The Role of Travel Managers in Promoting Health and Wellness Amongst Business Travellers

For companies, ensuring that employees remain healthy, stress-free, and productive during business trips is critical to both the success of the trip and the long-term well-being of their workforce. This is where travel managers play a vital role. By proactively managing and promoting health and wellness, they ensure that employees stay safe, healthy, and balanced throughout their travel journeys.
In this post, we will explore how travel managers promote health and wellness by addressing key areas such as travel health, stress management, and fostering a healthy work-life balance for their business travellers.

The Importance of Health and Wellness in Business Travel
Health and wellness are more than just buzzwords when it comes to business travel; they are crucial to ensuring that employees perform at their best while on the road. Business travellers often face a unique set of challenges, including irregular sleep patterns, long hours of travel, poor access to nutritious food, and the stress of tight schedules.
Failing to address these challenges can lead to burnout, health issues, and reduced productivity, which in turn can negatively impact both the employee and the organization. Therefore, travel managers need to be proactive in ensuring that wellness is a top priority for every business trip.

Travel Health: Prioritizing Physical Well-Being
Ensuring the physical health of business travellers starts with planning ahead and providing them with the resources and support they need to stay healthy during their trips. Travel managers can take several steps to ensure that their travellers’ physical well-being is prioritized:

1. Pre-Trip Health Support
Travel managers can help business travellers prepare for trips by providing pre-travel health information and resources:
Vaccinations and Health Advisories: Before sending employees to international destinations, travel managers should provide information on required vaccinations and health advisories. This helps travellers stay protected against infectious diseases and potential health risks.
Health Insurance and Medical Assistance: Travel managers should ensure that employees have comprehensive travel health insurance and access to medical assistance if needed. Providing information about nearby medical facilities and telemedicine options can be particularly useful in foreign countries.

2. Healthy Travel Environments
Travel managers can choose travel options that promote physical well-being:
Flight Comfort and Upgrades: Offering business travellers the option to book premium or business class for long-haul flights can help reduce physical discomfort and fatigue. Extra legroom, more comfortable seats, and better amenities contribute to a more relaxing flight experience.
Healthy Hotel Choices: Travel managers can prioritize accommodations that offer fitness centers, healthy dining options, and wellness amenities such as spa services or meditation rooms. Choosing hotels located near parks or fitness centers can also encourage travellers to maintain their exercise routines.

3. Encouraging Healthy Eating
Diet plays a significant role in maintaining health during travel. Travel managers can assist by:
Providing Information on Healthy Dining Options: Creating guides that highlight healthy restaurants or meal options near the hotel or meeting locations can encourage travellers to make nutritious choices.
Partnering with Hotels for Special Menus: Working with hotels to offer healthy meal options on-site can also help travellers avoid fast food or unhealthy snacks, which are often the easiest choices during hectic trips.

Stress Management: Reducing the Mental Strain of Business Travel
Business travel can be stressful due to tight schedules, time zone changes, and constant transitions. To help travellers manage stress, travel managers can implement strategies that prioritize mental well-being:

1. Minimizing Travel-Related Stress
One of the best ways to reduce stress for business travellers is to minimize travel-related hassles:
Direct Flights and Flexible Schedules: Whenever possible, booking direct flights can reduce the stress of long layovers and additional transit time. Additionally, offering flexible travel schedules that allow employees to avoid rush hours or inconvenient departure times can make a significant difference.
Streamlining Travel Logistics: Travel managers can take the stress out of trip planning by offering streamlined, easy-to-follow itineraries. Using travel management software that provides real-time updates on flight changes, gate information, and car rentals can also prevent last-minute stress.
Comfortable Accommodations: Ensuring that accommodations meet the traveller’s comfort preferences—such as quiet rooms, blackout curtains, and comfortable bedding—can help reduce the fatigue that comes from poor sleep and high-stress environments.

2. Mental Wellness Resources
Supporting mental wellness during business trips is key to reducing burnout and improving focus:
Mindfulness Apps and Relaxation Techniques: Travel managers can provide travellers with access to mindfulness apps or relaxation techniques that they can use while traveling. Apps like Calm or Headspace help employees decompress and manage stress during flights or in the evenings.
Encouraging Breaks and Downtime: When planning itineraries, travel managers should build in sufficient downtime for employees to rest, relax, and recharge. This is particularly important on longer business trips or trips that span multiple time zones.

3. Crisis Support
Stress levels can increase dramatically if travellers experience unexpected disruptions, such as flight cancellations, lost luggage, or health emergencies. Travel managers should provide:
24/7 Support Systems: Establishing a dedicated support line for emergencies or unexpected disruptions helps travellers feel reassured that they are never alone and can get help at any time.
Crisis Management Protocols: In the event of crises such as natural disasters, health emergencies, or political unrest, travel managers should have clear protocols in place to assist travellers in getting home safely or seeking medical attention.

Promoting Work-Life Balance for Frequent Travellers
Frequent travel can disrupt an employee’s work-life balance, leading to exhaustion, missed personal events, and deteriorating mental health. Travel managers can help promote a healthy work-life balance for employees who are constantly on the go by:

1. Limiting Travel Fatigue
Reducing travel frequency and optimizing trip schedules can help alleviate the fatigue that comes with constant travel:
Bundling Trips: If an employee needs to travel to multiple locations, travel managers can bundle trips to reduce the number of flights and transitions. This minimizes the physical toll of frequent flying and allows for more efficient time management.
Encouraging Remote or Hybrid Meetings: Travel managers should consider whether every trip is necessary. In cases where virtual meetings or hybrid setups can suffice, they can suggest alternatives that allow employees to stay home while achieving the same business outcomes.

2. Supporting Time for Rest and Recovery
Ensuring employees have time to rest after trips is essential for maintaining productivity and preventing burnout:
Post-Trip Recovery Days: Travel managers can work with HR to establish policies that allow for rest days after long business trips, ensuring employees have time to recover before returning to work.
Encouraging Time for Personal Activities: Building free time into the travel itinerary for personal activities or exploration can contribute to a more enjoyable and balanced travel experience.

3. Encouraging Family Inclusion
For employees who travel frequently, the ability to include their families in select trips can make a significant difference:
Family-Friendly Policies: Offering family-friendly travel options for longer trips, such as extended stays, can help employees maintain a sense of balance and allow them to reconnect with loved ones while fulfilling business obligations.

Conclusion

The role of travel managers in promoting health and wellness for business travellers is more crucial than ever. By focusing on travel health, managing stress levels, and encouraging a strong work-life balance, travel managers can ensure that employees remain healthy, engaged, and productive while on the road. Prioritizing wellness not only benefits the travellers themselves but also contributes to better business outcomes by improving performance and reducing travel-related burnout. As companies increasingly recognize the value of a healthy workforce, travel managers who champion wellness initiatives will play an essential role in creating more sustainable and traveller-friendly programs.

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Posted on 10 January 2025 by VMR Travel