INCIDENTS which result in an unnecessary waste of time, such as losing one’s luggage or having to deal with an unstable Internet connection, have the greatest propensity for causing stress to business travellers, according to a recent study by Carlson Wagonlit Travel (CWT).
Part of a wider CWT initiative to shed light on the hidden costs of business travel caused by travel-related stress, the study surveyed 6,000 business travellers from nine global companies to understand the factors that trigger stress during a typical business trip.
Respondents were asked to score 33 stress factors that occur at different stages of a journey (from booking through to transportation, hotel stay and expense report) based on their perceived intensity.
Source: Carlson Wagonlit Travel
CWT discovered that there were three main categories of stress: lost time, surprises (an unforeseen event such as lost or delayed baggage) and routine breakers (inability to maintain daily habits).
Business travellers were most stressed by losing time during their journey, with the highest triggers of stress being lost or delayed luggage, poor Internet connectivity, flying economy on a longhaul flight and flight delays.
The study also highlighted how different segments of business travellers perceive travel stress. For example, travel stress increases with age and travel frequency, while women report higher stress levels than men.
When faced with an unknown language, business travellers from North America indicated greater stress levels than those from other regions. More senior executives also reported higher stress levels than other travellers within the same organisation.
