It’s no secret that corporate travel has been upended in recent years, grinding almost to a halt because of the pandemic and then evolving into a much less-frequent occurrence as companies prioritized virtual meetings. Now, there are hints that a decent recovery is on the horizon, with growth projected for the sector in 2023 and again in 2024.
While this is certainly good news for business travel managers and companies that value face-to-face interactions, new research reveals that most business travelers are not so enthusiastic about being back on the road. The challenge? Many are being thrown back into the “return to normal,” often with little or no guidance on how to navigate travel in a post-pandemic world.
For businesses, the impact of not considering this new environment is significant. According to an Opinium survey commissioned by World Travel Protection, just a third of business travelers (33%) say they are happy to be traveling for work again. Those not so happy to be traveling report being more concerned about their health and well-being while traveling now, compared to before the pandemic, and often feeling stressed, exhausted, homesick, and anxious.
For those of us in the travel risk sector, none of this comes as a surprise. We know that a confluence of frightening and often-stressful factors has permanently changed the global travel landscape and left its mark on corporate travelers everywhere.
Among the new threats are geopolitical conflicts, rising discrimination against certain communities and ethnicities, A.I. and other shifts in technology, and climate change leading to an increase in the incidence of natural disasters, such as hurricanes, earthquakes, and wildfires.
Adding to the angst: The travel industry is still facing staffing shortages, often resulting in flight delays, itinerary interruptions, and more–only exacerbating some employees’ aversion to travel.
Women in particular face anxiety. Almost seven in 10 business travelers agree that traveling for work as a woman is less safe than traveling as a man; and about a quarter of all business travelers–men and women–say they prefer not to travel to countries where women’s rights aren’t protected.
With homophobic rhetoric, hate speech, and legislation intensifying across the U.S. and globally, anxiety among LGBTQIA+ employees is increasing. Facing overt danger and harassment is an obvious source of stress and anxiety, and this can be exacerbated if they also feel forced to hide their sexuality or gender expression, for fear of repercussions.
Even with these heightened risks and anxieties, few companies provide their employees with the critical education and information they need in advance of travel to prepare and protect them. Less than three in 10 employees report receiving practical advice while traveling, including who to contact in an emergency or what to do in the event of an incident. And only a small majority of business travelers believe their company would be able to help if they had an emergency or personal crisis while traveling abroad.
Without adequately communicated support, business travelers may feel uneasy and often take matters into their own hands. (Our survey found that nearly half of business travelers ensure family members or someone at work knows where they are at all times, and about a quarter avoid going out alone after dark. Some even admit to placing obstacles in front of hotel room doors to avoid break-ins.)
All employers have a duty of care to protect their employees from reasonably foreseeable risks that extend beyond physical health and safety, including risks to mental health and well-being. Failure to do so may expose them to significant legal and reputational consequences.
There’s no doubt that social isolation and deteriorating mental health have become much more pronounced among travelers since the pandemic, and this has only been compounded by the stresses of traveling in recent years.
After years of working remotely, often from the comfort and convenience of home, this hardly seems a surprise. Today’s travel landscape has never been more volatile, complex, or unpredictable, and it’s trickier than ever to navigate the risks.
Ensuring the physical and mental health of employees on the road is the responsibility of every employer. By taking a proactive approach to travel safety, businesses can reduce anxiety and stress among their employees, support their mental health needs while away, and ensure they can travel safely and confidently in a post-COVID world.
Frank Harrison is the regional security director, Americas, at World Travel Protection.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
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