A new study from American Express Global Business Travel (GBT) found that while the majority of business travellers see the value in travelling for work, a percentage are reluctant to comply with company travel policies.
The Traveler 360° report surveyed 2,000 business travellers from the US, UK, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore and India.
In the UK, the majority of survey respondents (74 per cent) said they are aware their companies have a travel policy, and 78 per cent are extremely familiar with it. However, 61 per cent reported not following policy all the time.
An overwhelming 94 per cent agreed they would book out of policy if it meant minimising a negative impact on their health and wellbeing. At the same time, these travellers are conscious of the cost to the business, with 90 per cent agreeing it is important to save money when booking.
This behaviour appears to be encouraged by those who approve expense reports, with eight in ten travellers requiring prior consent before booking or submitting their expenses.
Rather alarmingly, only a third of respondents said they believe their employer always has their safety in mind, which GBT suggests shows a need for better communication on a policy’s safety and security elements.
Meanwhile, US travellers appear to be much less concerned about the impact of work trips on their personal lives, with less than half believing it has negative effects. Americans are also more conscious of company policies, with only one in five saying they think their employer’s programme is unclear and three in five following policy all the time.
Furthermore, only a third of US travellers expressed security concerns, and just 40 per cent see the need for their employers to use tracking technology to know their whereabouts while away on business.
GBT says the results of the survey show that while travellers are happy to go on business trips, many fail to connect with a company’s policy and have little understanding of their employer’s duty of care obligations.
Read the full report here.
BBT received an exclusive preview of the Traveler 360° report for the May/June issue. To read an in-depth analysis on the findings, click here.