IT issues and traffic chaos are the biggest gripes for business travellers, according to new research.

The survey suggested that 63% of business travellers saw missing out on an important email as their main worry, with traffic problems on the road cited by 49%.

Problems caused by mobile phones running out of charge were highlighted by 44% of respondents while 37% said they feared IT failures while they were out of the office.

The biggest worry that did not relate directly to either IT or transport issues was the fear of arriving to meet clients with a stain on a tie or blouse, cited by 31%.

The amount of time business travellers spend out of the office is increasing, the research by ICM on behalf of BT Openzone revealed. Over half of workers now spend more time on the road than they did two years ago.

The research claims business travellers now require more than just the ability to pick up emails on a mobile device. Business travellers should be able to access emails of any size and work as if sitting at their own desk, claims BT Openzone.

“With more places than ever before for busy workers to be connected while away from their desks, ‘dead time’ should soon lose its place in the vocabulary of the business traveller,” claims Chris Bruce, general manager of BT Openzone.

“These figures show that when considering all the day-to-day pressures of work life, missing out on important email tops the list of biggest concerns for business travellers,” he added.

“It demonstrates how business-critical being contactable when travelling now is. The good news is that business travellers don’t need to worry, as Wi-Fi can be the solution.”