Navigate employee activism in an International workplace

Employee activism is more prevalent than ever, driven by a workforce that expects companies to take clear stances on social, political, and environmental issues. With the rise of social media, increased global connectivity, and shifting workplace values, employees are more empowered to speak out against company policies they perceive as unfair or misaligned with ethical standards. Companies operating across multiple countries face additional challenges, as cultural differences, labour laws, and workplace norms vary significantly.

In this article, we’ll explore strategies for navigating employee activism in an international workplace, helping businesses create fair, competitive policies that balance employee concerns with organizational goals.

• What is employee activism?
• Drivers of employee activism
• Challenges of an international workforce
• Strategies to navigate employee activism

What is employee activism?

Employee activism is when employees of an organisation advocate for change within the business on a political, social, environmental, or ethical issue. Employee activism can manifest in several different ways: including speaking up against workplace policies, pushing for corporate responsibility, whistleblowing unethical or illegal practices to regulatory organisations, or in the most extreme cases, striking or walking out on work.

If left unchecked, employee activism can be an HR team’s worst nightmare. However, if you learn to identify and properly handle these calls for change by employees, then you can get ahead of the issue before it turns into a legal or reputational battle.

Drivers of employee activism

The most common drivers for employee activism in a business are often external, in other words, forces which are not directly controlled by the business. Nonetheless, the business still must adapt or address these forces. The most common external forces include:

• Social justice movements (such as #metoo, black lives matters, climate activism) which inspire employees drive change in all aspects of their lives, including the workplace.
• Generational shifts; when the incoming generation of workers have a different set of values than what the company is prepared to offer.
• Wealth inequality and rising inflation.
• Competitive pressures within the industry (for example, demanding ethical supply chains and sustainable business practices, or fairer wages, in response to industry shifts).

How your business chooses to adapt or address the external forces will often determine how successful your business will be at attracting and retaining talent. As an HR professional, it is important to keep one ear on the ground to learn about which external forces interest your employees. Your HR team will make the biggest impact when it’s able to identify these trends, develop ways to address them which align with your business’ values, and then communicate them to employees.

On the other hand, employee activism is also be driven by internal forces. These internal forces include unethical practices, misaligned company values and/or culture, and even a lack of transparency behind decision-making. The consequences of failing to address internal forces is what will lead to legal risk, reputational damage, and at best, an extremely disengaged workforce.

In many cases, these internal forces are due to a lack of oversight rather than malicious intent. However we cover strategies to address this lack of oversight in the strategies below.

Challenges of an international workforce

Managing an international workforce often comes with it’s own set of challenges – especially when it comes to employee activism. An international workforce can refer to a workplace where people from different cultural backgrounds work together, or when a business from one part of the world operates in another one.

The biggest obstacle to consider is the differing values around social, political, and environmental issues. This is true of any workplace, but international workplaces are more likely to see more extreme differences in opinion. As an HR team motivated to identify employees’ concerns, you may find it harder to reach a compromise due to these differences in values.

Similarly, the variability in labour laws and rights between countries create different expectations of employees from other countries. These are often what results in “workplace culture shocks”. For example, an employee from a country where sick leave isn’t allocated will be shocked to learn they have a set number of “sick days” when working in the United States.

Cultural differences between leadership and the workforce are important to consider. When expanding into a new market, leaders often try to apply their home-country style, but adapting to local workplace norms tends to be more effective, in our experience. However, they also face inconsistencies in policies across countries, which can create confusion or a sense of double standards.

Strategies to navigate employee activism

Embracing employee collaboration makes navigating activism a cooperative effort with employees rather than a challenge for your HR team to overcome. Not only does collaborating with employees protect your business from legal and/or reputational risk, but it can actually make a significant impact on employee engagement too. In this way, your employees get to take an active role in driving impact about something that truly matters to them.

Our strategies typically suggest allocating organisational resources to allow employee groups to meet and discuss issues facing the organisation. This can include:

• Works Councils
• Whistleblower procedures
• Employee-led corporate social responsibility initiatives
• Leadership training
• Regular townhall meetings, surveys, etc

Do your employees feel heard at your organisation?

Navigating employee activism in an international workplace is essential for maintaining a fair, productive, and engaged workforce while respecting cultural and legal differences. At Octagon Professionals, we help companies develop fair and competitive policies that balance employee well-being with business needs.

From setting up initiatives like Works Councils to fostering open communication, we support businesses in creating workplaces where employees feel heard, valued, and motivated to contribute to shared success. Reach out to us today to learn more about how we can help.