Employees abroad often make some questionable decisions
Some 79% of business travellers admit to taking risks on work trips that they’d never consider at home, according to World Travel Protection’s annual business traveller sentiment survey. Whether it’s ignoring local safety advice, riding scooters without helmets or getting into cars with strangers, these choices both endanger individuals and quietly expand corporate exposure and liability in ways most companies haven’t fully reckoned with.
Risk profiles are changing fast, especially as younger employees enter the workforce with a higher appetite for adventure and digital trust in gig-economy services. Employers must confront an urgent reality: safeguarding travellers is now just as much about understanding and influencing the behaviour of their own people as it is about geopolitics or natural disasters.
Smart businesses are embedding duty of care into every stage of travel, from pre-trip education to real-time alerts, to keep their teams safe and their brands protected. The question isn’t whether employee behaviour will shape your company’s travel risk; it’s how prepared you are to manage it.
Removed from daily routines and familiar environments, many travellers recalibrate their sense of caution. Psychological distance from home breeds a sense of anonymity, and cultural unfamiliarity adds another layer. What’s safe or legal in South Africa may be risky or prohibited elsewhere. In many cases, employees simply don’t know how local customs, laws or health conditions differ until it’s too late.
Learning to prepare
The survey results demonstrate that younger employees are especially likely to take chances – those under 34 are almost four times more likely than their senior colleagues to ignore health precautions or safety advice. Furthermore, two in 10 have admitted to getting into cars with strangers while travelling for work. Even basic protocols like sharing one’s location or sticking to known routes are frequently overlooked.
These behaviours carry immediate consequences for companies, including increased exposure to medical emergencies, legal trouble and reputational damage; greater complexity when providing effective support if something goes wrong; and heightened duty-of-care obligations, especially as regulators tighten expectations around employer responsibility. The takeaway is that employee behaviour has become a major variable in corporate travel risk management – and companies overlooking this reality are placing both people and business operations in jeopardy.
Traditional travel risk management relied heavily on emergency support and reactive measures. That approach no longer holds up against the realities of modern business travel. As employee behaviour becomes a primary source of exposure, leading companies are moving their focus towards prevention and empowerment.
Pre-trip preparation now goes far beyond itinerary confirmations. Proactive education – built into booking workflows – gives travellers destination-specific insights, highlights local legal or cultural pitfalls and flags activities that may require special insurance or approvals. For example, planning to ski or try water sports? Employees are briefed on required medical cover before they depart.
Personalised risk assessments have also become standard practice. Travel managers evaluate not just where employees are going but who is travelling: their age group, health profile and past behaviours. They then tailor alerts and guidance accordingly. On the ground, mobile platforms deliver live safety updates based on location and planned activities while making it easy for travellers to check in or seek help at any hour. Ultimately, the duty of care shouldn’t revolve around controlling employee choices. Rather, it should equip them to make safer decisions before risk becomes reality.
Cover the bases
Today’s environment demands policies that reflect real traveller behaviour and adapt as situations evolve.
Forward-thinking organisations are creating dynamic frameworks that guide decision-making before and during a trip. Policies now include clear reminders about local laws, health risks and employer expectations, delivered just when travellers need them most.
Clarity around escalation procedures is non-negotiable. If an employee loses a passport or faces a medical emergency after an accident abroad, they know exactly who to call and what support is available from day one of their journey. Importantly, policy updates aren’t set-and-forget. They need to be living documents informed by post-trip feedback and incident reports, ensuring continuous improvement as new risks emerge.
Employee behaviour is now at the heart of corporate travel risk. Every decision made on the road directly influences business continuity, brand reputation and duty-of-care compliance. Companies willing to confront this reality are already setting a new standard by embedding proactive education, personalising risk assessment and updating policies to reflect today’s traveller mindset.
Text | Herman Heunes
Photography | Gints Ivuskans
Herman Heunes is GM of Corporate Traveller. For more information, go to corporatetraveller.co.za.
