Business travellers - fight for your rights!

When I joined Cisco Systems in 1996 it was already a ruthless money making machine. Around then they mandated economy travel for all employees to reduce business travel costs and help margins. Internally this was explained as one way we became so successful (i.e. laser focus on costs). I doubt that, it was a drop in the Pacific ocean, Cisco was successful because of the growth of email and then the Internet. In that gold rush, they made the spades and shovels. 

This unfortunately spread to many of the Fortune 1000 and the once generally positive pursuit of travelling was replaced by no leg room, no food, and seats in the middle of holiday making families. In my view, a massive false 'economy'. And the data backs this up. We, the business traveller, are not machines and frankly the stresses that travel puts us under are possibly traumatic. 

The Research

Enter a brilliant article on the topic published by the Harvard Business Review: "The Health Risks of Business Travel". Some of the main findings are:

1. Jetlag is not just stressful and damaging it is estimated that you need one day recovery for every timezone crossed. "Over 70% of business travellers report some of these symptoms even when they travel across only one time zone"

2. Business trips are very valuable, an article referenced to the HBR piece states "Using this estimate, we calculate that each additional international business trip will increase U.S. commodity exports to the visited country by $36,693 per year on average." (source: Journal of Travel Research)

3. The face to face meetings that business travel enables are crucial for business, even with all the new communications technology we still need to meet in person. "First, in-person meetings have been found to increase rapport and empathy, facilitating cooperation and enhancing bonds between the parties."

What does this mean?

1. As a business traveller, if your company has an economy only program for flights over 2-3 hours, they are sucking value from you, making you a weaker, more stressed person to help their bottom line. 

2. As a business traveller if you can't justify the costs of a business trip (I exclude cash strapped entrepreneurs here) you shouldn't be on the trip in the first place, maybe get on the phone or schedule a Google Hangout. 

3. Finally, if you are good at your job and generating more than average for your company, you are really getting an especially bad deal if you travel coach. 

What to do?

1. Human resources departments should investigate the long term impact of travel on employees. Just as footballers who are not overtrained can play 2-3 years longer, good executives if not over-travelled can generate more value, and for longer. 

2. Business travellers should group together and get clarification on travel policy. They should also make it clear that companies are responsible for the health of their employees while on business, and can be held responsible if things go wrong later. 

3. Companies should reward best employees with better travel perks if they can't afford it across the board. The better employees will be even more productive and less likely to get ill. 

4. If a company won't relent, business travellers should get involved with one of the frequent flyer programs (e.g. Miles & More) and stay loyal so they can maximise any possible benefits. This may mean lounge access or upgrades. 

In conclusion, I know most people won't feel much sympathy for this group, after all we are well paid, but the reality is, if the travel is important for business, the traveller should travel business. 

#Airmilo