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2015-08-18 10:32:29
Aug 17th 2015, 16:29 by A.W. | WASHINGTON, DC
MANY of us have found ourselves trying to explain to friends and colleagues
that, no, business travel isn t as fun and glamorous as it seems. Finally,
there could be proof to back this up. Researchers at the University of Surrey,
in Britain, and Linnaeus University, in Sweden, have published a new study
highlighting what they call a darker side of hypermobility . The hypermobile
largely but not exclusively business travellers have won a certain cachet in
contemporary society, with the worldliness they seem to acquire from their
travels and the envy-inducing social-media posts they leave in their wake. But,
the researchers warn, whilst aspects of glamorisation in regard to mobility
are omnipresent in our lives, there exists an ominous silence with regard to
its darker side .
The study, which synthesises existing research on the effects of frequent
travel, finds three types of consequence: physiological, psychological and
emotional, and social. The physiological ones are the most obvious. Jet lag is
the affliction travellers know best, although they may not anticipate some of
its direr, if rarer, potential effects, like speeding ageing or increasing the
risk of heart attack and stroke. Then there s the danger of deep-vein
thrombosis, exposure to germs and radiation people who fly more than 85,000
miles a year (say, New York to Seattle and back every three weeks, or New York
to Tokyo and back seven times) exceed the regulatory limit for exposure to
radiation. And finally, of course, business travellers tend to get less
exercise and eat less healthily than people who stay in place.
The psychological and emotional toll of business travel is more abstract, but
just as real. Frequent flyers experience travel disorientation from changing
places and time zones so often. They also suffer mounting stress, given that
time spent travelling will rarely be offset through a reduced workload, and
that there may be anxieties associated with work continuing to accumulate (eg
inbox overload ) whilst away . Due to the absence from family and friends,
hypermobility is frequently an isolating and lonely experience, the authors
write. The accumulated impact can be substantial. One study of 10,000 World
Bank employees found that the business travellers among them were three times
as likely to file psychological insurance claims.
Finally, there are the social effects. Marriages suffer from the time apart, as
does children s behaviour. What is more, relationships tend to become more
unequal, as the partner who stays at home is forced to take on more domestic
duties. There s a gender disparity here, since most business travellers are
men. (A 2011 survey of Asian business travellers by Accor, a hotel firm, found
that 74% were men. Seemingly the last comprehensive research into American
business travellers in 2002 found that 77% were male.) Friendships also fray,
as business travellers often sacrifice local collective activities and instead
prioritise their immediate families when returning from trips .
Of course, these impacts are mitigated by the fact that they fall
disproportionately on a segment of the population that is already doing rather
well. The mobile elite tend to have higher incomes and access to better
health care than the population at large. According to the study, in Sweden, 3%
of the population accounts for a quarter of international travel; in France, 5%
covers half of the population s total distance travelled.
So these may be problems of the 1% (or the 3%, or the 5%). But they re real
enough regardless. By all means feel jealous of acquaintances' Instagram photos
of exotic meals and faraway attractions. But harbour a small amount of concern
as well.