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It is well documented that successive lockdowns and the threat of Covid had a detrimental effect on many people’s wellbeing and mental health. As a result, wellbeing is at the top of the C Suite agenda, according to a Deloitte Insights survey The C-suite’s role in well-being. The report showed that 62% of employees and 82% of C-Suite would be more likely to stay with their company if it better supported their wellbeing.

ITM’s buyer top 10 priorities survey illustrates this, ranking wellbeing third after return to travel and duty of care; budget control came in sixth. This is backed by increased and well thought-out communication that emphasises traveller management rather than travel management, and that means tailoring it to the demographic, not blanket coverage.  The new agenda also boosts sustainability; less travel is better for the planet.

This is now reflected in travel policies, which leading the way in taking greater account of employees’ health, both mental and physical. It is driven by two factors. People have realised they can get a lot done on conference calls from home or through hybrid working and are no longer willing to undergo a full-on travel programme. And organisations realise they can operate profitably without putting teams through that.

“We should have been doing this years ago; it shouldn’t have taken a pandemic to make us realise that we need to look after our health and the planet,” says director, global travel, meetings and ground transportation for Fidelity International Carol Fergus.

Consultant Bex Deadman agrees: “Aside from reducing stress and burnout, companies have to change their approach to travel if they have any serious intention of reducing carbon emissions effectively and in line with targets. This is what we are discussing with clients and their travel suppliers,” she says.

At Fidelity, an all-business class travel policy is evidence of the new travel culture, which used to range from economy class (up to five hours) to business class (more than eight). This pays heed to distancing, as well as health and wellbeing.

The organisation’s 10 Steps Back to Travel starts with, ‘Do you want to travel?’. It includes an employee assistance programme, with internal and external advisors, so that anyone who does not want to talk to someone they might meet at the coffee machine has an alternative.

A mental health committee comprises champions throughout the company so that anxious employees – not necessarily attached to travel – have someone to turn to. Carol Fergus is a one of these and the role comes with training that covers how to be a mental health practitioner, what to look out for, etc.

Fidelity is also working with International SOS to create videos and other learning material for travellers. This follows rules of the road information for the LGBTQ+ community and women travellers.

Overall, attention to detail has been stepped up and organisations are covering areas such as whether travellers might need to contact someone while on the road, access to medication they may be taking, protocols for their becoming ill and more. ITM’s latest survey showed that 51% of travel buyers had introduced or were planning to implement programme initiatives focused on traveller wellbeing.

Extended trips are also becoming a norm, rather than doing a series of day trips from the UK to European cities, employees are encouraged to embrace two or three at a time; similarly for longer journeys, take in China, Singapore and Hong Kong together.

Age profiles also play a part. Seasoned travellers now realise they don’t have to go back to being road warriors but, “We have a large population of travellers from back office, IT particularly, who are quite young and having been stuck at home; they are keen to travel,” says Carol Fergus. “They are working on projects and going out to India or China, and coming into London and our other European offices; they want to meet people they have not seen for two years.”

For many businesses the emphasis is on duty to care rather than duty of care, and on return on value (ROV), plus return on investment (ROI). This means not just questioning the need for employees to travel but also whether the person they are visiting wants to see them.

“With the benefit of hindsight, some travellers are realising that not all their previous trips were necessary, and information sharing and learning events can be effectively delivered virtually,” says CEO of ITM Scott Davies, who points out that there is still a need for face to face networking, client relationship development and new business opportunities, which has driven the return to business travel.

“Travel has become purposeful, with concern about people and the planet,” says client solutions lead for Festive Road Katie Virtue. “Companies are asking people if they are willing to travel and if so, in what way. “Traveller-centric policies are a significant factor in staff recruitment and retention, especially with the acknowledgement that travel is part of employee wellbeing.”

Virtue has also seen companies offering personal travel as a perk, facilitating use of their TMC, for example. And where employees are adding leisure to a business trip, this can lead to lower fares when they are travelling outside peak business times.

However, consultant Bex Deadman is adamant that traveller-centric policies and perks should not be confused. “Policies need to be driven and communicated as part of a strategic risk management plan, and with the education and training that should accompany them, they are vital to any business and are not ‘nice to haves’,” she says.

“Perks, on the other hand, are sweeteners, things to attract beyond a company's responsibilities.  They are the differentiators once you've established that the essentials are in place, but one should not compensate for the other,” says Deadman.

The last word goes to Carol Fergus: “The decisions we make today must have longevity; we need to futureproof travel,” she says. “People have short memories and for this to fly, it has to be maintained in good times and bad. I’m hoping that when we see how our planet is changing and how people have been a lot better in their physical and mental health, we will sustain some of the decisions we make.”