As Euro-commuting becomes an increasingly popular option for international assignments, HR is being forced to create new policies and procedures. We look at how companies are handling Euro-commuter staff.

Commuting is tough

Airport terminals jammed with travellers carrying briefcases, rather than suitcases, at the end of the weekend is one sign that Euro-commuting has become one of the most popular types of international assignment on the continent. In the meantime, IHR managers back at the home office are looking at the best ways to manage the growing number of commuters.

John Pfeiffer is managing director of compensation consultancy Airinc Europe, Associates for International Research, Inc. As recently as two years ago, Pfeiffer said few IHR managers had developed Euro-commuter policies. But this has started to shift.

"It has to do with the critical mass that you have [working] on this basis," Pfeiffer said. Once there are a significant number of Euro-commuters, "then companies are anxious to put some policies in place."

What to consider

Pfeiffer says thoughtful Euro-commuting packages should consider three factors.

The first, naturally, is compensation, which should ideally include paid accommodation that includes kitchen facilities. Assuming this, a reasonable per diem can be determined. Because it is not a business trip and the assignee has access to a kitchen, the per diem does not need to be as high. For example, a business trip to Amsterdam may necessitate a EUR 60 per diem but a Euro-commuter in the Dutch capital will need only EUR 33.

Second, the company must decide on transportation, both in the host country and for trips home. How will the employee get around in the host country? And how often is the company willing to send them home? This can range from once a month to weekly. Since travel will occur in peak periods, companies will also need to consider paying peak prices, which Pfeiffer said will impact the bottom line of the assignment.

Third, the tax consequences need to be assessed. Once an employee is working away from the home office more than 181 days a year, there will be tax implications. Companies need to ask themselves: What’s going to be taxable? And what is the tax legislation?

Dexia, one of Europe's largest financial institutions, developed a Euro-commuting IHR policy two years ago, said Compensation and Benefits Manager Mazen Mazranni from his Brussels office. This includes paid accommodation with kitchen facilities, a monthly trip home and a limit of three years.

How long to commute for?

But Dexia does not like its employees to Euro-commute for more than 18 months, Mazranni said. After that time, they typically start to have problems with their families.

Pfeiffer agrees with this timeframe and says it is advisable to spend a maximum of two years commuting. Even with sufficient compensation packages, IHR managers tell him that "assignees are rarely prepared for what they are getting themselves into."

Commuters tend to work harder during the week because they are away from home and are without their social network. When they do get home at the weekend – whether weekly or monthly – there can be a struggle as well. The family is eager to catch up with the commuter while he/she often just wants to unwind. This naturally creates a more intense work and family life.

Among those facing the realities of Euro-commuting is one full-time consultant with a leading petrochemical company, who did not wish to have his name used for this article. He commutes home to Scotland from his office in the Netherlands every fortnight to see his family.

Though the company had offered to re-locate the whole family, the consultant did not want to interrupt a critical point in his son’s education. So, instead, the family and company agreed on a Euro-commuting arrangement. He's pleased with the package he receives, which includes travel expenses and an apartment.

"Because I'm out here on my own, I tend to remain in the office longer than I would otherwise, so you could argue that my work-life balance could be better!" he said.

Coping with the stress

The toughest part is the actual commuting. To be in the office by 9.30am Monday, he has to leave his home in Scotland at 4.45am. He could return to Den Haag on Sunday but the last flight is in the late afternoon, which would cut his weekend short.

"The effect of the early flight is that I'm a 'zombie' for most of Monday and it has a knock-on effect on the rest of the week," he said. "You do (sort of) get used to it with time."

Michael Dickmann runs the Cranfield MSc in International Human Resource Management in the United Kingdom and is the director of the Centre for Research into the Management of Expatriation (CReME). The rise in Euro-commuting is one part of the overall trend moving away from long-term assignments.

"I'm not sure they take full account of stress levels," Dickmann said. "I would wish to see more creative policies to help these people balance."

But Pfeiffer points out that Euro-commuter option also comes from the needs of the employee.

"The whole idea of the Euro-commuter policy really came up to accommodate the professional-private balance," he said. "This was a way for international exposure without requiring assignees to ask their spouse to give up their career."

Updated August 2005

Jennifer Hamm is a freelance journalist based in the US.