It’s the age old question: work to live or live to work? In a world where it’s often viewed as an either-or, isn’t it time to find a happy medium? Where having a high-flying career doesn’t mean jeopardising leisure time or holidays?

Figures released earlier this year show that nearly half of the UK workforce feel overwhelmed at work, whilst a whopping 85% say that work is causing them stress.* It’s a worrying statistic, especially when combined with the fact that a third of Brits didn’t take their entitled annual leave in 2017.**

No regrets

And yet, when people look back on their lives and are asked what they regret (a feeling we’ve all experienced at some point), several answers occur again and again. One, “I wish I’d worked less”, another “I wish I’d travelled more”. In hindsight, people wish for a more rounded life, where they didn’t slave over a desk into the night or cancel their holiday plans to meet a deadline.

Work Stress

With stress affecting such a high proportion of us, taking annual leave and planning a trip could be the answer. Battling the rat race and facing the daily stresses of life mean we tend to forget what’s really important and meaningful to us all as individuals. Spending quality time with a loved one, having a guilt-free lie-in, experiencing the great outdoors – travel promotes all of these and more, helping us to re-align ourselves with what really matters. Stepping away from the daily grind to focus our minds on something completely different can also have an amazing effect on our happiness levels. Taking time to refresh and recharge will naturally help to alleviate stress as worries melt away and life is thrown back into perspective. As a result, on return to work, most of us will perform better, with a new lease of life, happy and reinvigorated from having time away.

New experiences

What’s more, the enjoyment we get from travelling, is not exclusive to the trip itself. Right from the start when you’re looking for inspiration (check out some great ideas here), the prospect of travelling gives us something to look forward to and helps make a hard day at work worth it. Equally, the memories made from experiencing new things and meeting new people stay with us for a long time, and can be called upon at any moment as a brief escape from reality.

Balancing the adventure scales

So why settle for either-or? Why not have it all? Reducing stress, boosting happiness, helping us perform better at work; travelling should be a no-brainer. And it’s never been easier. Gone are the days when a holiday had to mean 7 nights on the Costa del Sol. If you want to trek Sudan’s epic Bayuda Desert by camel, you can. Or if you’d rather learn the ropes in one of the world’s best sailing destinations, we can help.

The possibilities are endless. There’s something for adrenaline junkies and daredevils, animal lovers and water babies.

It’s time to redress the balance, the time is now.

*Qualtrics Employee Pulse 2018
**https://www.theguardian.com/money/shortcuts/2018/jan/16/truth-why-we-dont-use-all-annual-holiday-leave