Working all over the world Results from the first IRS survey of policy and practice on international assignments indicate that many employers are offering comprehensive support packages and generous financial incentives to persuade their - often reluctant - staff to spend time abroad. On the other hand, we also detect a widespread concern to contain the escalating costs of dispatching workers overseas. Between them, the 50 firms participating in our survey span a broad range of sectors and emplov around half a ryiilhon people. Respondents include UK-based firms that are expanding overseas, such as airports operator BAA and leading food retailer Tesco, and UK operations of major transnationals, such as the foreign-owned engineering giants Kvaerner and Philips Electronics. Their responses to detailed questions reveal that: eight in 10 have a formal written policy and-or guidelines covering international assigdments; reasons given for the success of international assignments include job satisfaction and happy partners and families; in line with the previous finding, reasons given for the failure of assignments include partner and family discontent and employee dissatisfaction with the job; and where support for partners of employees working abroad is available, it most commonly applies to a married or cohabiting partner of the opposite or same sex.