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Business travel can take a toll on employees’ physical and mental health, yet a recent State of the Market Survey from Flight Centre Travel Group reveals that only 36% of companies consider traveller wellbeing a top priority. This highlights the need for SMEs to align their travel policies with practices that support both the mental and physical wellness of their employees on the road.
To help address this, Flight Centre Travel Group’s flagship SME business travel company, Corporate Traveller, has released its top tips for business owners and frequent travellers, offering practical ways to protect and enhance traveller mental and physical wellbeing during business trips.
Donna Joines, UK Managing Director, Corporate Traveller, says: “For many SMEs business travel is a non-negotiable and a critical part of operations as they grow, innovate and expand into new markets.
“We’ve certainly seen business trips really rebound in the last year and that pace is not going to slow down. This makes it even more important that companies really take a step back and look at how they are supporting their employees mental and physical wellbeing while they are travelling.
“Over the last number of years, we’ve seen some really great initiatives incorporated into the workplace to support mental wellbeing but I think there is more work to be done to help businesses enhance their travel policies to support their employees while on the road.”
It is estimated that in the UK every year, 18.5 million days of work are lost due to poor mental health. Employers have a duty of care to ensure their teams keep themselves safe and well, especially when travelling.
“In some old travel policies, hotels, and flights were all about maximising productivity over employee wellbeing. It’s time to change that. Keeping employees happy, high-performing, and loyal means taking a more balanced approach. It’s time we step up and ask the right questions about traveller wellness,” added Joines.
Whether your managing travel for your employees or a frequent traveller yourself, here are Donna’s key tips for prioritising wellbeing during business travel:
1. Update travel policies to prioritise flexible travel schedules
Allow employees to have flexibility in their travel schedules, including options for early arrivals or extended stays to avoid red-eye flights and minimise travel fatigue. Rigid travel schedules that focus only on cost savings can cause stress and disrupt sleep patterns, which impacts both physical and mental health. By offering flexibility, companies can help employees feel more rested and productive during business trips.
2. Select partners that focus on wellness
Ensure that accommodations are wellness-friendly, including hotel partnerships with fitness facilities or proximity to green spaces for relaxation. Provide access to wellness options such as gyms, fitness classes, or mindfulness apps as part of the travel policy
Access to these facilities might seem simple but physical activity and mental relaxation can really mitigate the effects of long flights, jet lag, and the stress of work-related travel, promoting better health and reducing burnout.
3. Emphasise Work-Life Balance During Travel
Bleisure travel is booming. Employees are tacking on holiday time before or after work trips to avoid returning to overflowing inboxes. Also bringing family members can help frequent travellers feel more connected. Implementing policies that restrict work communications after hours, or allow employees to take recovery days post-trip to decompress can really help support work-life balance ensuring employees remain energised and mentally healthy while traveling.
4. Infuse offsites and events with wellness
If your company is hosting an offsite meeting, conference or team session, look to integrate wellness activities in the schedule. Companies are partnering with wellness-focused hotels or destinations, taking offsite meetings, team workshops, and strategy sessions to places designed for recharging. Think massages, adventure activities, healthy meals, meditation, and movement seamlessly blend ed with traditional business sessions.
5. Remind employees how to stay healthy on the road
There are some key choices that travellers can make for themselves while they’re travelling to stay healthy and it’s important that companies proactively communicate and engage in this dialogue with their employees. Tips such as eating balanced meals, limiting caffeine and alcohol, prioritising exercise and building healthy pre-travel routines so you are prepared and well rested before a trip, are all helpful lifestyle reminders for employees who find themselves on the road a lot.
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