Business Travel News - October 2023
World Travel Protection
We provide medical, security and travel risk management for corporate and educational travellers.
HOW TO REDUCE THE STRESS AND ANXIETY OF BUSINESS TRAVEL
The Impact Of Business Travel On Mental Health And How To Create A More Supportive Workplace
You're probably well aware of how your mental health affects your success at work. Employees experience stress and burnout from numerous things including:
Business travel can have a significant impact on mental health, especially if it is frequent or unpredictable.
Employees who travel for business may experience:
A recent survey by Opinium on behalf of World Travel Protection found that the most common mental health implications of business travel are exhaustion (32%), stress (30%), homesickness (29%), and anxiety (28%).
Dr. Joel Lockwood, Chief Medical Officer, Americas, World Travel Protection, highlights the rise of homesickness and deteriorating mental health among travellers since the pandemic. "The stress of travel and being away from traditional support networks is challenging for many people, and this is compounded by a burnout created by the Covid-19 pandemic. The severity of episodes and shortness of onset are certainly key areas to watch," he said.
7 WAYS TO PROTECT YOUR MENTAL HEALTH WHILE TRAVELLING
Practical Strategies to Protect Your Well-being During Work-Related Travel
Are you a business traveller planning your next work-related trip? Don’t forget to leave some space in your carry-on bag for these mental health tips! Work-related travel can be particularly stressful because you’re away from your usual routines and support systems. Time zone changes, poor sleep, and unexpected changes in your itinerary can all contribute to heightened levels of stress and anxiety. To ensure you’re able to stay mentally healthy while on the road, we’ve put together a list of the top seven strategies for protecting your mental well-being during travel.
ONLY A THIRD OF POST-PANDEMIC BUSINESS TRAVELLERS ARE HAPPY TO BE BACK ON THE ROAD
Here’s why travelling for work is making us feel stressed, exhausted, and homesick.
It’s no secret that corporate travel has been upended in recent years, grinding almost to a halt because of the pandemic and then evolving into a much less-frequent occurrence as companies prioritised virtual meetings. Now, there are hints that a decent recovery is on the horizon, with growth projected for the sector in 2023 and again in 2024.
While this is certainly good news for business travel managers and companies that value face-to-face interactions, new research reveals that most business travellers are not so enthusiastic about being back on the road. The challenge?
Many are being thrown back into the “return to normal,” often with little or no guidance on how to navigate travel in a?post-pandemic world.??For businesses, the impact of not considering this new environment is significant.
According to an Opinium survey commissioned by?World Travel Protection, just a third of business travellers (33%) say they are happy to be travelling for work again. Those not so happy to be travelling report being more concerned about their health and well-being while travelling now, compared to before the pandemic, and often feeling stressed, exhausted, homesick, and anxious.?Get the full Fortune story written by travel security expert Frank Harrison HERE>>
MEET THE EXPERT:
Regional Security Expert Frank Harrison
With a diverse background in emergency, operations and security risk-management planning, Harrison joined the?World Travel Protection?team in February 2021.??
“I am passionate about security as a visible, spoken activity that is reflected in a company’s culture and people,” says Harrison.?
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“I have always believed in people as our strongest asset and to have the opportunity at World Travel Protection to be customer facing is an exciting challenge.”?
Harrison possesses a Graduate Degree in Human Security and Peacebuilding and has worked across the globe for 20 years. His work in public security and safety, as well as consulting for the extractive resource sector, has taken him to often hostile and austere locations such as West Africa, the Middle East and the Arctic.?
Since starting his role as Security Director at World Travel Protection, based in Toronto, he has focused on delivering security tools to front-line assistance team members. Harrison has also developed his role to support travelers who may experience a security-related crisis event.??
“I assist by developing best-in-class security tools and service offerings that can be easily understood and used,” says Frank.?
“Commitment is a two-way process, and I am impressed with the support and engagement from leadership to support our customers and our people.”?
Harrison says if the pandemic can be used as a lesson, it is that no one person can manage this risk alone, no matter how travel savvy they believe they are.??
With an extensive list of destinations already ticked off his travel list, His favorite place to venture is Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada.?
“It’s a land of mountains that disappear into clouds with trees that dwarf the landscape around you and beauty that takes your breath away at every opportunity.”?
CHECK OUT NAVIGATE PODCAST:
"How To Manage Mental Health and Stress Responses"
Feeling overwhelmed by situations that don’t normally phase you? Has the coronavirus pandemic left you feeling anxious, isolated, or exhausted?
In part two of her conversation with NAVIGATE, integrative psychotherapist and advanced craniosacral therapist Charlotte Copeland shares her expert tips on how to support mental?health, from daily life stress to?the new pressures and concerns as business travel resumes.
The term “fight or flight” is commonplace, but here Charlotte explains how prolonged periods of stress – like ongoing COVID fatigue – can change the brain to become threat-focused, triggering threat responses to everyday stress such as withdrawal,?aggression or irritability.
In this travel podcast we discuss how to shift your mindset to stressors, along with simple strategies and valuable tools that can help lower the stress response and give your system a break.
In charge of a travelling workforce? Charlotte also offers advice on how organisations can empower themselves to lead the charge in mental health support, particularly for upcoming business travel.
DID YOU KNOW? ISO 31030 is an industry-first best practice framework that helps organisations evaluate and manage their travel risks effectively.
Are you looking to implement the ISO 31030 framework into your travel risk policy soon? Here are FAQs and a downloadable guide to support your duty of care obligations and get your ISO 31030 journey started.
ABOUT US:
For 30 years,?World Travel Protection?has taken care of corporate and leisure travellers across the globe by providing access to 24-hour emergency assistance.
In addition to support services for medical, travel, and security emergencies, World Travel Protection – part of the Zurich Insurance Group – educates and trains businesses to mitigate exposure to inherent risks associated with travelling abroad. Emergency assistance encompasses medical case management, evacuation and repatriation together with providing access to virtual care services (telehealth) and security intelligence.
A key foundational component of a leading assistance provider is its global network. World Travel Protection’s GlobalCare Network ensures our customers have access to over 85,000 providers worldwide.
Millions of travellers place their trust in World Travel Protection each year for assistance across 200 countries. For more information, visit?www.worldtravelprotection.com.