[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ fullwidth=”on” admin_label=”Header: post pandemic travel” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ background_image=”https:\/\/www.gdg.travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/COVID-tracker.jpg” background_position=”top_center” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_fullwidth_header title=”Post Pandemic Travel” subhead=”protecting yourself, your travellers and your business” text_orientation=”center” header_fullscreen=”on” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ title_line_height=”1.2em” subhead_font_size=”30px” background_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.29)” background_enable_image=”off” background_position=”top_center” z_index_tablet=”500″ button_one_text__hover_enabled=”on|desktop”][\/et_pb_fullwidth_header][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”content” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ custom_padding=”75px|0px|110px|0px|false|false” border_color_all=”rgba(255,186,96,0.6)” border_width_right=”8vw” border_color_right=”#5b8cb1″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ admin_label=”intro” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.gdg.travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/COVID-19-traveller.jpg” admin_label=”image: traveller” _builder_version=”4.4.2″][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Intro” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ text_line_height=”1.9em” header_3_line_height=”1.4em”]<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.0.6″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.0.6″][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ admin_label=”Post Pandemic Travel” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_text admin_label=”title: Post Pandemic Travel” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ header_2_line_height=”1.3em”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.2″]<\/p>\n
There\u2019s an expectation of course that we will get back to business travel but who wants to be the first out of the trap, the human guinea pigs. What if, during travel after quarantine, we were taken ill in a different country where the medical facilities weren\u2019t as good as our own? \u00a0What if there\u2019s a second wave, a resurgence of COVID-19? This is a word that dominates our lives, our thoughts and many of our fears.<\/p>\n
\n\u201cHaving been at home so much, a lot of people have begun to enjoy the simple pleasures in life, such as time with family, less travel fatigue, a walk, speaking with neighbours\u201d, says Dr Lucy Rattrie, business travel wellness psychologist and director at\u00a0Creating Sona<\/a>. \u201cI expect people will want to hang on to that feeling of psychological safety that\u2019s come with community, as it\u2019s brought so much comfort and hope. The impact on health of being asked to travel again will be mixed.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cOn the one hand, people will be craving to explore a different destination, get out, connect with people and the world as a method of satisfying an internal desire to break free from monotony or worry that has been felt at home and to bring a feeling that life is resuming in a way that\u2019s familiar.\u00a0Yet, at the same time, people will likely be apprehensive and concerned, travelling with a lot more self-care, looking after themselves physically, emotionally, spiritually and mentally.\u00a0 They will want to know they are able to stay healthy and safe when travelling, with security around protecting their health, support and ability to maintain their new found wellbeing (for those that enjoyed having more sleep, time with family, nutritious food, meditation, daily walks and online exercise classes) and psychological security that if there is another wave, they are returned home safely.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The need for psychological safety and to protect their wellbeing will be more amplified for the first wave of travellers.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_4,3_4″ admin_label=”Travel Approach” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_text admin_label=”title: After Quarantine” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ header_2_line_height=”1.3em”]<\/p>\n
How Should You Approach Travel After Quarantine<\/h2>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.4.2″]<\/p>\n
So how will governments steer us through these unprecedented times and are we likely to see a second wave?\u00a0 According to Dr Jonathan O\u2019Keeffe Corporate Medical Director, London Health Systems Ltd. \u201cGovernments around the world are balancing the health care system capabilities with the increased demand from COVID-19 cases.\u00a0 The basic principal is to \u2018buy time\u2019 and develop population immunity either through very controlled gradual exposure of lower risk groups who will develop antibodies or through the eventual development of a vaccine.\u00a0 Buying time also gives us the opportunity to study the virus, work on treatments and study the effects of existing potential medications\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\n\u201cGovernments will need to turn on and off the tap to allow a resumption of somewhat normal societal and commercial life.\u00a0 Experts are optimistic to date that once a person has had the virus the person becomes immune to reinfection.\u00a0 This would allow people who have been infected to return to work, care for others and to resume most activity.\u00a0 Unfortunately, we cannot be 100% confident at this early stage that immunity will be lifelong.\u00a0 It may be partial or weaken over time and although today there is almost no evidence of possible reinfection, we should keep in mind that we are learning as we go.