With people set to return to the office and take up commuting once again, we’re talking to Iain McCluskey, Partner at PwC and lead for the UK Global Mobility services, about the upsides of business travel, and the steps that people can take to ease commuter-anxiety and care for their wellbeing when away from home.

How have our attitudes to business travel changed since the start of the pandemic? Have we seen the death of the workday commute?

Business travel has been hugely reduced over the course of the last 16 months as borders closed and quarantine measures were introduced. Whilst virtual meetings have been largely successful, we are now seeing a pent up demand for business travel to restart; people are keen to form new business relationships, see colleagues, and network in person again.  

But there is also a more considered attitude to business travel emerging - driven by cost management, sustainability, and wellbeing. In short, a more thoughtful decision-making process that considers return on investment for business travel through the lens of people, profit and planet.

If people do still have to travel for work, how can they best care for their mental wellbeing?

International business travel dislocates many of the important pillars of good mental health: jet lag, flying and different beds impact sleep; you’re away from family and friends; diet and exercise often suffers, and the work trip itself is usually for something important, making it stressful.  

Being aware of how these pillars are impacted, and mitigating with advanced planning, is essential. Could you specify a specific type of pillow in the hotel to help with sleep? What about booking an exercise class? Or agreeing times to connect with your family while you’re away? All of these can really help.  

Are there actually upsides to travelling for work? Could business travel ever be considered good for our mental health?

Business travel has huge upsides: building new relationships; understanding different business cultures; seeing new places in this amazing world of ours – these are all great experiences.  

I have spent lots of time overseas, and seeing the cities and countries beyond the walls of airports, PwC offices and client offices makes a huge difference. I never feel anything other than lucky and blessed to be able to do this.

What's your own experience of travel since Covid? Are you keen to get back out there, or happier at home?

I’ve been working from my base at PwC London for two days a week (when not in lockdown, where I worked from home 100% of the time), and I’m really enjoying the balance of home and work. I have seen my family a lot more, done more exercise, and worked more flexibly – but I do work most effectively in the office. 

I’ve started visiting offices across the UK where I have teams; in the last two weeks, I have been to Manchester and Watford, and am heading over to our new Belfast office next week.

Finally, what steps can employers take to ease commuter-anxiety for anyone worried about returning to work?

I think it’s is a highly individual decision, and most employers are being very gentle where people are nervous about going back into offices. My own view is that once people have been double-jabbed, and the pandemic cases start to tail off, we will see more confidence to return to the office for some of the working week.

For employers, the key will be getting all aspects of hybrid working right; this will require a very different approach to wellbeing and management than when people were purely office-based. And I would like to think one legacy of this awful time is that the wellbeing of employees is now very much at the top of the business agenda.

Big thanks to Iain for sharing his insight with us!