How are you at maintaining a balance between your work and your life? It’s a good question, and I suppose that’s why there’s a new survey out that shows interesting results on the subject. Expedia(R) Corporate Travel surveyed more than 1,100 U.S.-based business travelers conducted to better understand how they maintain and manage work-life balance while traveling for business. Overall, the results illustrate that travelers are getting creative to make business travel more convenient to their everyday lives. The findings demonstrate that 66 percent of those surveyed do not have trouble balancing work responsibilities with personal obligations. As a way to maintain their regular routines, travelers say they are using technology and other strategies to stay in touch with loved ones and bringing the comforts of home out on the road. One way business travelers maintain their relationships is by instituting regular practices to keep in contact with friends and family while on the road. According to the survey, 86 percent of respondents stay connected with friends and family via email and phone while they are traveling for work. Sixty-seven percent establish a nightly ritual of calling their family every evening before they go to bed and 19 percent of travelers snap interesting pictures to share with their kids when they get home. "One myth about business travel is that travelers have to put their lives on hold and cannot stay in touch with friends and family when away from home, but the results of this survey show that's not consistently true," said Rob Greyber, senior vice president of North America for Expedia Corporate Travel. "The findings show that travelers are getting creative when it comes to maintaining their relationships while traveling, like the seven percent that use a web cam to connect online with their family. With advances in technology, it is getting easier for road warriors to keep in touch with their friends and family." Business travelers are also leveraging company travel to enjoy personal time. Surprisingly, survey responses indicate that more than 68 percent of business travelers are actually spending more time on the road. Additionally, 59 percent have someone join them for all or part of business trips so they can spend free time together and, in some cases, travelers even bring their pets on work trips. In the next part of this series, I’ll share with you more survey results, including how business travelers are finding ways to stay healthy on the road. | 
