Business travelers say cutback in trips has pluses, minuses

— -- Cutting back on business travel was like taking a rejuvenation pill for Debra Martin.

She says she feels healthier and less stressed. And she loves having more time at home.

"I don't miss the Monday morning rat race at the airport and security checkpoint," says Martin, a safety consultant in Kent City, Mich.

"I enjoy Sundays more, because I don't have to think about packing and preparing materials to take with me."

The recession has sharply reduced the number of days on the road for many frequent business travelers. It's improved the lives of many, like Martin, but left others with difficulty adjusting.

Psychologist Dave Carder, a family therapist in Fullerton, Calif., likens the sudden change in a business traveler's routine to military personnel returning from deployment, spouses home after retirement and many people recently laid off from work.

"Dad or Mom will now be home in the evening more, and that will change family interactions dramatically," Carder says. "The individual who traveled will now need to adjust to a more boring and routine lifestyle — dinners that are mundane with no one to serve them, relationships that are more intimate and interactive, and schedules that don't feel normal."

Daniel Adam of Bryan, Texas, says he's made a smooth adjustment, and it's had a positive effect on family life. Adam, who works for a software company, spent more than 100 nights last year at Marriott hotels, but will stay half that many this year.

"I can make basketball games and Cub Scout events," he says.

Some have trouble adjusting

Less travel can be healthy for a family, says Frank Pittman, an Atlanta psychiatrist. But, he warns, it can be destructive for some.

"At first, being grounded at home with a family they only knew on weekends is a novelty, like a vacation," Pittman says. "But they quickly grow restless and look for something useful to do rather than hanging out feeling incompetent and keeping their TV as their sole companion."

For Deanne Sullivan, a health care systems consultant in Stockton, Calif., the adjustment has been far from rosy. All her business trips are canceled.