Johannesburg – 79% of business travelers admit to taking risks on work trips that you would never consider at home, according to the World Travel Protection annual Business Traveler Sentiment Survey.
Whether you ignore local safety advice, ride a scooter without a helmet, or ride a car with a stranger, these choices put individuals at risk and quietly expand the company's exposure and responsibility in ways that most companies don't fully consider.
Risk profiles are changing rapidly, especially as younger employees join the workforce with a higher appetite for digital trusts in adventure and gig economic services. Employers must confront the urgent reality. Parents of travelers also have a lot to do with understanding and affecting their people's actions, like geopolitics and natural disasters.
“Smart business embeds care obligations at every stage of travel to keep teams safe and protecting brands, from pre-travel education to real-time alerts,” says Herman Heunes, GM, corporate traveler.
According to Heunes, the question is not whether employee behavior shapes company travel risks. That's what you're ready to manage it.
Travelers who behave badly (and what that means for business)
Many travelers who have been removed from their daily routines and familiar environments readjust their attention. Psychological distance from home breeds a sense of anonymity, while cultural inexperience adds another layer. Safety or legality in South Africa may be dangerous or prohibited elsewhere. In many cases, employees simply don't know how local customs, laws, or health conditions differ until it's too late.
The findings show that younger employees are particularly likely to take opportunities. Employees under the age of 34 can be nearly four times more expensive than senior colleagues who ignore health precautions and safety advice. Additionally, two in ten people are allowed to ride with strangers while traveling for work. Even basic protocols such as sharing your own location or sticking to known routes are often overlooked.
These actions have immediate consequences for the company.
Increased exposure to medical emergency, legal troubles, and reputational damage. It becomes more complicated when you provide effective support if something goes wrong. Intensifying care obligations, particularly as regulators strengthen their employer liability expectations.
According to Heunes:
“Takeout is a major variable in corporate travel risk management. Companies overlooking this reality put both people and business operations at risk.”
Rethinking the duty of today's traveler care
Traditional travel risk management relied heavily on emergency assistance and reactive measures.
“That approach can no longer stand the reality of modern business travel,” explains Heunes.
When employee behavior becomes a major source of exposure, large companies focus on prevention and empowerment.
“Currently, pre-trip preparations go far beyond checking the itinerary. The aggressive education built into the booking workflow provides destination-specific insights for travelers, highlighting local legal or cultural pitfalls, and flags that may require special insurance or approval.
Personalized risk assessments have also become standard practice. Travel managers will assess not only where employees are heading, but also who are traveling: age group, health profile and past behavior. Next, adjust the alerts and guidance accordingly.
On the ground, the mobile platform offers live safety updates based on location and planned activities, and travelers can easily check in or help at any time.
Ultimately, care obligations should not revolve around controlling employee choices. Rather, they should be equipped to make safer decisions before risks become a reality.
Building smarter guidelines for real-world risks
Today's environment requires policies that reflect actual traveler behavior and adapt as circumstances evolve.
Advanced organizations create dynamic frameworks that guide decisions before and during travel. Currently, the policy includes clear reminders about local laws, health risks and employer expectations provided by travelers when they need them most.
Clarity regarding the escalation procedure is not negotiable. If employees lose their passports or face a medical emergency overseas after an accident, they know who to call and exactly what support will be available from the first day of their journey.
“It's important to note that policy updates are not set and forget,” Heunes said. “They need to be documents notified by post-trip feedback and incident reports, and ensure continuous improvement as new risks arise.”
The next frontier of travel risk
Employee behavior is now at the heart of corporate travel risks. All decisions made on the road directly affect business continuity, brand reputation and compliance with care obligations.
Companies willing to confront this reality have already set new standards by embedding active education, personalizing risk assessments, and updating policies that reflect the way travelers think today.
“Traveler behavior continues to evolve, and your approach needs to do that too. You can't prevent all the risks, but you can prepare people to manage risks, and more effectively prepare unexpected or unpleasant events,” says Heunes. “Putting employee choices and behavior at the heart of travel risk management will transform unpredictable travel into safe returns,” he concludes.
