Presentation Information
[SY-103-02]Integrating Culture into Corporate Mental Health: Supporting Japanese Expatriates and Their Families in the U.S.
*Haruka Kokaze1,2, Kathleen Pike1,2 (1.One Mind(United States of America), 2.Columbia University's Mental Health + Work Design Lab(United States of America))
Keywords:
Mental health,Japanese expatriates,Corporate wellness,Cultural competence,Cross-cultural support
Over a lifetime, the average professional spends about 90,000 hours at work. Employers therefore have both the opportunity and the responsibility to foster mentally healthy workplaces by lowering exposure to psychosocial risks, building organizational capacity and reducing stigma, and ensuring that high-quality care is easy to access. For Japanese multinational corporations with U.S. subsidiaries this is especially urgent: according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, majority-owned Japanese affiliates employed nearly one million Americans in 2022, making Japan the second-largest foreign employer in the U.S. These affiliates contributed over $174.4 billion to U.S. gross domestic product and invested $57.7 billion in capital expenditures while conducting $11.5 billion in research and development. Japanese expatriates and their families face unique stressors when relocating abroad. Navigating new cultural, social and professional landscapes can heighten stress and isolation. Language differences, unfamiliar workplace norms and limited access to culturally informed mental health care only intensify these challenges. This presentation will share the latest data and insights and equip business and scientific leaders with practical evidence-based strategies to proactively support Japanese expatriates and their families in the U.S. and apply these lessons to other overseas assignments before, during and after deployment.