This article is part of a recurring series highlighting recent talent mobility industry reports. If you would like the WERC editorial team to consider covering a specific industry report, email mobility@talenteverywhere.org.
The 2025 International People Mobility (IPM) Report, produced by Aon, provides an extensive analysis of global trends, challenges, and opportunities in international employee mobility. Drawing on insights from 361 survey responses across 49 countries, the findings span sectors from industrials and manufacturing to technology, finance, health care, retail, and professional services. Of note, this year's sample reflects a more global perspective than previous years’ Europe-centric approach.
The report examines the strategies, benefits, and support mechanisms companies implement for mobile employees and highlights emerging trends affecting global mobility policies. Employees are classified under three categories:
- Business Travelers: Employees traveling domestically or internationally for work, typically up to six months, while retaining their home country registration.
- International Assignees (Long-Term Assignments/Expatriates): Employees assigned to work abroad for six months or more, often taking residence in the host country. They are a small percentage of the workforce but critical for management, technical, and leadership functions.
- Remote Workers: Employees who independently choose to work abroad without formal assignment or business travel arrangements.
Business Travel Trends and Challenges
Business travel in 2025 showed broad participation across functions, led by management and leadership, but supported by many other roles with active travel needs. After steady growth in 2024, travel levels largely stabilized, suggesting companies have reached a comfortable baseline or are hesitant to adjust policies amid uncertainty from tariffs, geopolitical instability, and a volatile business environment.
Nearly half of travelers remain within their home continent, while about a third travel intercontinentally, and one-fifth stay domestic. Europe is the top destination, partly reflecting an EMEA-heavy respondent base. Although only 18% travel to high-risk locations, 35% of respondents say such locations are poorly defined, potentially exposing employees to unmanaged dangers.
To support travelers, most companies rely on business travel insurance, offered by over 80% of respondents, with 60% purchased at a global level to ensure consistent benefits. Access to 24/7 travel assistance ranks second, while corporate travel booking portals are also common, helping manage costs, capture data, and centralize policy and emergency information. Training and travel briefings remain at less than 30%. Safety, cost, and compliance remain the top challenges regarding business travel. Safety rose to the leading concern compared to previous reports, overtaking compliance, while cost remains second.
Support for Long-Term International Assignments
The survey shows that long-term international mobility remains a standard feature of global workforces, with 85% of respondents employing staff who travel internationally for assignments lasting longer than six months. Almost all industries reported having international assignees, with the main exceptions being sectors such as public services and healthcare, which tend to be more locally focused and less multinational. Despite their strategic importance, international assignees represent a very small share of overall headcount: for 84% of respondents, they account for less than 10% of employees worldwide.
The most common reasons for long-term assignments continue to be management and leadership roles, followed by technical or specialist expertise, highlighting ongoing global talent shortages. Education and training also remain key drivers for such assignments, while client-facing and sales roles are more often supported through shorter-term travel.
Assignment structures and policies vary widely. The largest share of assignees (37%) remain on home-based contracts, while only 13% are placed on host-country contracts, reflecting a strong preference among employees to retain home or international benefits. Nearly a quarter of organizations use a mixed or case-by-case approach, which may indicate flexible mobility strategies, outdated policies, or inconsistent implementation across regions. Assignment lengths have shifted slightly, with two-to-three-year postings now most common and a continued decline in assignments lasting more than three years.
Benefits and support for international assignees are evolving in response to cost pressures, compliance demands, and employee expectations. International health insurance is now the most widely offered and most valued benefit, followed by relocation services and life insurance, while employee assistance programs are increasingly seen as essential for supporting mental well-being. However, pre-deployment health screenings and international savings plans remain relatively rare, creating potential risks for assignment success and long-term financial security.
Only a minority of companies provide retirement or savings plans for assignees, despite growing recognition of their value, particularly for habitually mobile employees or those in countries with limited or unstable retirement systems. Compliance, cost management, relocation support, and safety remain the top challenges, reinforcing the need for consistent global policies, equitable benefits, and portable retirement solutions that can support a more mobile workforce over time.
Remote Work Wins and Gaps
Forty-eight percent of respondents have employees who work outside formal business travel or international assignment programs. Remote work policies vary widely across organizations. The most common approach allows up to 30 days of remote work per year, adopted by 37% of respondents. A further 21% permit “workations” linked to work-initiated trips, while 17% allow permanent remote working. At the same time, a growing number of companies no longer permit remote working abroad, citing increasing complexity around compliance, risk management, technology, and operational oversight.
Most organizations are attempting to bring structure to this area: 63% say they have clearly defined remote-working policies and guidelines available to employees, while 16% are still developing them. The biggest challenge remains providing accurate guidance on tax and social security obligations, followed by immigration requirements, policy design, and employee well-being.
Notably, 39% of respondents offer no specific benefits to remote workers, assuming home-country benefits remain sufficient. Among companies that do provide support, health insurance is most common, followed by business travel and life insurance, with a small minority offering dedicated remote-working allowances.
Global Mobility’s Imperative
The IPM Survey underscores the growing complexity of international mobility, shaped by regulatory, economic, technological, and societal factors. Companies must develop flexible, compliant, and employee-centric strategies that prioritize safety, well-being, and cost management. International assignments, though limited in scale, continue to be strategic for leadership, technical expertise, and cross-border knowledge transfer.
Overall, global mobility strategies serve as a competitive advantage and a retention tool, enabling organizations to respond to changing business needs while supporting employees’ personal and professional development. By aligning mobility programs with broader corporate objectives, companies can foster a sustainable and inclusive approach to international workforce management, enhancing resilience in an increasingly interconnected world.