What To Expect When Business Travels Opens Up Again
So what can we expect for future business travel? How can employees away from home be protected from prevailing risks? And what are employers' legal and moral responsibilities in all of this? This article answers these questions and others.
How Are People Responding To The Idea Of Travelling For Work?
Despite people's reluctance at returning to the office full-time, there's a sense of readiness in the air to hop on a plane to meet with clients or colleagues located halfway across the country and globe.
Furthermore, with several companies looking to adopt remote work permanently or at least considering the possibility of flexible working, business travel isn't merely preferable but crucial for forging professional relationships, bonding and making connections through face-to-face meetups.
Isn't Video Conferencing Technology A Substitute For In-person Meetings?
We've all become quite accustomed and comfortable using Zoom, Google Hangout and Microsoft Office.
Do these platforms, which are widely and regularly used, pose a threat to business travel because of their potential for substituting the latter entirely? Although several predictions are circulating the internet currently, the short answer is probably no.
It can't be denied that video conferencing technology has its limitations. It also can't make up for real human interaction, which is essential for events like sales pitches.
For example, if you want to show your commitment and dedication to a potential high-value client, suggesting a Zoom call when an in-person meeting is expected isn’t advised.
Instead, people are looking toward a future where videoconferencing complements business travel. This means combining virtual interaction and traditional methods when it's safe to do so.
...people are looking toward a future where videoconferencing complements business travel.
What Does Business Travel Entail In A Post-pandemic World?
With globally distributed workforces and remote working becoming the new normal, companys' expectations are changing to future-proof their businesses.
The demands of employees could be domestic or international travelling to meet and engage colleagues to build, promote and maintain workplace culture, helping teammates or subordinates feel like they belong to a team, despite the distance separating them.
Business travel might also be for longer terms because remote workers aren't tied to a specific location for work and might be required to city or country hop or go wherever their jobs take them.
Under these circumstances, employees could make housing demands in the future to avoid paying for accommodation out of pocket.
What Are The Concerns And Risks Associated With Business Travelling?
Despite people warming up to travelling and the risks of flying being monitored constantly, it's understandable that not everyone's on board.
Although evidence has shown that being on a plane installed with medical-grade air filters could be safer than other everyday activities, people aren't ready to be tightly packed into a cabin surrounded by complete strangers.
Instead, individuals might choose an overnight train over a short-haul flight for extra privacy and safely practice social distancing by avoiding airport crowds and queues.
And for those undeterred by the risks of flying, there's always the danger of being stranded amid another health scare, something many may have experienced in the early days of 2020, where borders quickly shut and flights back home cancelled.
Instead, individuals might choose an overnight train over a short-haul flight for extra privacy and safely practice social distancing by avoiding airport crowds and queues.
How Can Employers Mitigate These Risks?
As we move forward into a post-pandemic world where travellers face new risks on the road or air, companies must make health and safety priority number one.
Employers are obliged to keep their workers safe while abroad and minimise risks through duty of care.
This means devising emergency plans to prepare for crisis solutions because accidents, safety concerns and illnesses can happen to on-duty travellers.
Companies might want to rely on specific business tools, like Travel Perk, to keep track of travelling employees, monitor the situation on the ground or make urgent trip changes should health scares or new travel restrictions be imposed that endanger or limit employees’ movements.
Beyond Health And Safety, How Does Business Travel Incorporate Employee Wellbeing?
Even before COVID-19 became part of our lives, duty of care policies were already being looked at and considered for the wellbeing and satisfaction of workers travelling abroad.
These included more flexibility in itineraries to allow for downtime and exploration, choice in hotels and other accommodations that turn a business trip strictly for work purposes into a bleisure stay (mixing business with a bit of leisure).
When things start to open up and become safer, these luxuries and privileges will positively impact remote workers who constantly travel.
These included more flexibility in itineraries to allow for downtime and exploration, choice in hotels and other accommodations that turn a business trip strictly for work purposes into a bleisure stay (mixing business with a bit of leisure).
Will Business Travel Make A Full Recovery?
It's unlikely that business travel will make a complete comeback in the wake of the pandemic.
With businesses struggling to regain financial stability after a tumultuous 2020 and cutting unnecessary costs, travel budgets might be suspended for a while.
Furthermore, travelling costs might be exponentially greater as the airline industry attempts to recover its losses. Ergo, travelling by plane could prove unaffordable.
Therefore, it's realistic to say that business travel won't be returning to pre-COVID levels in the foreseeable future.
However, we can hope for changes to airplane travel where cleanliness, convenience, seamless transfers, and better organisation and connectivity are experienced and emphasised.
What Can We Expect From Transport Hubs?
To prepare for the future, airports aim to implement touchless software that reduces the need for interpersonal contact and enforce social distancing.
Norway is leading the way on this. People travelling to and from the Scandinavian country can check-in, drop off their bags, go through security and board security without making human contact, thus reducing everyone's exposure to COVID-19.
To prepare for the future, airports aim to implement touchless software that reduces the need for interpersonal contact and enforce social distancing.
Conclusion
It's challenging to forecast the future of business travel. Although it's become a reality within reach, travel restrictions remain, and the road to recovery is long and differs across the globe.
We can conclude with certainty that jet-setting employees are empowered and protected by the people they work for.
Being an empowered remote worker lets people work wherever they want or where the job takes them because they're no longer tied to a work location.
This exposure to new cities, various cultures, and scores of talented people is something that virtual connections don't come close to achieving and is one reason why business travel won't be killed off by technology anytime soon.
Furthermore, the company policies highlighting health and safety protect employees against illness, disasters, or becoming stranded far from home.
