Work travel and health

Some people enjoy travelling (including overseas) not knowing that it can have a toll on their health. To some extent, travel for work may be viewed as a perk. ‘Personally I have been able to visit cities around the world, and I see that as a benefit of my job,’ says Andrew Rundle, an associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health in New York City.

“Also business travel can be seen as a way to advance one’s career – give a killer talk at a conference, network, lock up a contract or a sale, figure out your client’s needs,” Rundle further adds.

But despite the upside, and while business travel may even be glamorized, researchers like Rundle find that those who travel the most frequently for work tend to experience the greatest negative impact on their well-being – including mental health.

A study led by Rundle, published in December in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, focused on the potential effects of business travel on behavioral and mental health – everything from smoking to anxiety and depression symptoms.

Summarizing the results in the broadest terms, the researchers reported, ‘Higher levels of business travel were associated with poorer outcomes.’ More specifically, employees undergoing wellness assessments were categorized into five groups based on extent of business travel: those who spent zero nights away from home per month, one to six nights away, seven to 13 nights, 14 to 20 nights or 21 or more nights. The best outcomes were reported among those who were away from home one to six nights a month for business. Beyond that, as time on the road increased, so did reported mental and behavioral health concerns.

An earlier research that Rundle co-authored, has shown how extensive travel can raise the risk for issues ranging from significantly higher stress levels to sleep disorders to obesity.

Dr. Lin Chen, director of the Travel Medicine Center at Mount Auburn Hospital in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and president-elect for the International Society of Travel Medicine published a study in the Journal of Travel Medicine earlier this month that analyzed data from 64 travel and tropical medicine clinics on six continents, from North America to Europe and Africa. The research found that those traveling internationally for work encountered a range of health problems from diarrhea and other gastrointestinal issues to malaria.

Experts say employers should do their part to protect the health of business travelers.  Rundle says, ‘If you’re going to send your workers out on the road for that long, as a human resources person, you should be putting them in accommodations that have access to gyms and physical activity venues. You can’t force your worker to go to the gym, but you can at least make that a viable option.’

experts say the same goes for trying to make sure employees stay in places where there’s access to healthy food options – not just the menus of nearby restaurants that offer only fried and fat-laden fare which can be ordered in. “Companies can also provide training in sleep hygiene and stress management techniques, including mindful meditation, yoga, tai chi or other mind-body practices,” the researchers suggested. “Companies could provide employees with technology and health apps to help maintain health goals on the road: fitness trackers, fitness apps with exercise routines that can be completed in the limited space and equipment context of hotels and nutritional guides.” In addition to support from employers, employees who travel extensively must also do their part, experts say, and cast aside any notions that lifestyle choices on the road don’t matter like at home.

So take a realistic and flexible but steadfast approach to incorporating healthy lifestyle choices while traveling. That goes along with taking preventive steps based on where you’re going, such as getting recommended vaccines and taking prescribed medications (like malaria pills when and where advised) for international travel.

‘Somehow the messages need to get to these frequent business travelers that these risks exist,’ Chen says, ‘and being disciplined about all the precautions and mindful about their health and their exercise routine and choosing good health habits will matter.’