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The new normal within the future of work
With such a seismic shift towards hybrid and remote work frameworks, it’s natural that the workforce becomes more digitized and that teams grow increasingly distributed. That said, humans are naturally a social species. We thrive on cooperation, and arguably some of mankind’s greatest endeavors, developments, and progress came as a result of this ability to work together. Do you know that saying “Rome wasn’t built in a day”? Well, it also wasn’t just built by one person.And it’s that cooperation and interaction that knowledge workers crave. A recent TravelPerk study shows that the main reason employees want to meet one another face-to-face is to build relationships in the real world, and in a way that they simply couldn’t if they worked 100% online with videoconferencing tools like Zoom or Microsoft Teams.So, how do you do that when you’ve got team members spread across 30 different countries, 12 separate regions, and 95 distinct cities? The answer is pretty simple.Business travel.
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Business travel is the key to unlocking the future of work
The business travel industry is changing its own game. It’s democratizing and becoming a tool to make the employee experience more complete, rewarding, and connected. With distributed teams becoming the norm, employees are looking for the right balance of flexibility and having meaningful and purpose-driven interactions with their colleagues face-to-face. Not only that, but companies are looking for ways to retain talented individuals - and it’s exactly on that delicate balance of real-life interaction and flexibility that the answer lies.Flexibility is clearly the leading trend to emerge in the world of work. In fact, 75% of employees claim that they would give up other perks in favor of the ability to blend their work environment. What’s more, 54% of recruiters reported that positions have been turned down due to a lack of flexibility. However, that’s not to say that flexibility means never seeing colleagues face-to-face. What employees truly want in a modern workplace is the ability to shape their working life and environment according to their personal and professional needs.And yes, that includes coming together with colleagues in real life. In fact, the ability to go to the office or travel between hubs is a perk that employees seek:
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What’s more, a fascinating new trend is emerging whereby events, workshops, and offsites are becoming more prominent reasons for business travel. Offsites, in particular, have doubled in volume as the primary reason for a trip in recent years - skyrocketing the beginning or end of a given quarter. Events have also increased by 30% in volume as a “reason for travel”.
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Introducing the future of business travel for a new world
Business travel:When you choose to meet colleagues, customers, and partners in real life because the value of meeting in person goes beyond the digital workspace.
- Trips between hubs to meet colleagues and engage in teamwork
- Recurring trips to attend company-wide kick-offs and strategy sessions
- Regular trips for off-sites, teambuilding retreats, and social events
- Mixing business with leisure travel (a.k.a “bleisure”) where you combine work with play
- Trips for networking opportunities at conferences, summits, or trade shows
These are just a few of the countless business trips employees can expect to take in the new world of work. And TravelPerk is 100% here for it - we’ve even changed our mission statement to reflect that. We are now all about connecting people in real life in an enjoyable and sustainable way. Enjoyable because we’ve seen firsthand the magic that comes about when colleagues get together - the bursts of inspiration, the sparks of creativity, the laughs, the bonds formed… And sustainable because it shouldn’t come at the expense of the environment.Everything we build here at TravelPerk is focused on making business travel as simple as possible at every stage of the journey - from booking to traveling, to dealing with reports. For us, it’s all about helping you work better - we’re kind of like Slack, only we bring about conversations in real life, not on a screen.And that’s really why we believe so fervently that business travel will be a key component in the future of work. It’s going to shape relationships, mold company cultures, and be the bridge that connects people in a meaningful, purposeful, and enjoyable way. So, if you agree with me, hop aboard the IRL 2.0 train and reach out to see how we can make the meetings that matter happen in person together.
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