Traveling for work opens you up to new opportunities.
You get to meet with colleagues and clients, deliver exciting presentations, and learn about your trade.
However, frequent business travel can take a toll on your health in multiple ways, so it’s important to learn how to combat these problems.
Here’s a closer look at how frequent business travel can affect your health over time.
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Strain on Relationships
Spending time with the people you love is important, but doing so is difficult when you are frequently away from home. You may miss out on major events, such as important games or graduations, or you may never get to participate in weekly game nights or daily dinners.
Beyond that, your significant other might feel stressed when all of the chores and day-to-day necessities are left for them to handle without help. This added stress may not seem like much over a simple weekend trip. But over time, it can put a strain on your relationship.
Increase in Stress
Traveling frequently means that you probably spend a decent amount of time making sure that you arrive to the airport well before the flight, renting and driving different cars, and getting to the bus stop early in the morning.
Additionally, you may have increased pressure on you to perform while you are on these business trips. After all, you want to bring good news back with you so that the trip feels more worthwhile. All of these activities and obligations can increase the stress that you feel during your travels—you may also feel this stress leading up to your travels and coming home as you try to catch up with your other obligations in life.
Poor Dietary Habits
If you are always on the go, you probably aren’t sitting down for as many of your meals as you should, which can lead to an increase in the amount of fast food that you consume.
Even if you’re not eating fast food, it’s likely that you frequently attend corporate dinners, where your food options may be largely out of your control. Eating out isn’t the ideal situation for anyone conscious of their health. Ultimately, you can’t know exactly what you’re eating when you’re not preparing food yourself.
What You Can Do
When traveling less isn’t a possibility, use technological tools to stay in closer contact with your family when you are gone. Also, look into your options for corporate housing— these units often provide full kitchens and additional space so your family can travel with you. These steps can go a long way toward preserving your relationship with family and enabling you to cook healthy meals while traveling.
To help manage stress, give yourself plenty of time to get to places so that you aren’t rushing. Try to rent cars that you are familiar with so that you don’t have to feel uncomfortable behind the wheel. Before you go, plan out meals and pack healthy snacks that give you energy so that you can keep your body in good shape.
Traveling for work can seriously affect your health in a negative way. Therefore, you want to work to find solutions to these issues. Be mindful of your health and follow these tips to strike a healthier work-life balance.
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