Frequent Business Travels Causes Stress for Executives

Pity the poor traveling business executive.

Despite the thrill of gallivanting about the globe making deals, staying in fine hotels and entertaining clients in the tastiest bistros, these wandering financial crusaders face a world of stress.

Consider the conflict of inking a multimillion-dollar deal while a child’s piano recital begins a few hours and many miles away. Or imagine the inner struggle of a budding executive who secretly enjoys being away from home for a spell.

“They struggle with the fact that while they may enjoy traveling on business, it really isn’t socially acceptable for them to admit they like being away from the home or office,” said Dr. Barrie Greiff, a psychiatrist at Harvard University and specialist in travel-related stress.

The result of frequent business travel is a love-hate relationship. Traveling executives love being on the road but hate being away from home, especially if those homes are filled with children.

“The main problem is that today’s travelers take their business trips too seriously. They tend to make the trip the focus of their lives, instead of accepting business travel as a part of their normal routine,” Greiff said.

To help understand the stress associated with business travel, Research & Forecasts Inc. of New York conducted a survey on behalf of Hyatt Hotels Corp., which sought ways to soothe the jangled nerves for some of more than 33 million people who travel annually for business purposes.

Of the 700 business travelers interviewed for the survey, 98% said they feel a sense of accomplishment while traveling on company business. But that feeling comes with a price.

About half of those surveyed said they feel “harried or hassled” while traveling, and two-thirds of those polled said they miss their homes.

Greiff said business travelers can alleviate some of the pressure of working away from the home office by developing a sense of humor and making sure that they have some activities not related to work penciled into their schedules.

A dash of on-the-road humor, he said, can go a long way to relieve the stress of being away from home and under the watchful eye of supervisors and clients.

“The model business traveler is flexible, easygoing and actually enjoys a certain amount of pressure,” Greiff said.

Being away from home, though, is no laughing matter.

Greiff says the typical annoyances of travel--delayed airline flights, misplaced baggage, unsuitable accommodations--can combine to jostle the most mellow of business travelers.

Travelers who responded to the survey said they can maintain their effectiveness for about five days, but after that, the road wears thin.

Learning how to anticipate the uncertainties of the road can also help to reduce the stress of a business trip.

Greiff suggested packing a sweat suit or other exercise clothes for a light after-work workout. That may be fine for some travelers, but for those who like to really relax, he said, take along a few books or celebrity magazines, order some snacks from room service or try looking up old friends.

Married travelers should take care not to be away from home on important family occasions. They should also remember that the spouse left at home is the boss of the home front.

For the traveling executive with children, Greiff suggested making sure each child has an itinerary of the trip and recommended that children be told that they can call any time.

Don’t forget that although you may be a senior vice president of sales away from home, that does not abdicate your duties as a parent.

Although 83% of the business travelers surveyed said trips away from home cause greater stress for their spouses, most felt that the extra pressure was worthwhile in terms of career advancement and would not strain their personal relationships.

In fact, getting out of the house for a few days may have a positive effect on marital relations, responded 17% of the business travelers who participated in the survey.

Greiff also recommended a simple axiom to help business travelers keep their stay-at-home partners happy: If you have fun on the road, don’t talk too much about it at home.