Traveller mental health
Those of us that don’t travel for business may think that it’s a walk in the park to be travelling all over the world for your job. Nice hotels, exotic food, entertainment and new experiences on tap. Wow! It’s like a holiday you get paid for, right? Wrong.
In our experience our clients who are world travellers have an enormous responsibility on their shoulders, maximising their time whilst away, travelling over different time zones and coping with jet lag whilst forging the latest deal is not so easy. Coping with the stress of productivity whilst away can be hard, coping with the stress and pressure of leaving loved ones behind doesn’t help much either.
Of course, travel isn’t always world over. We manage travel for clients who in some cases never leave the UK, but the pressure is still there – deadlines to meet, transport to catch, productivity to maintain and families who’d rather have you at home.
All of this can add up to a progressive feeling of pressure, and employers are increasingly understanding of the impact of this pressure on the traveller, and taking steps to compensate. Bleisure trips are on the increase appealing to all genres, a way of extending your business trips to take in the sights, especially useful for those who don’t get a great deal of paid time off.
There are some key contributing factors to a business traveller’s mental health and wellbeing;
Nutrition
A balanced diet is essential to maintain a healthy body, we all know that right? But, it’s hard in reality to stick to a healthy eating plan when you are perhaps expected to entertain day after day, or the only time you have to eat is a sandwich grabbed between meetings or fast food eaten on the run!
Our top tip – start your day with a healthy power breakfast at the hotel, if you don’t know when you’re going to eat again for the day, this will set you up for the day. Alternatively, if your schedule includes a 3 course lunch and dinner, take the light option at breakfast and pace yourself through your day. Nobody wants to offend their host, but choose a light option where you can, try not to clear your plate and think about substituting meat for fish or a veggie option to keep things light.
Avoid caffeine based drinks and keep hydrated with plenty of water. Nice to relax with a glass of wine or a beer but try to avoid excess (and that groggy head in the morning!).
We like a comment in this article “eat like you’re at home”. Great advice!
Sleep
Long haul travel can take its toll on both sides of the journey. Business travellers are often expected to hit the ground running when they arrive in their destination, with little time to catch up with sleep and rebalance their wake/sleep patterns. Long haul travel west to east is often more difficult to cope with than the other way around, taking up to 6 days to settle into a new routine.
Our top tip – plan your schedule being mindful of your sleep impact if travelling long haul. This article contains some great strategies to help you cope. Our favourites are these:
- choose flights that arrive in the early evening local time, so that you can aim to sleep around 10.00 p.m.
- prepare for a long flight eastward, by getting up and going to bed early for several days before, and for a westward flight, get up and go to bed later
- change your watch to the destination time zone as soon as you board the plane
Exercise
Essential for the business traveller to keep up with fitness routines whilst they’re away. A healthy body and a healthy mind go hand in hand. In practice more difficult to do when schedules are tight and catching up on sleep isn’t the week’s priority.
Our top tip – Most business hotels have fitness suites for guest’s benefit, use these wherever possible to get some exercise whilst away on business. Remember to pack some suitable clothes and if there’s a swimming pool, make good use of it. Swimming is great exercise and can help come people feel more relaxed.
This article may help, our favourite tip is this one:
Walking is something you can do indoors or out and requires no equipment. Walk the airport or walk the hotel or conference centre halls. Walk to your meetings. Take the stairs. Or take your walk outdoors to check out local parks and trails. Ask the hotel staff about safe nearby routes for walking or running.
In summary, it often falls to the travel manager to think about the person they’re organising travel for, in terms of their wellbeing. Wellbeing is usually the domain of the HR department, but we increasingly find that travel managers are conscientiously trying to make a difference.
We can help too, by tailoring travel arrangements to suit the individual with our totally personal and tailored service. Every client is different and has specific needs and requirements and we just love the nitty gritty of meeting and exceeding them where we can.
Try us, you might just feel better about it!
Katharine Cleall from Travel Counsellors for Business, 01202 802166.