Steve’s had a brutal travel schedule the last couple of months. He’s been on the road for 28 days so far since September with a few more weeks coming up. I’ve been grounded at home more than usual lately due to family and work constraints. It’s been tough for both of us, but we’ve been down this path many times over the years, and I think we’re taking it in our stride. There’s no question, though, that frequent business travellers endure higher levels of stress.
Is business travel stressing you out?
A recent study found that nearly one in six U.S. road warriors report they are currently or close to burning out on travel. Asked to name the top two causes, they listed the following:
- Too many nights away from home: 41%
- Lack of sleep while travelling: 34%
- General stress of dealing with travel: 33%
- Change in diet and exercise habits: 27%
- Too much unproductive time spent travelling: 23%
- Lack of appreciation from manager and/or employer: 18%
- Lack of advance notice before most trips: 15%
- Loss of in-person time with manager and/or office colleagues: 10%
Source: Survey of 742 U.S. based road warriors conducted May 2018, designed by tClara and administered by MMGY Global. Sponsored by Airlines Reporting Corp., Delta Air Lines, FlightGlobal and tClara.
Steve’s top travel stresses
I asked Steve to list his top business travel stressors. His somewhat aligned with the study’s participants:
- Travel stress (e.g., fear of missing a flight or actually missing a flight).
- Something happening at home and he’s not there to deal with it.
- Amount of working time that business travel requires, which comes with little downtime.
My perspective on business travel stress
Flipping it to the stresses of the spouse of a frequent business traveller, I’d say my worries relate to Steve’s lack of sleep, and difficulty sticking to a healthy diet and exercise schedule. It does really suck when there is any kind of crisis at home, and I’m left to deal with it on my own, but having been through that happening now several times, I’m over it. I’m capable of working through stuff on my own, and I have others around me who can help me out when I’m not. Now that we have five decades of life under our belts, it’s long-term health that nags at me when contemplating our lifestyle.
It’s impossible to eliminate the stress of business travel, but there are things you can do to make it easier. Over time, business travellers develop systems that reduce the friction of being on the road, and new technology plays a significant role in what makes travel easier today than even a decade ago.
Are you a frequent business traveller or the spouse of one? What stresses you out?
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