An independent study by CWT shows that business travelers who travel frequently are most concerned about the deterioration of home life and pressure on their colleagues. Looking at their private lives, 22 percent believe that their obligations from business trips damage the quality of their relationships and domestic life. In addition, 21 percent are concerned that their families believe that they prefer their business trips over their daily domestic duties.
Looking at the workplace, 22 percent feel guilty that their colleagues have to take over their workload while on the road. 21 percent stress that they spend too much time with their colleagues and customers, while 14 percent are concerned about the difficulty of staying in touch with their colleagues at the headquarters.
Considering the regional differences among business travelers, Americans are the most worried compared to their counterparts in Europe and the Asia Pacific.
26 percent of Americans believe that their homes and private relationships are compromised, compared to 23 percent of European travelers and 18 percent of Asia-Pacific travelers. And 23 percent say it can be stressful to spend too much time with colleagues or on the road with customers. The quota for European travelers is just as high, while in Asia-Pacific it is 19 percent. In America, 22 percent fear that their families will think they would rather be on the road on business than perform their daily tasks at home. In Europe, the rate is 17 percent, in the Asia-Pacific region 23 percent.
Finally, Americans are less concerned about the difficulties of staying in touch with their colleagues at headquarters (13 percent versus 14 percent from Europe and Asia-Pacific) and the colleagues standing in for them (16 percent versus 25 percent from Asia-Pacific and 24 percent from Europe).
In the Asia Pacific and Europe, the generation of baby boomers tends to say that their homes and personal relationships suffer when they travel. In America, however, Generation X travelers are on the top.
Generation X travelers also worry most about their colleagues standing in for them. They reached the highest percentages in the three regions.
The Millennials in each region have higher values than the other two generations when it comes to their concerns that families think they prefer their business trips to their home lives. This also applies to the difficulties of staying in touch with colleagues at the company headquarters.
When it comes to the stress caused by the time spent with colleagues and customers during the journey, the differences between the generations vary from region to region. In the Asia-Pacific region, the millennials reach the highest values, in America, it is the baby boomers and in Europe, the baby boomers and Generation X are at the same level.