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When the governments decide to open the tap a little, we will see a resurgence, however we will likely be prepared for this with armies of public health teams responding to local outbreaks with isolation, treatment and contract tracing procedures.\u00a0 It is likely the new normal situation will see more longstanding travel risk mitigation adopted.\u00a0 Questionnaires and fever screening will be the norm for a time.\u00a0 One additional health risk to be aware of, especially for those who undertake work related travel is health system strain or collapse.\u00a0 If a country does not turn the tap on and off in a sufficiently controlled manner, people who need care for all other reasons than COVID-19 may not be able to access the resources they depend on.\u00a0 It is important to monitor for a health system demand versus supply mismatch in all\u00a0work locations to ensure this risk is not neglected\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
The question is, is hand washing and all the measures we have come to integrate into our daily lives sufficient for us to protect ourselves?\u00a0 Jonathan advises, \u201cI cannot stress how important it is to continue to adhere to the non-pharmaceutical measures to combat COVID-19.\u00a0 Regular hand washing for 20 seconds kills this virus.\u00a0 Social distancing by a minimum of 2 metres or 6 feet prevents almost all spread between individuals.\u00a0 Staying at home when you have early symptoms (no matter how trivial they may seem) is vital to stopping the spread.\u00a0 Following government advice on social distancing is saving thousands of lives.\u00a0 We will prevail by adopting personal responsibility and collective changes to our behaviour.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear therefore that things won\u2019t just conveniently get back to \u2018normal\u2019 when it comes to daily life or travel after quarantine.\u00a0 Business travellers will have a completely different set of expectations, some will have faced deeply personal trauma and there will be an obligation for employers to respond to these from both a physical and mental perspective.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jonathan recommends that \u201cEmployers adopt supportive and flexible policies with regard to working from home for the next few months.\u00a0 They should think hard about how essential or not face to face meetings are.\u00a0 Helping their people to connect, be flexible about start and finish times, providing people with supplementary financial and IT support to be successful in their roles where necessary.\u00a0 Employers should provide employees with advice on how to maintain their physical and mental health while working from home.\u00a0 Above all, we should be kind.\u00a0 We will all know a family member or a friend who becomes sick and sadly some of us will suffer the permanent loss of a person close to us.\u00a0 Give people time to grieve in their own way after a death.\u00a0 Compassion and understanding are the markers of a good employer and organisations who show both will find workers are both loyal and engaged and willing to go the extra mile in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\nLucy agrees, \u201cEmployers need to consider their moral and ethical responsibilities here. Perhaps the CEO and leaders should ask: what would I want, expect and hope for? what would I want when post-pandemic travel opens up? It\u2019s important to remember: if an employee feels pushed to travel before they are ready (and worse, does travel because they feel there is no choice), the psychological contract, loyalty, happiness, or any positive emotion towards their employer will be destroyed and that is nearly impossible to get back. What would the consequences be? This is a time for those good CEOs and leaders to shine and consider psychological safety as well as physical safety, because business travellers now, are wanting both.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
When it comes to travel after quarantine, travellers will unlikely put up with the same level of fatigue and stress, or physical demands as before, so their boundaries of acceptance will change, driven by upgraded self-care and a desire to stay healthy. The first few months are therefore critical as this is an opportunity to hit the reset button, form refreshed relationships and ways of doing things for the better. It\u2019s really simple. There are four stages of travel: at home, which is your baseline; before; during; after. They can use this time to boost the baseline health, wellness and psychological safety as a method of hitting the reset button, being fully recovered, and prepared for take-off. Get things right now, with a wellness and psychological safety plan for when travel resumes. That can be achieved with support mechanisms of coaching, workshops, education, self-awareness and practice.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/p>\n
This period of downtime is giving us all time to reflect and those employers who will thrive and hang on to their best talent will be those who are \u00a0already working on their post-pandemic strategies to support all of their staff whilst crafting new physical and mental support strategies for their business travellers.<\/p>\n
