Home sick home: Singaporean business travellers' homesickness beat global average

And they're more likely to feel put-out.

According to a survey by Regus, Singaporeans ranked higher when it came to missing home with 42% saying they miss their home as compared to the average 38% globally. 22% of Singaporeans were also more likely to feel put-out by missing their local living standard, higher than the global average of 12%.

Aside from missing their families and home, 30% of Singaporean business travellers reveal that they long for home cooking, finds the latest survey by Regus.

Home cooking is among the top three things Singaporeans miss when travelling abroad for work, ranking higher than living standard or weather.

When overseas on business, respondents globally reported that after family (68%) and their home (38%), they are most likely to be hit by a bout of nostalgia over home cooking (25%), rather than savouring the delights of a foreign cuisine. One in five respondents (17%) also longs to speak in their own language, highlighting that some home-comforts really are irreplaceable in making people feel they belong.

Eric Tan, Director at Ex Proof Solution said, “It really depends where I travel to and for how long. When I go to Europe, I miss home cooked food even more as compared to when I travel around Southeast Asia. Travelling on business is also usually accompanied by business lunches or dinners and while the food is nice, after some time, you just yearn for some home-cooked food.”

“Having lived and worked in Singapore for some time, I can completely relate to the local sentiments as I too long for a plate of chicken rice whenever I am away. I also miss the comfort of my home when I travel out of Singapore and look forward to spending time with my family when I get back,” said Colin Sim, Finance Manager at Ironshore Insurance.

Globally, generation X and Baby Boomers are less willing to travel for work with family commitments taking precedence. 73% of Generation X, many with young children, indicated missing their family as top on their minds when travelling overseas.

In Singapore 20% of respondents are less willing than they were ten years ago to separate from their home comforts and travel for business. This trend can be attributed to the advancement in technology in recent times which has enabled businesses to communicate remotely instead of in person. This coupled with government support for flexible working arrangements has decreased the need for workers to travel.

Commenting on the results, Paul MacAndrew, Country Manager at Regus Singapore said, “Face-to-face meetings have often been a key part of business as people need to see the expressions and body language of those they are talking to, but workers also find that over the years their priorities change. New technologies that allow workers to hold video conferences are becoming more and more common and employees are rightly starting to demand that these be offered as an alternative to travel.”

“Reducing unnecessary travel also helps the bottom line: it significantly reduces costs and carbon footprint. By introducing a greater degree of video conferencing, businesses can have their cake and eat it too: they can save money and the environment, as well as helping increase employee satisfaction and improve their work:life balance,” MacAndrew added.