The novel coronavirus has thrown the business world (and the rest of the world) into chaos. Though the number of business trips has been greatly reduced to increase employee safety, there are still hundreds of thousands of business professionals who need to travel for work every day. This means that all business travelers need to practice safety measures. So, in today’s post, we are going to take a closer look at 4 ways to stay safe during a business trip.
Avoid Driving When You’re Tired
Even if you’re flying across the globe, there is a good chance that you will need to rent a car to get around. Either way, long workdays and flights can make you feel very tired, very quickly. The last thing you want to do is get in the car and have an accident. Be especially careful driving around airports, as there tends to be heavy traffic. This is part of the reason why airports implement airport barricade lights to help people navigate both the exterior of the airport and even the runway. In any case, only drive if you feel that you can focus on the road!
Locate Police & Medical Facilities In Your Area
This tip is especially important if you are traveling abroad, but it also applies in new states or cities that you’ve never visited before. You should always do a quick Google search to find the nearest police station and hospital or medical clinic. After all, you never know when an emergency could suddenly arise that requires fast action. It’s better to take a few extra minutes to prepare yourself than to be put in a potentially life-threatening situation with no idea how to get help.
Have a Plan B In Place
Traveling is always complicated. The weather turns bad, flights get delayed, and in some cases, travel restrictions go into effect when you least expect them. So, always have a Plan B. Whether it’s staying at your hotel for a few extra days or finding an alternative way to get home, you need to make sure that your plans account for various plausible scenarios. For example, let’s say that your flight to your destination gets delayed for a full 24 hours, but you have a meeting in another country tomorrow morning. What do you do? In this event, you should be prepared to connect to the meeting virtually while still having a place to stay nearby until you can get on your flight.
Always Keep Your Work Equipment Secure
Ultimately, business trips should always be about getting work done. If you’re like most business travelers, a lot of your work will be accomplished or managed on your computer, phone, tablet, or a combination of different devices. Ideally, you should try to keep your devices with you at all times. However, if you have plans to just go out for a drink, you might prefer to store some or all of your devices in a secure place, like a safe in your hotel room.
Image by Tobias Rehbein from Pixabay;