JOHANNESBURG – If your company has embraced hybrid work and invested in AI-driven efficiencies, you’re already building a workplace fit for the future. But there’s one area often left behind – your corporate travel policy.
Despite major shifts in how and where employees work, business travel remains essential for closing deals and strengthening client relationships. However, what employees expect from business travel today isn’t the same as it was five years ago – and research is very clear about where it’s heading.
By 2030, 48% of Africa’s workforce will be under 30, according to PwC, and in South Africa, millennials and Gen Z already make up 75% of employees. These professionals prioritise flexibility, wellbeing, and purpose, making travel policies focused solely on price feel increasingly outdated.
The World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 confirms that for younger employees, work-life balance factors higher than salary alone. Yet, while hybrid work models have evolved, business travel is still often approached with rigid, pre-pandemic thinking, with employees booked onto uncomfortable red-eye flights and expected to manage overloaded schedules, with little consideration for the way work has changed.
According to Mummy Mafojane, incoming General Manager of FCM South Africa, this disconnect is a concern. “Employees are given flexibility in some areas, yet when it comes to work trips, it’s still about cost-cutting at the expense of productivity and well-being,” says Mafojane.
For companies competing for top talent, it’s clear that corporate travel policies need to be reassessed. So, what exactly needs to change?
Business travel needs to support wellbeing – not harm it
As the Future of Jobs Report shows, employee wellbeing is now a core workplace expectation. It’s no longer a secondary concern, but something linked directly to job satisfaction and retention.
Despite this, many employees still find themselves on late-night flights before major meetings, scrambling between airports with multiple layovers, or enduring exhausting itineraries designed to deliver on cost savings rather than outcomes, performance or wellbeing.
Mafojane says forward-thinking companies are now replacing outdated travel policies with ones that factor in wellbeing. “Many businesses now take a ‘lowest logical fare’ approach rather than automatically picking the cheapest ticket. This means considering factors like direct flights, travel time, and recovery periods before meetings rather than just chasing the lowest price.”
Instead of insisting on same-day return flights after long meetings, more companies are approving overnight stays to prevent burnout. Frequent flyers, particularly those handling major accounts or executive roles, are also seeing more approvals for premium economy seating on long-haul routes.
“When employees arrive exhausted, productivity suffers,” Mafojane explains. “If someone is flying to close a major deal, but they have no recovery time, their ability to perform is compromised. Balancing cost and wellbeing leads to better business outcomes.”
The purpose of business travel is changing
Pre-pandemic, executive travel often meant constant city-to-city movement, attending check-ins and meetings that could just as easily have happened remotely. But as hybrid work models become the norm, travel patterns are shifting.
“Executives who were once on the road every week are no longer following that pattern,” says Mafojane. “Travel is becoming more strategic, meaning fewer trips that are better planned, and only when face-to-face engagement is necessary.”
Rather than travelling for routine meetings, business trips are increasingly focused on high-impact engagements – negotiations, investor discussions, or hands-on team collaboration that can’t happen effectively over video calls.
At the same time, organisations are restructuring business trips to be shorter and more focused. Employees are maximising their time on the ground, condensing meetings into shorter windows, rather than making frequent, drawn-out visits.
Ultimately, organisations need to start asking the right questions, says Mafojane. Are employees travelling because it’s necessary, or because it’s habit? Can meetings be streamlined into fewer but more effective in-person visits? The companies making these adjustments now are already seeing efficiency gains, improved employee satisfaction, and even cost savings.
Remote work is creating new tax and compliance risks
With borderless work increasing, PwC highlights a growing challenge: remote work and international travel are now overlapping in ways companies weren’t prepared for.
Mafojane warns that businesses must establish clear policies regarding employees who work across borders, particularly those extending work trips into longer stays without realising they could trigger new tax or visa obligations.
“Employees can create complex tax residency issues for their companies when they extend business trips or work remotely while travelling,” she says.
Global mobility tracking and updated remote work policies that align with travel guidelines are becoming essential for companies with internationally mobile teams.
Mafojane urges business leaders to place corporate mobility under the same strategic review as hybrid work and talent retention strategies.
“Ask yourself: Does our travel policy align with our values? Does it reflect how our employees work today? Is it flexible enough to balance efficiency, wellbeing and compliance? If the answer is no, it’s time for change.”