From Deseret News archives:
Many business travelers take family along for vacation fun
Conventions often have baby-sitting and family outings
Between the banquet dinners and panel discussions on agricultural policy, he also took his 5-month-old daughter swimming for the first time in the hotel pool. Another day, they strolled through the humid botanical gardens in Balboa Park.
"It was like being at home. I got done with work, then enjoyed spending time with my wife and child," said Barrett, a 30-year-old general manager for a rice distributor in Williams, Calif.
"Work is very important, but there has to be a balance," Barrett said.
Traveling for work once meant sacrificing precious time away from home. But as the American workplace becomes more flexible about letting employees juggle their duties with family life, people like Barrett are finding it easier to bring their spouse and kids wherever their jobs may take them.
According to the National Business Travel Association, 62 percent of U.S. business travelers said they add a leisure component to at least one business trip per year. Among those travelers, two-thirds say they bring a family member or friend with them.
That blurring between office and family life represents a sea change from a generation or two ago, when children were told bothering their parents with a phone call at work could get mom or dad in trouble.
"That's not the case today. There's a realization that work has encroached so much on private time, that there needs to be some give and take," said Nancy Ahlrichs, president of EOC Strategies, a human resources consulting firm in Indianapolis.
In fact, many business conventions today court attendees by trumpeting baby-sitting services and family outings. The trend became more pronounced after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, as the industry struggled to recover by offering more incentives to get people on the road again.
Smart conference planners realized a good vacation spot could spur attendance, Ahlrichs said.
Hotels are stepping up family friendly services, too, at least in part to cater to the changing convention business a big money-maker for the industry.
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