Canadians traveling more for business: survey

TORONTO (Reuters Life!) - Canadians are traveling more often but not to sunny, exotic locations for vacations. They are packing their bags for business trips, according to a new survey.

More than 30 percent of 550 people who took part in the online poll said they traveled more for business than in previous years, with 20 percent leaving home at least once a month.

Seven percent said they spend a week or more each month on the road.

"More and more companies are globalizing," said Remy Piazza, managing director of CareerBuilder.ca, which conducted the survey said.

"I think it's safe to say we'll see a lot more business travel from not just salespeople and consultants, but other people within organizations as well."

Even with rising fuel costs, business traveling does not

appear to be slowing down, according to the poll.

As the demand for business travel increases, maintaining a healthy work/life balance has become a challenge, with 28 percent of people saying they have felt a negative impact on their home life.

To help maintain a better balance, some companies have offered employees more flexible work hours and job sharing options to help alleviate the strain.

In addition to traveling more, employees are also going

farther, with more than 10 percent saying they travel overseas.

More than 80 percent said they have lost money on a business trip, with eight percent losing C$100 ($99) or more because they weren't familiar with the company rules on expenses.

($1=C$1.01)

(Reporting by Irene Kuan, Editing by Patricia Reaney)