pandemic continues and employees resign en masse, they are looking to employers to create a workplace culture that supports their full-health needs: one that addresses chronic stress and burnout, offers broader benefits and puts wellness first.

Check out these resources on workplace burnout and a new approach to benefits and retention:

The new workplace culture: Giving full health our full attention (usatoday.com)
The do’s and don’ts of handling workplace burnout (usatoday.com)
Blue Cross Blue Shield Global^® Behavioral Health Managers Guide

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Blue Cross Blue Shield Global^® is a brand owned by Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. GeoBlue is the trade name of Worldwide Insurance Services, LLC (Worldwide Services Insurance Agency, LLC in California and New York), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association: made available in cooperation with Blue Cross and Blue Shield companies in select service areas. Coverage is provided under insurance policies underwritten by 4 Ever Life Insurance Company, Oakbrook Terrace, IL, NAIC #80985. 4 Ever Life Insurance Company is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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