Traveller wellbeing: Are companies doing enough?

How far should a company go to ensure the wellbeing of its business travellers? Catherine Chetwynd examines some of the latest measures

Gone are the days when companies took the view that employees who travelled a lot on business accepted the job on that basis and they could put up or shut up.

Now, traveller wellbeing is a serious consideration that requires taking a holistic view of the individual and is part of duty of care. It is also a commercial imperative – employees whose wellbeing is taken into account perform better; in fact, Nuffield Health reports that FTSE 100 companies that monitor wellbeing outperform those who don’t by more than 10%.

In an article entitled Mental health: a state of wellbeing, the World Health Organization defines the condition: “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”

Although a traveller’s health is ultimately the responsibility of the individual, they need to be equipped with the wherewithal to look after themselves so that the stresses and strains of corporate travel do not take their toll. Such strains include disruption to routine, difficulty sleeping, the crossing of time zones and associated effects of jetlag, too much alcohol and no exercise, eating badly and being away from home, friends and family. If staff are exhausted, ill, lonely, stressed and/or unhappy, they can hardly perform at their best, and that is before looking at consequences that include hypertension, obesity and heart disease, plus mental health problems such as burnout.

All these things are highlighted in The importance of business traveller wellbeing in mitigating risk, written by Dr Lucy Rattrie for Drum Cussac, which presents a compelling argument for companies to care about traveller wellbeing as part of a risk management strategy.

But looking after travellers’ wellbeing is difficult because it means different things to different people and definitions vary within companies as well. Someone with a strict training regimen may want to stay in a hotel with a first class gym, where someone else may prefer the more sedentary ability to stream entertainment on a device through the TV in their room.

The requirements of a non-travelling employee will differ from those of a road warrior, and flexibility is key: “Even within that, there are different types – a 22-year-old travelling salesman, a 35-year-old traveller mum and a 60-year-old whose kids have left home,” says Lucy Rattrie. “Most important is for the travel manager to ensure the support they offer is tailored to travellers’ needs, so individuals can choose from a menu.”

Often, small gestures go a long way and offering a company subscription to a meditation or mindfulness app might make the difference between stressed out and chilled out to some.

“The cost is £4-£5 per month per employee and the benefit to mental health will far outweigh increasing the hotel rate cap by £10-£20 per night,” says Head of UK Marketing for Travel and Transport Statesman, Josh Gunn, whose company has a wellbeing council and champion, and promotes it internally. “It is also important to evaluate company culture and what will fit into that when you incorporate wellbeing. If you do something that does not fit, there is a risk it will be seen as a token gesture,” he says.

Everything a traveller does has an impact on their wellbeing: planning a trip, booking it, doing it and returning home, only to have to catch up in the office and with family and friends.

“A better traveller experience means greater engagement with the traveller and ultimately greater compliance, which is the driver to achieving a corporate client’s goals of savings, efficiency, productivity and visibility for both duty of care and supplier leverage,” says Vice President Traveller Care UK for

Evaluate company culture and what will fit into that. If you do something that does not fit, there is a risk it will just be seen as a token gesture"

American Express GBT, Richard Stabbins. GBT research published last year found that 94% of UK travellers cited reasons of health and wellbeing as a justification for booking business travel out of policy.

These days, how a travel policy is constructed and communicated plays a role in recruitment and retention, as Clive Wratten, CEO of Amber Road explains: “Employers increasingly realise that a joined up approach to traveller wellbeing not only aids productivity whilst travelling for business, but has a positive impact on retention.

“It’s also starting to boost recruitment too as we know that the coming generation of employees rate wellbeing at work as one of the top five reasons for choosing the company they work for,” he adds.

While some businesses see a more flexible travel policy as a

key part of delivering a wellbeing programme, others are wary of the financial implications that could result.

