Aside from missing their families and home, business travellers globally reveal they can’t do without their home cooking and native idiom, finds latest survey by Regus, the global flexible workplace provider.

A quarter of business people say homemade food is among the top three things they miss when travelling for work. Respondents reported that after family (68 per cent) and their home (38 per cent), they are most likely to be hit by a bout of nostalgia over home cooking (25 per cent). One in five respondents (17 per cent) also longs to speak in their own language.

Other findings highlight that a quarter of respondents (26 per cent) are less willing than they were 10 years ago to be parted from their home comforts in favour of travelling for business.

“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,” Regus spokesman Mauro Mordini said.

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.”