A version of this article also appears on our partner’s, Maiden-Voyage<\/a>, website.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.0.6″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”4.0.6″][\/et_pb_divider][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_3,1_3,1_3″ admin_label=”back button” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ collapsed=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.4.2″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.4.2″][et_pb_button button_url=”\/workingfromhome\/” button_text=”back to Working From Home” button_alignment=”center” admin_label=”button: back to Working From Home” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#ffffff” button_bg_color=”#5b8cb1″ button_border_width=”0px” button_icon=”%%23%%” button_icon_color=”#ffffff” button_icon_placement=”left” background_layout=”dark” animation_style=”slide” animation_direction=”bottom” box_shadow_style=”preset3″][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″ _builder_version=”4.4.2″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ admin_label=”Footer” _builder_version=”4.4.2″ background_color=”#414042″ background_color_gradient_direction=”90deg” background_image=”https:\/\/www.gdg.travel\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/Train-Doors-Open-Start-Your-Journey.jpg” parallax=”on” custom_padding=”0px|0px|0px|0px|false|false” z_index_tablet=”500″ global_module=”1383″ saved_tabs=”all” collapsed=”on”][et_pb_row column_structure=”1_2,1_2″ use_custom_gutter=”on” gutter_width=”1″ make_equal=”on” admin_label=”Footer Row” module_id=”footer” module_class=” et_pb_row_fullwidth” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_enable_image=”off” width=”100%” width_tablet=”100%” width_phone=”” width_last_edited=”on|desktop” max_width=”100%” max_width_tablet=”100%” max_width_phone=”” max_width_last_edited=”on|desktop” custom_margin=”|||” custom_padding=”0|0px|0|0px|false|false” animation_style=”fade” animation_duration=”1800ms” z_index_tablet=”500″ make_fullwidth=”on”][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”rgba(65,64,66,0.75)” custom_padding=”100px|10%|100px|10%” custom_padding_tablet=”” custom_padding_phone=”” custom_padding_last_edited=”on|phone” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Title” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ header_2_font=”|||on|||||” z_index_tablet=”500″ locked=”off”]<\/p>\n
START YOUR NEW\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
JOURNEY NOW …\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Texts” _builder_version=”3.27.4″ header_font=”|||on|” header_4_font=”|||on|||||” z_index_tablet=”500″ locked=”off”]<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/h4>\n
WE ARE ALWAYS AVAILABLE<\/span><\/h3>\n
24 hours a day, 7 Days a week!<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_button button_url=”\/contact-us” button_text=”GET IN TOUCH” module_id=”get_in_touch_button_footer” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ custom_button=”on” button_bg_color=”#5b8cb1″ button_border_width=”0px” button_border_radius=”0px” button_font=”|||on|||||” button_icon_color=”#5b8cb1″ transform_scale=”98%|98%” transform_translate=”-1px|8px” background_layout=”dark” z_index_tablet=”500″ button_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_size__hover=”null” button_one_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_size__hover=”null” button_two_text_size__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_size__hover=”null” button_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_text_color__hover=”null” button_one_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_text_color__hover=”null” button_two_text_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_text_color__hover=”null” button_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_border_width__hover=”null” button_one_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_width__hover=”null” button_two_border_width__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_width__hover=”null” button_border_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_border_color__hover=”#6D6E71″ button_one_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_color__hover=”null” button_two_border_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_color__hover=”null” button_border_radius__hover_enabled=”on” button_border_radius__hover=”0px” button_one_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_border_radius__hover=”null” button_two_border_radius__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_border_radius__hover=”null” button_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”on” button_letter_spacing__hover=”0px” button_one_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_two_letter_spacing__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_letter_spacing__hover=”null” button_bg_color__hover_enabled=”on” button_bg_color__hover=”#6D6E71″ button_one_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_one_bg_color__hover=”null” button_two_bg_color__hover_enabled=”off” button_two_bg_color__hover=”null”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″ _builder_version=”4.0.6″ background_color=”#414042″ custom_padding=”100px|10%|100px|10%” custom_padding__hover=”|||”][et_pb_blurb title=”HEAD OFFICE” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%249%%” icon_placement=”left” use_icon_font_size=”on” icon_font_size=”28px” _builder_version=”3.21.1″ header_level=”h5″ header_font=”|500|||||||” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”28px” header_line_height=”1.2em” body_font=”||||||||” body_text_color=”#5b8cb1″ body_line_height=”1.8em” animation_style=”zoom” animation_direction=”left” animation_intensity_zoom=”12%” z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n
27 Middleborough<\/span><\/p>\n
Colchester, CO1 1TG<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_blurb title=”CALL US” use_icon=”on” font_icon=”%%264%%” icon_placement=”left” use_icon_font_size=”on” icon_font_size=”28px” module_id=”call_us_phone_cta_footer” _builder_version=”4.0.6″ header_level=”h5″ header_font=”|500|||||||” header_text_color=”#ffffff” header_font_size=”28px” header_line_height=”1.2em” body_font=”||||||||” body_text_color=”#5b8cb1″ body_line_height=”1.8em” animation_style=”zoom” animation_direction=”left” animation_delay=”100ms” animation_intensity_zoom=”12%” z_index_tablet=”500″]<\/p>\n