Remember when the idea of traveling for work sounded like a paid vacation? Turns out the stress of international business trips can reduce your job performance by 38 percent, finds a new study at the University of Alabama.
Researchers polled business travelers at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airport—with over 95 million fliers a year, the world’s busiest jet terminal—and found that workers headed to more exotic destinations experienced even more stress than people headed to places that feel familiar.
They call the concept “institutional distance,” and it includes all the factors that make a new city feel foreign: different etiquette and social norms, new laws and regulations, language barriers, and even the food. Countries like Canada and other English-speaking former British colonies are considered to have a low institutional distance, while nations like Japan, or anywhere in South America are high on the scale. Those cultural differences added up to 13 percent greater stress, even for the super-frequent fliers in the study.
That dizzy, stranger-in-a-strange-land sensation compounds the extra pressure you’re already facing. “The consequences of not performing well on a business trip are grave, thus anything that increases an already stressful environment is worth addressing,” says study author Jase Ramsey, Ph.D.
Here’s how you can feel more at home when you’re away and get the most out of your business trip:
Pad Time into Your Stay
Ask your boss for an extra day both on the way in and out of your destination, so you can adjust and prep for the work you need to do. For trips lasting just a day or 2, work to thin out your schedule so you’re not always rushing between events. “The greatest stress is on the people who have crazy schedules, without giving yourself the chance to discover something or spend an hour with someone you find interesting,” says Elizabeth Becker, author of Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism.
Consider Small Hotels
If you’re headed to a major, tourist-friendly city like Paris or Tokyo, opt for a bed and breakfast near the business you’re conducting, which will offer more personalized service. “Just talking to the hosts, they would immediately tell me everything that’s going on in the city,” says Becker. They can guide you to inexpensive and delicious restaurants off the beaten path—hotel concierges often funnel people to the same reliable tourist destinations—or simply help you navigate the streets. That said, in less hospitable cities it might be wiser to find a major chain that you know and trust—the predictable banality of the hotel room can be a comfort.
Call Home Daily
Yes, daily. Don’t be afraid to ask the people you’re meeting with for 15 minutes to call your kin. “If anything, it adds to their faith in you because they’ll see a guy committed to his family,” says international consultant Jonathan Berman, author of Success in Africa: CEO Insights from a Continent on the Rise. Ring up your wife and kids, or if you’re unattached then call your mom. Use Skype or another voice-over-Internet service to save the cost of an international call.
Find a Local Guide
Work your contacts—family, friends of friends, acquaintances of coworkers—to find someone who lives in your destination and is happy to show you around. (A gentlemanly move would be to bring a small, unique gift from your own city as a thank-you.) If that fails, sign up for a walking tour of the city to get your bearings and face time with a local. Becker recommends Context, which runs around $80 to $90 a tour in major cities all over the world.
Spend More Time in the Airport
Hear us out: “Most busy guys make the mistake of trying to use of every single minute before their trip, and they structure in as little time as possible at the airport,” says Berman. The better option: Get to the airport 2 hours before boarding like the airlines recommend (3 hours for international flight). Major airports are now also serious shopping destinations with top-class restaurants, enviable spas, and great bars. Plus, you’ll save yourself the panic of seeing that long security line when your takeoff time is in just 20 minutes. Use that extra time to either relax or catch up on emails and phone calls in a lounge before your flight.
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