Pushing employees to the limit could be a false economy. Beverley Fearis investigates the truth of the work-life balance.
You won't catch Capital Business Travel managing director Simone Buckley and her team having a meeting before 10.30am, but that's not because they're partial to a lie-in. The travel management company has a deliberate policy of not having any internal meetings before that time, and for reasons that suit both the individuals and the company.
"Firstly, it's cheaper not to travel in the peak times," explains Buckley. "For those of us with young children it means we're not rushing to get them to school. If we had to get in for 9am, we'd be sitting in rush hour traffic or standing on a crowded train. Instead, we can get a seat, get our laptops out, and by the time we arrive at the meeting we've already checked our e-mails and done an hour's work."
Like the Capita Group, many other companies are recognising the value of helping their employees achieve a better work/life balance and alleviate stress. If they are not, they should be.
According to national statistics, stress costs businesses an estimated £9.6 billion a year, and each year 12.8 million days in the UK are lost to stress, anxiety and depression.
While some people regard business trips as a glamorous perk, those who travel frequently will be quick to point out how much travelling adds to the stress of working life and impacts on their personal lives and their health.
According to the latest American Express Loves and Hates survey, which questioned the views of 500 European business travellers, 95 per cent said business travel is as stressful, or more so, than it was a year ago. Nearly half of those surveyed said business trips make them feel tired, while 20 per cent said they resent having to travel outside of business hours.
A growing emphasis on Corporate Social Responsibility and changes to the Corporate Manslaughter Act are making employers sit up and take notice.
Under the newly enacted legislation, an organisation faces unlimited fines and negative publicity if an employee is killed in the UK, or causes the death of someone else, as a result of a 'gross failure'. In short, this means that if a traveller returns from a long-haul business trip, is scheduled to go straight to a meeting, gets in a car and is involved in a fatal crash, the company has to prove it took the necessary steps to avoid this happening, or faces prosecution.
"Our members are asking us for best practice on Duty of Care, particularly in light of the Corporate Manslaughter Act," says Caroline Strachan, chairman of the Institute of Travel Managers and travel manager at Yahoo! In response, the ITM has prepared a tool kit for its members, advising them on how to deal with the new legislation. "Some buyers are now taking measures to ensure a better work/life balance for their travellers, rather than having a purely price-driven travel policy. For example, some are allowing employees to take day trips and get home for their family."
Strachan says many companies are also making use of better video conferencing technology to cut back on travelling. According to a recent ITM study on CSR, most organisations are already using both video conferencing (85 per cent) and teleconferencing (86 per cent) technology.
With a growing emphasis on the well-being of employees, human resource departments are starting to take a more active role in devising travel policies and are helping to monitor the way itineraries are put together.
"HR used to be responsible for travel policies when I first worked in the industry, but then it became a procurement role," says Capita's Buckley. "It's interesting that now it is switching back again."
According to some travel management companies, however, this is not happening enough. "We have not heard of many cases where the HR department has raised CSR issues with travel managers," says Andrew Burch, business development manager for Hillgate Travel. "I think we sometimes over-inflate the importance of travel in the big scheme of running a company."
Corporate stress expert Annie Lawler, who runs a company called Breathing Space for Business, insists both employers and travelling employees benefit from a more balanced approach.
"Although companies are naturally concerned about their bottom line, they are increasingly recognising that they are dealing with human beings and not machines," she says.
"If people are treated like humans, and are allowed to build in breaks, they will work more efficiently. If they are constantly rushing around, hurtling down train platforms, queuing at airports, going straight from a flight to their next meeting, they will not be at their best."
She argues that mobile communications technology is, in some ways, making business travel even more demanding.
"For business travellers to be contactable 24/7 - that's not a positive way of working. They have to know when to switch off their phones and BlackBerries and take a break."
Lawler believes that travelling executives who are generally treated more considerately will be more willing to go beyond the call of duty if necessary. "If they are offered some kind of compensation for going on a business trip, perhaps time off in lieu or the chance to work from home on their return, they are more willing to put themselves out.
"There should be a shared responsibility, particularly when people are travelling in their own time, and missing their family. They should be able to travel more comfortably, in premium class and in better hotels."
However, Tom Stone, director of business travel consultants Sirius Management, believes it's not easy for all companies to be this flexible and considerate to their travelling staff.
"The cynic in me believes the companies that have done well with CSR tend to be organisations that are making double-digit profit plus. If you're a smaller organisation, working to narrow margins, unless it's mission critical or you have a philanthropic owner or backer, all CSR does is eat into the bottom line.
"In most companies, if somebody said they were flying out to Los Angeles next week, but wanted to get there a day early in order to relax and de-stress, they'd get laughed at. I wish it wasn't the case, but for the majority of companies the harsh economic reality means that survival is about doing more for less.
"In its wider sense, CSR might be something that is considered good business practice, or is it something that goes too far? Is it even just about putting a tick in a box?"
Perhaps taking everything into account, if any firm - large or small - wants to treat its employees well, and get the most out of them, without reducing its bottom line, it should consider going back to basics. We all know how to look after ourselves, so perhaps CSR should be simple and straightforward 'common sense responsibility'.
Benefits of stress management
- Helps reduce absenteeism
- Improves motivation
- Improves staff retention
- Helps avoid time-consuming and costly litigation
- Creates a more productive workforce
How corporates can manage stress in the work place
Create a policy of how to deal with stress/well-being in the workplace.
Make sure your staff are aware of the policy - through your internal newsletters, intranet, quizzes or handbooks - and that they fully understand it.
Make use of the HSE guidelines, which are not law, but act as a benchmark for best practice. See www.hse.gov.uk/stress.
Ensure that human resources and line managers are fully trained to recognise and monitor stress in the workplace. Spread the responsibility, so that people in lower management are also trained.
Make sure stress management and well-being is an ongoing process. It's no good just doing one survey every five years.
Make stress management part of the overall company culture.
10 top tips for travel managers Annie Lawler, Breathing space for Business says ...
- Treat travellers as humans rather than cogs in the wheel.
- Everyone needs a balance between activity and rest. Harvard research has shown that even a break of only 2-3 minutes per hour improves accuracy and efficiency by 15 per cent. Travel time can be an ideal time to relax and let go.
- Make sure travellers are aware of the effects of work and travel on their stress levels, and arm them with strategies for coping. This might involve doing breathing exercises, for example.
- When planning trips, build in a margin for delays so that travellers can arrive for meetings unhurried and calm.
- Nutrition is massively important, so advise your travellers to drink lots of water and choose salads, soups and fresh fruit when travelling. Many hotels offer healthy room service options and airlines now offer more healthy meals.
- Advise travellers to check their travel details carefully when they receive tickets and itineraries, and again 48 hours before they leave.
- Reconsider company policy on travel time. Maybe consider introducing compensation for travel out of normal working hours, or allow employees to work from home the day after arriving back from a long trip.
- During a business trip, allocate periods of time where travellers know they are not expected to be contacted by the office.
- Build up loyalty from your frequent travellers by allowing them to combine pleasure with business where appropriate, whether that means adding on some leisure time or flying out their partner to join them for part of the trip.
- Use video conferencing technology to avoid unnecessary business trips, particularly for internal meetings.
Call 0772 581 8884, e-mail [email protected] or visitwww.breathingspaceforbusiness.com