The 3WE project investigates the processual well-being of female workers in foreign financed firms and farms in Ethiopia. Preliminary insights show that women view these jobs as a temporary solution until they transition to better jobs and self-employment. Their well-being is embedded in the social relationships within and beyond their workplace. Interviews with employers and managers indicate a widespread compliance culture to international standards on working conditions which comes at the expense of more effective investments in culturally sensitive foreign and local managers, human resource policy on worker retention and upskilling, and effective multi-stakeholder engagement.