Well-being and business travel: discover the 5 trends for 2023
Travel more to reduce stress, this is the motto for business travellers this year. CSR topics, the search for meaning, private/professional life balance, and more…The issue of employee well-being is more topical than ever.
In addition to being a source of personal fulfilment, business travel rhymes with corporate culture. And that's no coincidence! It’s a great wait to drive motivation and human connection and offers countless other benefits... Business travel is becoming essential (once again).
What does 2023 hold for us? Discover this year's 5 major trends.
Workation: working beyond borders
Travelling the world without taking a single day off, that is the promise of workation. Reserved up until now for freelance workers, this concept is all about the art of finding a balance between work and private life.
No more daily constraints such as travel time or fixed worked hours, workation helps to greatly reduce employees' stress and improves their quality of life.
There are twice as many workation enthusiasts in France since the health crisis. 86% of employees who are keen on it believe it has boosted their productivity. More than that, it is even a major asset for retaining employees and attracting new recruits.
More and more French companies are favourable to the idea and set up overseas teleworking packages.
What if a simple solution to the shortage of talent was encouraging workation?
Say yes to blended travel!
A trend straight from the United States, blended travel refers to all types of travel that combine work and pleasure. For example, an employee can decide not to return home between two trips and opt for a third place of work.
This is not bleisure but very much a blended travel concept. According to a study by GBTA, 2 employees out of 5 request blended travel.
It has been shown that this practice improves the corporate culture, increases productivity and even allows companies to make savings.
To study changes in its customers' needs, the Crowne Plaza hotel group was behind the first white paper on blended travel. In particular, the group is planning the opening of new hotels by the end of 2024 to meet this growing demand.
Digital detox: disconnect to better reconnect
Whether on a personal or a professional level, new technologies are taking over our daily lives. Stress, tiredness, difficulties to focus, hyperconnection is undermining employees' health as well as their productivity.
An executive receives an average of 90 emails a day and check their telephone about 150 times during the day!
To remedy this, more and more agencies are offering so-called off-grid trips. Why? To foster teams' cohesion thanks to the absence of digital technology. This is the case of FCM France which offers a MICE service devoted to this type of event.
According to Samira Ouhoud, Meetings & Events Director, FCM France: “offline team building helps strengthen teams, creates connections between employees and improves cohesion.”
This practice ensures greater concentration, commitment and team spirit for each of your employees. What better way to restore the notion of social relations without any interference from the virtual world.
Themed stays: a powerful management tool
Fancy getting away from the institutional framework and video-conference meetings? Are your employees looking for meaning and to escape reality? Organise a themed trip!
By combining activities, events and discovery of an unknown destination, this practice offers you the chance to gather your employees together in a pleasant atmosphere. Team activities are excellent ways of promoting your employees' skills and developing their team spirit.
47% of French employees believe that exploring new places as a team would encourage them to be more productive at work.
Whether it’s a treasure hunt in Sardinia, an orienteering race in Costa Rica, or a survival course in Chile, there is something for all tastes.
Switch to "hands-free" mode
No more suitcases, make room for minimalism.
This phenomenon is not new and a growing number of airlines are riding this wave and adopting the baggage-free rate. The principle? No longer offer a baggage hold but only a hand baggage, which is a good way for them to counter the steep rise in prices and offer companies fairer rates.
Similarly, some hotels offer equipment hire, such as sports gear, so that travellers only have to carry the strict minimum with them.
Many business travellers buy essential items on site in an effort to soften their environmental and social impact. It's a way for them to support the local economy and enjoy an authentic experience.
Greater well-being, authenticity, reconnection…
In 2023, business travellers want to be active participants in their travel. In the future, travel policies will be more flexible than ever. Not only will the travel manager have to improve the traveller’s experience, they will also have to create a travel policy in line with employees' ever changing needs.