Lets get straight to the facts: business travel often causes travel-induced health problems that can eventually lead to workers’ compensation claims. You don’t want workers’ compensation claims.
The following are the three biggest factors that contribute to health risks in frequent business travelers:
- Poor or minimal sleep
- Fattening and salty restaurant food
- Long work days and long periods of inactivity
Sound familiar? Long travel days of little sleep only interrupted by the Mcdonalds at the rest stop or airport is healthy right?
Those three factors often contribute to:
- Obesity
- Hypertension
- Heart disease
- Depression
In addition, long periods of sitting in cars, trains and planes increase circulatory problems and add stress to back and joint problems. The traveling lifestyles of many frequent business travelers actually equate to that of long-distance truckers. The down economy has created a push for expense cost control which only made it worse for travelers’ health. This may be from taking earlier/later flights, losing gym memberships, or not being compensated for bag fees.
Last year Columbia University researchers compared health risks for employees with different levels of business travel. The results? Rates of self-reported “less-than-good-health” increased with nights traveled. This is a “DUH” moment I hope. However, those “extensive travelers” were 260 percent more likely to rate their health as fair to poor, compared to the lighter travelers. That is a huge difference!
So what can you do to combat the issue you ask?
Implement some risk management techniques. More organizations need to recognize the necessity of assisting employees in finding ways to exercise, eat well and reduce stress during business travel. Some progressive organizations are already taking steps to help such as:
- Making sure hotels have fitness facilities or walking trails
- Providing in-room workout DVDs
- Offering stress-management classes
- Tying meal reimbursements to healthier food choices
- Providing sample menus and calorie counts
- Giving employees comp time to decompress after extensive travel
Remember, companies that assist their travelers to regain some semblance of control of diet and activity schedules, and manage health while on the road should see employees who meet both professional and personal targets without the workers compensation claims.
