DESYNCHRONOSIS? SOMETHING GEORGE CLOONEY CAUGHT UP IN THE AIR?
The medical term sounds
much more ominous than mere jet lag. But whatever you call it, it’s still a
powerful force. The Encyclopedia Britannica
tells us :
hysiological desynchronization
is caused by transmeridian (east-west) travel between different time zones. The
severity and extent of jet lag vary according to the number of time zones
crossed as well as the direction of travel—most people fi nd it diffi cult to
travel eastward (i.e., to adapt a shorter day as opposed to a longer one). The
resulting symptoms include extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, loss of
concentration, disorientation, malaise, sluggishness, gastrointestinal upset,
and loss of appetite.
Some international
executives seem to handle it well though.
Raj Subramaniam, the
Senior Vice President of International Marketing at FedEx has spent almost as
much time overseas as he has at the company’s Memphis headquarters in the 18
years he has worked there. True, that includes two long-term postings in Hong
Kong and Toronto. But even since Subramaniam returned to Tennessee in 2006, he
has been logging major miles, visiting FedEx’s far-fl ung offi ces to oversee
global marketing plans and customer service. It’s a schedule that suits him,
and he takes the opportunity to drop in on old haunts and discover new cities.
“The worst thing you can possibly do is stay in the hotel, drink the bottled
water, and just look out the window,” says the seasoned traveler, who offers a few
of his secrets for travelling successfully.
