Blended travel is the art of mixing vacation with business and is not only a perk for employers to keep employees around longer, but also helps reduce stress and boost productivity. In a world where everyone is always going non-stop, there is something about stopping immediately after your business trip to actually enjoy the change of scenery and sights that gives a change in perspective. This intersection of where business meets pleasure is exactly where the positive work-life balance lies.
According to a Forbes article 43% of travel insurance provider Squaremouth customers took a blended trip in the past and 24% are planning one in the next 12 months. We’ll look at blended travel and how it actually helps to reduce employee overworking and stress, but first let’s clear something up, is there actually a difference between blended travel and bleisure?
What’s the difference between blended travel and bleisure?
Blended travel is any kind of trip that blends work with leisure time. Blended travel and bleisure travel are one and the same. Some use the terms interchangeably, while others recognize bleisure as a type of blended travel.
The terms “bizcation” “workcation” or “working holidays” are also used as a type of blended travel, but these types of travel refer to when an employee conducts business outside of their usual place of work. Unlike digital nomads who are location independent, regularly working from anywhere in the world, “bizcationers” or those on a workcation work remotely from a different location for a fixed or extended amount of time. They tend to be location dependent.
Why stress-reduction matters
With frenetic rhythms of life more and more commonplace, health and wellness and a healthy work-life balance is more and more important to incorporate into everyday life, including in the workplace. According to the same Forbes article mentioned above, 34% of respondents report blended travel helps with healthier routines and stress-reduction.
As an employer, healthier individuals who have a good work-life balance and find time to prioritize their wellbeing are more productive, more problem-solving and experience enhanced job satisfaction. Translated to business cost reduction, reduced absenteeism and turnover is better for your business’s bottom line because it reduces the chance of potential illness due to overworking or stress, and reduces the possibility for burnout.
Blended travel and stress reduction
With 66% of travelers in the US and UK now blending business and leisure with blended trips, let’s take a look at why this trend is so popular now for stress reduction.
Staying active is key to reducing stress
Blended travel gives the possibility to stay active and be outside. Staying active whether through exercise, walking around or exploring can boost your mood by releasing endorphins and regulating stress hormones like cortisol. This surge in hormones serves as a distraction from the stress that can be endured when traveling for business.
Connect and build relationships
Blended travel gives employees the possibility to connect and build relationships that not only strengthen their interpersonal relationships within work but also outside of work. They can create connections in the place where they are doing business, which if and when they have to travel back to that place will create a sense of happiness thinking that they will be able to visit the people they met, instead of a sense of dread that they have to travel again for work.
Connection gives us the support we need to manage life’s challenges, and the more healthy relationships you have, the better mental and physical health you will experience. Connection releases hormones like oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin, which can counteract the effects of stress by promoting feelings of happiness, relaxation and wellbeing.
Enhance mental health
Wellbeing comes from having a healthy work-life balance. As important as it is to take a vacation and take time away from work, there is something to be said about blended travel – immediately disconnecting after finishing meetings so that you can decompress and recharge before you go home and settle back into your busy worklife. It slows down the pace and hence helps equilibrate your mental health.
Improved mood
Travel helps improve mood due to being exposed to new environments and the break in routine is great for getting you out of your comfort zone. When employees engage in blended travel, they come back from their trip feeling energetic and optimistic.
When blended travel doesn’t reduce stress but creates stress
It comes down to balance
At the end of the day like in everything; work-life balance or blended travel, it’s all about balance. Ensuring you have the right balance between work, life, business and leisure will help keep employees happy, productive and long-lasting at your workplace.