Skift Take

The link between business travel and burnout is clear, with more frequent travelers experiencing higher levels of stress than infrequent travelers. Risk management companies are getting a view of this problem firsthand.

Business travel takes a toll on employees. Disrupted sleep, long flights, and feelings of loneliness may seem inevitable to travelers embarking on a new trip. Being on the road means eating out all the time, throwing off even the most well-intentioned diet plans — and a rise in alcohol use often goes along with it.

Because of this, symptoms of anxiety and depression run rampant among business travelers. Corporate risk management companies such as International SOS are having to put more of an emphasis on mental health supports, as the number of stress-related calls continues to climb. In fact, mental health issues are one of the very top types of calls International SOS receives on a daily basis, reaching nearly half of the company’s average calls.

Dr. Robert Quigley, a senior vice president at International SOS, talked to Skift about the “progressive, almost logarithmic increase” in the number of mental health concerns the company receives, and what businesses can do to bring this risk down.

Read this story, and many more, below.

If you have any feedback about the newsletter or news tips, feel free to reach out via email at [email protected] or tweet @ikcarey.

Isaac Carey, Travel Reporter

Featured Stories

Stress-Related Mental Health Risks Are Rising for Business Travelers: Risks involving anxiety and depression are making up a larger and larger chunk of first calls to risk management companies. This trend likely won’t slow until companies make fundamental shifts to their corporate culture.

IHG Is Changing How It Distributes Its Hotel Rates to Boost Direct Bookings: IHG represents a broader industry trend in that it’s getting tougher with online travel agencies and wholesalers in the West while becoming more experimental with online travel sellers in Asia, where it needs help to grow its sales. Its use of new technologies to try to keep its strategy coordinated and to boost revenue are eye-catching.

Booking Holdings Sees Brand Collaborations as Key to Restoring Growth on Steroids: The road back to a flywheel of growth would be a lengthy one for Booking Holdings. Google has a ton of data, too, as do other competitors. Can Booking Holdings create a product that is really deeper and differentiated from its rivals? That’s CEO Glenn Fogel’s bet.

Vrbo Shuffles Leadership as Latest Expedia Group Reorganization Moves Take Shape: No pain, no gain, right? Expedia’s Vrbo unit, which is almost an afterthought when it comes to discussions about Airbnb, Booking.com, and Google, has been undergoing a difficult transition. In itself, changing the leadership isn’t the answer, but along with other changes, perhaps it won’t hurt.

The Future Of Travel

Wizz Air Thinks It Has a Simplicity Advantage Over Ryanair: Ryanair’s decision to morph into a group airline has opened up plenty of opportunities, with the individual carriers able to operate differently. But is there a downside? For Wizz Air, it’s all about keeping things simple.

Amtrak Charts Difficult Course to First Break-Even While Spending to Upgrade Operations: Former Delta CEO Richard Anderson has been spearheading a revamp of the U.S. national railway through boosting safety, driving more profits from its co-branded credit card, and creating a mix of more low-cost and premium services in the U.S. northeastern corridor. Anderson’s tricky balance is being ambitious while trimming longstanding losses.

Comtravo Raises $23 Million for Business Trip Management: Travel Startup Funding: Travel startups announced more than $60 million in funding for a business travel management agency, a sightseeing and experiences agency, a white-label travel insurance provider, a short-term rental manager that uses master leases in Asia, and a student travel service.

Travel Reporter Isaac Carey [[email protected]] curates the Skift Corporate Travel Innovation Report. Skift emails the newsletter every Thursday.

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Tags: corporate travel, ctir, international sos, mental health, stress

Photo credit: A stressed employee sits with her head in her hands. Firesam! / Flickr

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