A literature review of overnight work travel within individual, family and social contexts

ABSTRACT

This paper presents results of a comprehensive literature review of empirical studies investigating travel for work and how it relates to individual lives. The paper presents information on how work travel has been operationalized in the literature. The paper describes findings concerning how feelings about travel, individual well-being, the work/family interface, family relationships and social connections have been found to be affected by work travel. The empirical articles on workers who travel have been conducted in multiple countries and via diverse methodologies, which provides richness to the findings. The lack of uniformity in how work travel has been operationalized presents challenges for drawing conclusions about the effects of work travel. Recommendations concerning how to move the field forward are presented, including uniting the employment-related literature with the family literature to provide more holistic and useful implications for the study of work travel.

RESUMEN

Este artículo presenta resultados de una revisión exhaustiva de la literatura de estudios empíricos investigando viajes de el trabajo y cómo se relacionan con las vidas individuales. El artículo presenta información sobre cómo los viajes de el trabajo se han operacionalizado en la literatura. El artículo describe hallazgos sobre cómo los sentimientos sobre el viaje, el bienestar individual, la interfaz de el trabajo / familia, las relaciones familiares y las conexiones sociales se han visto afectadas por los viajes de trabajo. Los artículos empíricos sobre los trabajadores que viajan se han llevado a cabo en varios países y a través de diversas metodologías, que proporcionan riqueza a los hallazgos. La falta de uniformidad en la forma de cómo los viajes de el trabajo han sido operacionalizados presentan desafíos para sacar conclusiones sobre la efectos de los viajes de trabajo. Recomendaciones sobre cómo avanzar en en esta área son presentadas, incluyendo la unión de la literatura relacionada con el empleo junto con la literatura de estudio familiar pueden proveer implicaciones más holísticas y útiles para el estudio de los viajes de el trabajo.

KEYWORDS:

• Work travel
• health
• relationships
• social network

PALABRAS CLAVE:

• Viajes de trabajo
• salud
• las conexiones sociales
• las relaciones familiares

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Shelby C. Borowski, MS, is currently a doctoral student at Virginia Tech in the Human Development department focusing on Family Studies. She is also simultaneously working on her Master of Public Health at Virginia Tech. Her research focuses on how various facets of work and family life interact to influence health behaviors, such as exercise, nutrition, and sleep.

Jill J. Naar, MS, is currently a PhD student in the Department of Human Development at Virginia Tech focusing on family studies and gerontology. She earned a master’s degree from East Carolina University in Recreation and Park Administration and a graduate certificate from Appalachian State University in Sociology. Her research interests include leisure and aging, work-life interaction and intergenerational programing.

Anisa M. Zvonkovic, PhD, is a Professor and Department Head in the Department of Human Development. Her research interests are in work and family life and close relationships, especially unusual work demands.

Andrea R. Swenson, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Human Development and Family Studies at University of Wisconsin Stout. Her dissertation focused on couples in family businesses. Her research interests center on couple relationships and work.