Matt Holman, Head of Traveller Experience at Capita Travel and Events, expands:

“While some customers do see investing in wellbeing as exactly that [a relaxed or more flexible policy], we are equally working with others to continue to bring down costs and enhance wellbeing.”

He continues: “Allowing flexibility in the policy will help to engage the travellers better. If they feel supported, trusted and able to make decisions that also benefit their mental wellbeing then the company will benefit in the long-term.”

Traveller wellbeing should be all about “prevention and preparation”, says Amber Road's Wratten. “Employees are corporate athletes so their physical and mental wellbeing is crucial to having them operate at the highest level.”

Wratten says some clients are now building extra time into travel schedules, some are encouraging healthier practices on the road – including better diet and more exercise – and, inevitably, others are attempting to use data to monitor employee health and productivity.

Capita's Holman says many clients are giving greater consideration to 'trip intensity' – how often and for how long people are travelling – and building more recovery time in post-trip.

Katie Skitterall, ATPI's Director of Sales and Operations UK, paints a similar picture: “Intelligence and reporting on the number of flights taken outside business hours enables our customers to shape policy, so that a travel policy can be amended.

Or if a corporate feels that a traveller’s wellbeing is impacted by their travel, procedures can be put in place.”

Allowing flexibility in the policy will help engage travellers and make them feel supported"

Providing travellers with some quality basics is easy for companies to do and removes a lot of stress from the traveller: access to lounges, regardless of class flown; reliable, high-speed wifi in hotels – not just for working but so that travellers can Skype/ Facetime with family; convenient online or mobile check-in – these are all services that can be easily and inexpensively organised.

Some clients of Areka Consulting removed from policy the need to refuel cars to reduce traveller friction when returning vehicles.

“They decided that refuelling isn’t a big ticket item compared to the stress of finding the petrol station and the extra 15 minutes it takes to do it,” says Areka Managing Partner, Louise Miller.

Travel policies are not necessarily becoming less strict but they are becoming more flexible to allow for the variety of individuals on the move. And although the corporate emphasis is still on cost saving, there can be a corollary. Downgrading longhaul travel from business class to economy can save a lot of money but if someone who is travelling in economy has to go straight into a meeting on arrival, they are not going to give their best or get the best out of the meeting. This can be mitigated by giving them time to recover on arrival and a day off when they get back, rather than going straight into the office.

When it comes to accommodation, location rightly comes first. It needs to be in a safe area and close to the people or site that travellers are visiting.

“People pick accommodation because it is in the right place but they go back because of the service they get,” says Hotel Product Manager for FCM, Rachel Newns. Loyalty schemes also play a part. “One customer encourages hotels to boost employees to a higher status. Travellers are happy with the additional benefits and are loyal to the programme, plus the hotel chain is getting the business and leakage is reduced.”

Measuring travellers’ wellbeing is essential to caring for it but people may not want to answer numerous questions about their trip on return. In addition, if they are feeling tired and negative and depressed, they may not want to discuss it or do not even view it as a problem – it just goes with the territory.

“If someone is physically ill there is big focus on it but if someone is a bit tired, day in day out for years, it is going to take its toll. You don’t have to be physically or mentally unwell to need some support,” says Lucy Rattrie. The advantage of companies providing an external person to talk to is that they are impartial and people will often speak freely to them when they might not do so to someone in the office.

It is important that travel managers do not try to tackle this alone. Firstly, it is too great a task, and secondly, it should involve HR, senior executives, procurement and risk departments, otherwise there is a risk of disjointed and ineffective communication.

“We say to our travel managers that they must get their own oxygen mask on before you start helping others,” says Josh Gunn. Anyone who is not looking after themselves is in no fit state to look after others.

Concern for business travellers’ wellbeing means taking a holistic view of the individual and investing in that to ensure they know the negative impact of business travel is being mitigated and that, crucially, they are being looked after.

If someone is physically ill it is usually very visible but if someone is a bit tired, day in day out for years, then that is also going to take its toll"