The increasing internationalisation of business has resulted in a growing number of employees undertaking expatriate assignments. Although international assignments provide employees with opportunities for professional development and cross-cultural exposure, expatriate employees may experience difficulties associated with cultural differences, work demands and adjustment to unfamiliar environments. Cultural intelligence has emerged as an important capability that enables individuals to function effectively in culturally diverse settings. The present study examines the role of cultural intelligence in managing work stress and enhancing job involvement among expatriate employees. The study adopts a quantitative research design and uses a structured questionnaire based on three constructs: cultural intelligence, work stress and job involvement. For the present analytical exercise, 120 synthetic responses were generated using a five-point Likert scale. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Cronbach’s Alpha, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) and Bartlett’s Test, exploratory factor analysis, Pearson’s correlation and regression analysis. The reliability results demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency for all three constructs, with Cronbach’s Alpha values ranging from 0.891 to 0.907. The KMO value was 0.889 and Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity was significant at p < 0.001, supporting the suitability of the data for factor analysis. The correlation analysis indicated that cultural intelligence was negatively associated with work stress and positively associated with job involvement. Regression results further indicated that cultural intelligence significantly reduced work stress, while cultural intelligence positively and work stress negatively predicted job involvement. The findings suggest that cultural intelligence may be an important individual capability for supporting expatriate employees in demanding international work environments.