More than a third of U.K. office workers report an increase in in-person meetings, which for many is leading to more business travel and a more difficult work-life balance, according to a survey commissioned by chauffeured ride-hailing platform provider Blacklane of more than 2,000 office-based professionals in the country.
According to the survey, conducted by CensusWide from March 3 through March 8, more than half of the 35 percent of respondents who have seen their number of in-person meetings grow during the past two years said they are struggling to cope with that increased demand. Among total respondents, 35 percent said their frequency of work-related travel has steadily increased over the past two years, and about two-thirds said they have traveled as many as 50 times for business over the previous 12 months.
Fifty-three percent of respondents said they have seen remote meetings increase over that period as well, according to the survey.
Just under half of respondents said they feel more pressure to be constantly available, especially when commuting or traveling for business, according to the survey. That perception skewed toward younger travelers, with 50 percent of Generation Z feeling the pressure compared with 31 percent of Baby Boomers, Blacklane reported.
The biggest obstacle to work while traveling or commuting was no Internet connection, cited by 24 percent of survey respondents. That was followed by unexpected waiting or delays at 17 percent and noise at 16 percent.