Jet Lagged Employees Cost UK Companies Millions
Jennifer Billock December 14, 2016
A new study shows that UK workers are costing companies about $305.5 million when jet-lagged.
A new study by Opinium, a strategic insight agency, looked at how jet lag affects UK employees — and discovered some surprising results. The study was funded by both Kayak and Airbus and found that in 2016, jet lagged employees cost UK companies a $305.5 million loss.
According to the study, jet lag affects travelers for 2.2 days after a long-haul flight, adding up to 53 million work days each year for workers in the UK. One thousand employees that took long-haul flights in 2016 were surveyed for the study — which found that when jet lagged, they work at only 61 percent of their normal full capacity. More than 75 percent of respondents said that jet lag affects their concentration overall. Out of that 1,000, 20 percent flew business class on their long-haul flights.
In addition, the study found that 49 percent of workers in the UK made mistakes averaging about £38, or around $48, while jet-lagged, resulting in that 2016 overall loss of £241 million (about $305.5 million) for UK companies.
“It is easy to see jet lag as a minor inconvenience, but as the data shows, it is causing Brits to literally lose millions of days of their hard-earned holiday each year – and hitting businesses in their bottom line,” Kayak travel expert Suzanne Perry told Business Traveller.
Seventy percent of workers surveyed said that jet lag worsened their mood, and another 52 percent said it caused behavioral changes.
[Photo: Shutterstock]
Which is why my company has a rule that a flight > 6 hours we fly business class to try and reduce this effect.