While business travel can be rewarding, it can also be incredibly stressful and fatiguing, so it’s worthwhile considering that for employees who travel regularly for work purposes, additional support may be needed. The constant rush, time zone changes, pressure to perform and time away from personal commitments can take its toll on one’s physical and mental well-being. To mitigate these challenges, individuals and organisations must adopt strategies to reduce business travel stress and fatigue.

8 Top Tips for ensuring the well-being of your regular travellers:

1. Plan and prepare properly: This is the first step in reducing traveller’s stress levels and ensuring a productive and positive experience. Don’t keep them waiting unnecessarily for travel itineraries, booking documentation and information required for the trip. Book well in advance to avoid the anxiety of last-minute hassles.
2. Prioritise trip safety and health requirements: As part of planning, address traveller safety and health risks per destination. Travellers need to know that their safety is a priority for the business and that risk has been mitigated by up-to-date information and clear policies.  
3. Be flexible on scheduling and time management: Whenever possible, facilitate flexible scheduling, giving employees time to recover after long trips. This can include an extra day before or after meetings to acclimatise to a new time zone or to simply rest. Encourage employees to plan their work during travel, prioritising tasks as well as rest and downtime.
4. Invest in good quality accommodation: Choosing the appropriate accommodation suppliers makes a significant impact on reducing travel fatigue. Employees need safe, comfortable and restful spaces to recharge during their trips. Where possible, encourage access to gym or exercise facilities, as well as healthy meal options.
5. Review your travel policy regularly: Make sure your guidelines prioritise traveller comfort and health. Look closely at arrangements for accommodation and transport, flight durations and layovers, safety and the number of consecutive days of travel.
6. Create opportunities for feedback: Encourage regular travellers to share their experiences and suggest improvements. This assists in refining the travel policy continually.
7. Include traveller well-being in your training programmes: Provide access to training and support services specifically aimed at employees who are regularly away for work purposes. This should include strategies to manage travel stress and fatigue and cover areas such as better sleep on the road, nutrition tips, and relaxation methods.
8. Ensure that mental health support is available: Being away from home and the pressure related to business travel takes its toll on mental health. Include access to mental health resources and counselling services as part of a holistic corporate wellness program.

Proactively managing traveller well-being will ensure that employees remain healthy, productive, and motivated while on the road – a definite win for the business!