Changes in time zone, climate, food, language and culture, contribute to psychic stress in business travelers.
By
Jane Mendle, published on May 01, 1998 - last reviewed on August 24, 2007
Forget Montezuma's Revenge. The real hazards for business travelers
lurk not in their gut, but in their head. Working globetrotters log many
miles—and rack up even more psychic stress. A study of nearly 11,000
workers at the World Bank revealed that women who made more than two
international business trips a year filed twice the number of psychiatric
insurance claims as their stationary counterparts; men, three times as
many.
Bernhard Liese, M.D., head of health services at the World Bank,
notes that international business travelers are faced with sudden changes
in climate, food, language and culture. Time zone changes can compound
travelers' disorientation by disrupting circadian rhythms and depriving
them of sleep. Working hours may be extended to make the most of the
trip—and in addition to all this, the traveler experiences separation
from home and family.
But Liese says that the worst part of business travel may be the
return to the office: phone and e-mail messages, not to mention more
work, may have piled up while the traveler was away.
Doesn't the domestic business traveler encounter the same stresses?
Not necessarily, Liese believes. There's a lot less psychic dislocation
in flying to Kalamazoo than Timbuktu.
Tags:
bernhard,
business,
business traveler,
business trips,
circadian rhythms,
counterparts,
culture time,
dislocation,
domestic business,
e mail,
health services,
insurance,
insurance claims,
international business travelers,
kalamazoo,
language and culture,
liese,
mail messages,
stress,
stresses,
sudden changes,
timbuktu,
time zone changes,
travel,
work
