Press releases
Mixing business and pleasure
Business travellers make most of time away
New research out today from Barclaycard Business reveals that 45% of all business travellers are actively trying to improve time spent away by taking their partner on a business trip. Dispelling the myth of 'playing away' whilst travelling on business, it's the men who are most likely to take their partners with them, with nearly half of them (49%) doing so compared with just under a third (29%) of their female counterparts.
In small companies nearly two thirds (61%) have taken their partner on a business trip, compared to just 36% of those in companies with between 500 and 1,000 employees.
Tim Carlier, Barclaycard Business, comments: "Having company on a business trip can not only make the actual travelling less mundane but also enable professionals to make the most of any downtime during evenings or weekends."
The tenth annual Barclaycard Business Travel Survey also shows that there are two distinctive types of business traveller in existence. Almost eight out of ten people (78%) enjoy travelling for business but the remaining 22% find it incredibly stressful and the part of their role they would happily live without.
The fans of business travel see it as a rewarding way to introduce variety into their routine (66%), a great way to see the world (62%) and experience other cultures (51%). In addition, 15% enjoy being given the chance to collect via frequent flier schemes.
On the other hand, those who do not see it as a perk of the job cite the following reasons:
- Find it stressful (58%)
- Intrudes on their personal life (55%)
- Don't like staying away from home (46%)
- Mundane (32%)
In 2005, one fifth (20%) actually reduced the amount they travelled compared to the previous year, with one in seven doing so to improve their work/life balance.
Tim Carlier, Barclaycard Business, comments: "Moving into the next decade it is predicted that boundaries between leisure and work time will become increasingly blurred. This may bring new challenges for both employers and business travel bookers, but also offers the potential for employees to make even more of their time out of the office."
Further findings:
Four out of ten (40%) business travellers experience jet lag after travelling abroad for business. For those affected the following suffer as a result:
- Mood (50%)
- Social Time (40%)
- Well-being & health (39%)
- Time with partner (35%)
- Quality of work (33%)
- Time with family/children (32%)
- Playing sport/exercise (20%)
