Spouse/Partner Assistance

Underscoring a key challenge of dual-income households with family commitments, for the fifth year in a row roughly six in ten firms indicate spousal/partner employment “almost always” or “frequently” affects relocations.

This year’s percentage is the highest ever recorded. We see continued efforts to manage the impact with historically high levels of employment assistance for spouses/partners, overall and internationally.

In the past, mid-size and large firms were more affected by spouse/partner employment than small firms were. This year the impact is similar across company size, with small firms recording the highest percentage ever (68%), similar to 2016-2017 (64% & 60%).

With the impact of spouse/partner employment well above historical averages for the past five years overall, we see a corresponding rise in employment assistance.

During this period, firms of all sizes offered assistance far more often than in previous years.

Among small and mid-size firms, the most popular form of help is networking assistance, offered by nearly half.
Among large firms, more than half pay for outplacement/career services from an outside firm. This is followed closely by networking assistance.

Mid-size and small firms indicate that one in four of employees with a spouse/partner used employment assistance; usage trends are closer to one in three at large firms.

In the past, far fewer small firms offered employment assistance. Among the subset of small firms that offered such benefits, higher percentages of employees took advantage of them than at larger firms. As far more firms across size have added these benefits over the past five years, usage has increased at mid-size and large firms and has leveled off at small firms, so usage is now comparable overall across firms of all sizes.

Question 41

Frequency of employee's relocation being affected by employment status of spouse/partner