Sometimes business needs require sending employees to locations where the living conditions differ greatly from those at home. Current events around the world paint a murkier picture than before, and that’s not taking into account traditional factors that can affect the success of foreign assignments, like climate conditions, disease and sanitation standards, and ease of communications.

To encourage mobility and create fair, consistent financial incentives for hardship locations, reliable information is needed. Mercer’s quality of living data is based on multiple factors and contains all the key elements needed to calculate hardship allowances for transfers to cities around the world. Fairly compensating expatriates keeps you competitive and helps avoid assignee dissatisfaction in challenging or otherwise unique environments.