Introduction

For many careers, occasional business trips are an inevitable necessity in order to grow, take on new projects, and be successful in your field.

While these trips provide exciting career opportunities, they also require partners and spouses to endure extended separations which can negatively impact their relationship.

Maintaining trust, intimacy, and connection despite being apart for days, weeks, or sometimes months is extremely challenging but very possible with the right strategies and mindset.

This long-form article will provide tips and advice for maintaining trust in your relationship and keeping your bond strong when forced separations occur due to work travel and business trips.

The recommendations include setting communication expectations beforehand, having dedicated virtual dates, maintaining intimacy through technology, independently focusing on self-care and personal growth, planning a special reunion, seeking support from others, reconnecting mindfully after the separation, and openly discussing any reflections or difficulties that arose during the trip.

With creativity, commitment, and mutual understanding, business trips do not need to harm your relationship.

In fact, by thoughtfully following these suggestions, couples can protect their foundation of trust during periods apart and may even find growth opportunities that ultimately strengthen their intimacy and connection.

Your relationship can emerge on the other side of a work separation even stronger and more resilient.

Set Clear Communication Expectations

Well before departing for a business trip, sit down together and thoroughly discuss preferences and expectations around communication during the upcoming separation.

How often will you check in with each other? Is texting enough for a quick hello or are longer phone or video calls better for more meaningful conversations? What times of day typically work best for both of your schedules?

Establish a clear shared understanding of the methods, frequency, and timing that will make you each feel most connected while traveling.

Additionally, talk honestly about needs and boundaries around alone time and independence during the trip. It’s healthy and normal for each partner to want and need some autonomy, privacy, and space for themselves, especially when physically separated for an extended period.

Discuss how much independent time feels right – perhaps agreeing to respect one weekday night per week as reserved for personal plans or activities. Finding the right balance together from the start prevents confusion and promotes continued trust in the relationship later on.

Making a communication schedule and alone time expectations explicit ahead of time provides reassurance while traveling and consistency after departing. Surprises and misunderstandings are avoided when the plan is clear to support the relationship flourishing across the distance.

How to Build Trust in Your Relationship | Relationship Theory

Have Ongoing Open Discussions

While apart for multiple days or weeks, our emotions can fluctuate – excitement, anxiety, sadness, frustration, and more. We lose our daily in-person support system.

Past hurts or insecurities may creep up. When strong feelings inevitably arise during a separation, have the courage and vulnerability to talk through them openly together.

Avoid retreating inward or shutting down when something feels off. The deepened understanding and intimacy gained from hashing out uncertainties and challenges together ultimately strengthen trust and commitment.

Practice sharing anxieties, difficulties, or complaints as they occur without blame or judgment. Talk through any feelings of jealousy, suspicion, resentment, or loneliness that pop up and where they stem from.

Discuss how each of your needs are or aren’t being met currently. Air reflections and revelations on your relationship as they unfold over the course of your time apart and independent growth.

Maintaining continual open and honest communication, especially about hard topics, provides reassurance and enhances intimacy during extended separations.

Send Thoughtful Messages and Care Packages

While away, make efforts large and small to show you are thinking about your partner and committed to maintaining your bond. Send a sweet text checking in during a busy day.

Email interesting articles or funny videos that remind you of them. Handwrite cards expressing how much you miss them and look forward to reuniting.

Mail care packages with their favorite treats, a cozy new loungewear set, or a collection of nostalgic memories from your relationship so far.

These meaningful touches reinforce affection and consideration even from miles away. They remind your partner that the distance hasn’t made you forget about their needs.

Knowing you took the time to do something heartfelt provides comfort and reassurance of your dedication to the relationship, strengthening trust in the foundation during challenging separations.

Maintain Virtual Intimacy

Physical intimacy is impacted by the distance of business travel. But emotional and sexual connection can still be nurtured virtually through technology and creativity.

Schedule video dates to enjoy a relaxing bath or massage together, discuss intimate fantasies, reminisce on your hottest past encounters, debate fun relationship quizzes, or exchange steamy texts and photos expressing attraction.

Apps also exist to foster intimacy remotely through questions prompting bonding conversations, virtual massages or even remotely controlled sex toys if both partners are interested.

Take the initiative to research options that suit your comfort levels. Prioritizing virtual emotional and sexual intimacy provides stability in your partnership until you can fully physically reconnect. It gives you both something fun to continue building.

Independently Focus on Self-Care

With your spouse or partner gone, lean on other pillars of your support system and take time to focus on yourself. Make plans with family, friends, and colleagues for dinners out, movies, shows, etc.

Share feelings openly – others may be experiencing similar struggles while partners travel. Learn new wellness practices like yoga, nature walks, or meditation. Read books you’re interested in.

Explore hobbies your partner doesn’t share like painting or cooking classes. Tend to your own needs through exercise, favorite foods, bubble baths, and restful sleep.

Arriving at your reunion in a balanced, relaxed state of mind strengthens the transition back to togetherness. Healthy independent self-care makes separations feel more manageable.

Reflect on Personal Growth

In addition to self-care, use time apart to reflect on personal growth. With some quiet space for introspection away from the rhythm of your usual shared life, think about who you are as an individual.

