According to a survey of employees who travel for work, only 34 per cent love doing it. An additional 36 per cent say they primarily do it to advance their career, while the remaining 30 per cent don’t enjoy it at all.
So many people dislike travelling for work, from sleep disruption to a general distaste for air travel. Not all these can be helped. But employees who travel for work can take specific steps to ensure their health and happiness aren’t affected by their travels.
But why shouldn’t travelling workers grin and bear it?
Travelling can help you develop essential skills and increase your employability in other companies. According to one study, happy employees are around 12 per cent more productive. So, staying comfortable while you travel may help you seal the deal on a big client or tie up loose ends on an important contract.
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How To Prioritize Family Time?
Travelling employees’ biggest complaint is being away from family (23 per cent of respondents). Thankfully, there are many ways to manage the work-life balance problem with travelling for work. Here are just a couple:
1. Make Time For A Digital Connection
Apps like Skype or FaceTime are becoming increasingly common and accessible. If you’re unsure how to use them, enlist a tech-minded co-worker or family member to help you set it up.
2. Unplug Entirely On Weekends Or Days Off
Unfortunately, not everyone will have a say in whether they can avoid travelling on weekends. If you can choose your work travel dates, do your best to avoid the weekends, and give yourself some time to spend with your family.
Also, avoid checking your work phone, emails, and other communications outside work hours. Instead, opt to spend your free time with your family.
How To Support Your Health And Happiness?
Besides being away from their family, employees’ other concerns when travelling for work included poor sleep, a bad diet, and a lack of exercise. These three concerns are about a third of the biggest worries travelling workers experience.
Fortunately, these are some of the most manageable problems to fix. Here are a few tips to help you make your health and welfare a priority while travelling:
3. Take Care When Booking Flights
Although not every employee can book their flights, for those that can, choosing a later flight (versus red-eye at 6 AM) can help you conserve sleep. If you need to be at your destination earlier in the day, opt to fly the evening before so you don’t mess up your sleep schedule too much.
Alternatively, if you have to leave on an earlier or overnight flight, try following some of Adam White’s suggestions for Travel and Leisure on how to sleep on planes. His most significant suggestion is trying to control the environmental factors that affect sleep quality: light, noise, and temperature. The solution is to have a handy blanket, noise-cancelling (or noise-reducing) headphones, and an eye mask.
4. Pack A Small Snack Pack Of Healthy, Delicious Eats
Many flights may offer in-flight snacks, but the nutritional value of these items isn’t spectacular. Instead, try to pack your selection of tasty and nutritious foods. Protein bars or fruit and nut bars travel great and may offer just the right pick-me-up before a long flight. Drink packets that add flavour to water and immune system-boosting vitamins also make great travel items.
5. Track Expenses
Tracking your expenses while you travel can save you time, money, and stress. It’s a relatively easy task, but not everyone is doing it. One in 10 self-employed workers don’t even track expenses. Try using a business card when you travel or keep all your receipts. Reducing the stress of tracking down expenses months later is worth the time.
6. Take Advantage Of Hotel Amenities
Many hotels do their best to cater to the travelling employee. Some may provide a continental breakfast or have a fully equipped gym. Whatever amenities exist at your hotel, try to take advantage of them. Keeping your routine going is essential in maintaining your health.
How To Stay Productive?
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While your overall happiness can undoubtedly improve your productivity at work, these tidbits can also help.
7. Take Advantage Of Quiet Moments To Work
Travelling can easily throw off your work schedule, as you’ll spend more time waiting in airports, getting situated in your hotel, and finding your destination. However, you can take advantage of some quieter times—like when you’re waiting at your gate or on the plane—to get some work done, study, or prepare for meetings.
Travelling offers many people the opportunity to learn a new language, so practising common phrases might help you prepare for travelling internationally.
8. Plan Ahead For Your Trip
Research your destination before you leave to know where you’ll need to go and how far away your hotel and the airport are from your destination. You can also research nearby restaurants and where you can stop to stock up on supplies.
Additionally, if you want to work while you’re travelling, be sure your laptop battery is fully charged, and you have access to all the files you need. Also, keep in mind that not every airport has reliable Wi-Fi. Downloading files can help you when you can’t get online.
A Little Mindfulness Goes A Long Way
Travelling can take a lot out of a person, and forcing yourself to work when you don’t have the energy will only produce mediocre results. Recognizing the symptoms early if you’re familiar with burnout can help you avoid worsening it.
Early signs can be anything from frustration and anger to writer’s block and a drop in creativity. Once you notice those signs, take a step back and take care of yourself. Whether that means turning in for the night, going for a walk, or trying to take a nap, your brain (and your work) will benefit from the break.
Travelling for work isn’t for everyone, but that doesn’t have to make it a bad experience. A little mindfulness can go a long way in making yourself happy and comfortable, even away from home.