SOUTH Africans are the
most stressed travel
professionals in the
world.
This is according to a
recent Happiness Index study
conducted by global travel
and hospitality recruitment
company, Progressive
Personnel.
The survey, which was
launched in mid-May, was
distributed to travel and
hospitality professionals in
the UK, North America, the
Middle East, Europe, Australia
and South Africa to assess
their happiness in three key
areas: happiness at work,
work/life balance and future
prospects. Using a rating
scale format from 1 (least)
to 10 (highest), the survey
was segmented by geographic
location, gender and
generation. In South Africa,
172 travel professionals
completed the survey.
The study found that South
African travel professionals
were more stressed than
their global counterparts,
with a poorer rating of work/
life balance and future work
prospects.
Results show that South
African Millennials are the
least happy group of travel
professionals, scoring just
5,3 on their total score for
the Happiness Index. North
American Millennials are the
happiest with a total score of
7,3. Baby Boomers are the
happiest generation of travel
professionals.
Other results revealed that
Australian travel professionals
believe themselves to be
the least fairly remunerated
travel professionals globally.
Australians and British
professionals feel less valued
and respected in their job
than their global counterparts.
North Americans, who are
the world’s happiest, most
satisfied and motivated travel
professionals, are most likely
to stay in travel in future.
Under pressure
There are a number of
pressures within the travel
environment that may be
contributing to the high level
of stress experienced by
local professionals, industry
experts say.
Two significant factors
that differentiate the
South African sector from
other global markets are
geographic position and
the higher percentage of
corporate travel management,
says Mladen Lukic, gm
of Travel Counsellors SA.
“Our global counterparts
conduct significantly fewer
transactions per journey,” he
says, adding that SA agents
work at a greater capacity.
Local travel agents are
under an increasing amount
of pressure, says Marco
Ciocchetti, ceo of the XL
Travel Group. He says agents
are operating in a very
different industry compared
with 20 years ago; one in
which perks and opportunities
are limited. Work-life balance
has also become more
challenging, he says. “Travel
is now no different to any
other job; we’re just paid
less,” he says.
The ability of travel
companies to remunerate
their people well is a definite
concern, agrees Ben Langner,
md of Carlson Wagonlit
Travel South Africa. The
corporate travel industry is
highly competitive, servicing
clients who are under huge
strain to reduce costs, he
says. “There is a big focus
on cost containment. Agents
are under a lot of pressure
to offer the best possible
service at the lowest possible
cost.”
Commenting on the marked
dissatisfaction of Millennials
in particular, Garth Wolff,
founder and ceo of the eTravel
Group, says it likely has less
to do with travel specifically
and is more about the pace
at which Millennials function
and their lack of interest in
sitting behind a desk.
Perhaps the trade does not
place enough emphasis on
how much there is to love
about travel, says Garth.
“We’re not undertakers,
we’re selling people their
dream holidays. And while
it’s highly stressful, it’s
also really exciting.” Agents
should be careful not to
allow their own stress or
unhappiness affect their
ability to sell travel, he adds.
“Agents need to put a smile
on their face when they
phone their clients. If you’re
grumpy, clients can hear it.”
