New Safeguard Global Research Finds Worker Uncertainty Complicates Global Hiring Plans - PR Newswire
Safeguard Global's latest research reveals a sharp confidence gap between CFOs and workers on global hiring. While 96% of CFOs feel ready to hire across borders, only 57% of workers in the US and UK are willing to work remotely for an overseas employer, according to a survey of more than 1,200 working adults conducted by Dynata. Worker anxiety centres on employers' ability to handle taxes, employment protections, and job security — with salary emerging as the single most effective lever to boost uptake.
Key facts
- 96% of CFOs say their organisation is ready to hire across borders (Safeguard Global CFO report, August 2026).
- Only 57% of US and UK workers are willing to work remotely for an overseas employer.
- 42% of workers would consider physically relocating abroad for a job.
- 85%+ of workers are concerned about how overseas employers handle tax deductions, employment protections, and job security.
- 47% of workers rank a higher salary as the top enticement for taking a global remote role.
- 58% of workers require employer-paid moving expenses before accepting an overseas relocation role.
- 59% of workers would only consider an overseas role if there were no active or recent geopolitical crises.
- 40% of CFOs say geopolitical instability has made them more cautious about global hiring.
- Survey conducted by Dynata; 2,000 total respondents including 1,268 working adults across the US and UK.
Global hiring ambitions held by finance leaders are running well ahead of the workforce's appetite for international employment, according to new research from Safeguard Global released on November 12, 2026.
The report — the second in Safeguard Global's Global Hiring Confidence Series — surveyed 2,000 respondents across the US and UK, including 1,268 working adults, via research firm Dynata. It follows a companion CFO report published in August and reveals a striking disconnect between executive optimism and employee caution.
**The Confidence Gap** Ninety-six percent of CFOs in the earlier survey said their organisations are ready to hire across borders. Yet only 57% of workers would consider taking a remote role with a company headquartered outside their home country. Willingness to physically relocate for work sits at 42% — driven partly by competitive domestic job markets, according to the report.
**What Workers Are Worried About** At least 85% of workers surveyed expressed concern about an overseas employer's ability to correctly manage tax deductions, provide employment protections comparable to domestic standards, and guarantee job security. This stands in notable contrast to the 83% of CFOs who reported confidence in their ability to manage global contracts, payroll, taxes, and benefits for remote workers.
**The Price of Persuasion** Salary is the strongest lever available to global employers looking to attract hesitant workers: 47% of respondents ranked a higher salary well above other incentives — a finding that, according to Safeguard Global, pushes back against the prevailing narrative that flexibility and culture have eclipsed pay as top workforce priorities.
For roles requiring relocation, the bar is higher still. At least half of workers said they would need the employer to cover moving expenses (58%), handle visa and immigration logistics (57%), offer a significantly higher salary (52%), provide temporary housing (51%), and deliver better benefits (50%) before accepting an international posting.
**Geopolitical Risk as a Dealbreaker** Nearly three in five workers (59%) said they would only consider an overseas role if there were no active or recent geopolitical crises in the destination. The sentiment is not confined to employees: 40% of CFOs said geopolitical instability has made their organisations more cautious about global hiring.
**What This Means for Employers** "While workers are open to global work opportunities, they're concerned over whether overseas employers can deliver the same level of benefits, job security, and reliability that they have come to expect from domestic employers," said Bjorn Reynolds, founder and CEO of Safeguard Global. "International employers also need to convince workers that they can offer the same or better support than that offered by local organisations. Employers who can't will have a hard time competing for international talent."
Safeguard Global, which offers employer of record and global workforce enablement services across 187 countries and territories, positions its platform as a solution to the compliance and administration complexity that underpins much of the worker anxiety identified in the report.
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As multinational companies and fast-growing startups expand their talent searches globally, this research quantifies a friction point that HR and global mobility teams often underestimate: workers' trust deficit toward overseas employers. The data makes a direct case for investing in EOR infrastructure, transparent compliance communications, and competitive pay benchmarking — not just operational readiness — before launching cross-border hiring campaigns. The salary-first finding also challenges HR teams whose global value propositions lean heavily on flexibility and culture.
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