What activities or social connections could you pursue more independently moving forward? How do you want to expand or improve yourself? Are there new hobbies, skills, courses, or experiences you could undertake on your own during future separations?

Reflecting this way flips business trips from feeling solely like a relationship sacrifice to also being an opportunity for self-development. This builds confidence and trust that your relationship is evolving positively.

Plan a Reunion Activity

Having something special to look forward to together following a separation makes the time apart feel more manageable. Before departing, discuss and schedule a fun partner activity or weekend getaway to share soon after reuniting.

Maybe it’s tickets to a show, planning a romantic evening with all your favorite foods and music, booking a night at a hotel downtown, or even a mini vacation requiring more extensive planning. Give yourselves this intentional light at the end of the tunnel to anticipate.

After all the alone time, a dedicated reunion date night reminds you both that your relationship is the priority. Having the next milestone planned keeps energy and engagement alive. It provides shared excitement that carries you through until you can fully reconnect.

Seek Support From Family and Friends

On top of your own self-care regimen, spend additional time with family and friends while separated. Make plans for dinners out, movies, concerts, game nights, hiking, volunteering, visiting tourist sites in your own town, and anything else that brings you joy and comfort.

Let loved ones know you may need extra company and check-ins during this period. Share feelings openly and ask for support. They may be experiencing similar challenges during a partner’s absence. Bonding with your community strengthens all relationships and your sense of self during the separation.

Reunite Mindfully, Not Manically

When your partner finally returns after an extended work trip, it’s easy to want to dive right back into catching up on household needs, work emails, family obligations, and all the activities put on hold.

But after an absence, take time to reconnect emotionally and intimately without distractions. Delay cleaning or errands for a day. Let colleagues know you’ll be offline for a weekend. Clear your calendar to truly be present.

After reunited, set aside hours or days focused just on each other – ask open questions about their experiences, express how much you missed them, listen attentively, do an activity you both enjoy, and discuss any revelations from your time apart.

Prioritizing intimacy and emotional check-ins without rushing into logistics helps protect trust and stability in your relationship as you transition back into physical togetherness.

Discuss Reflections on the Separation

Once you’ve had time to reconnect in person, discuss more deeply the journey you each went through while separated, including highlights, challenges, feelings that arose, and how you handled them. Share what you learned about yourself and the ways you grew and improved.

Talk about what was most difficult and what expectations maybe weren’t met – and then work together to brainstorm how to improve for next time. Hold nothing back – airing reflections thoroughly reinforces intimacy and understanding.

Also, discuss your relationship learnings. Share any new understandings of each other’s needs gained. Did this experience reveal conflicts to work through or personal issues needing attention? What feelings came up and why?

Discuss which coping strategies worked well for you both and which didn’t. Holding space to unpack the separation experience together builds trust and stability for weathering future work trips apart.

Conclusion

While career-driven travel and work responsibilities will inevitably require couples to endure periods of separation, through open communication, creativity, and commitment, these relationship hurdles can be overcome.

Set clear expectations early about needs and boundaries. Have ongoing candid talks to work through challenges. Maintain intimacy through virtual dates and check-ins. Independently practice self-care and personal growth.

Plan fun quality time to reconnect. Seek support from family and friends. Prioritize your relationship after reuniting before diving back into logistics. Discuss your reflections on the time apart.

Employing strategies like these can not only preserve trust during extended separations but ultimately leave couples feeling more connected, understanding, and appreciative of their relationship.

With the right foundation, business trips do not have to break relationships – they can make them stronger.

Frequently Asked Questions

My partner cheated while on a business trip. How do we begin to rebuild trust?

Honesty and counseling are key to overcoming infidelity. Your partner must take full responsibility and disclose all details to start fresh.

Consider taking space apart initially to process feelings before communicating openly. Set clear boundaries to regain trust like sharing calendars, checking in more often during future trips, temporarily limiting alcohol use, or going to couples counseling.

Change won’t happen overnight but with commitment to transparency and vulnerability from both people, trust can be rebuilt over time.

I get anxious when my spouse travels but they don’t seem to understand. What should I do?

Don’t suffer silently. Have an honest discussion when you’re both calm. Explain how their absence uniquely impacts you, even if they handle it differently.

Ask for specific reassuring gestures like more frequent texts or phone calls. Compromise on a plan you both feel good about.

Check-in after trips to keep communicating. If needed, speak to a counselor for coping strategies for separation anxiety.

Your feelings are valid and with vulnerability from both people, you can address needs.

My partner seems distant after their last long business trip. How do we reconnect?

Give it a little time as they adjust but then prioritize quality time together. Plan a relaxing weekend trip or fun activity.

Ask questions to learn about their experience and listen without judgment. Don’t take distance personally – traveling for work can be disorienting.

Express your feelings using “I” statements. Suggest limiting trips for a while. Consider counseling to reopen communication habits if needed.

Reconnecting after absence just takes mutual understanding.

I’m starting a new intense travel job. How can we make this work?

It will require effort from both people but it’s certainly possible. Make time for an honest conversation about needs and boundaries before starting.

Be flexible – schedules will fluctuate. Take the initiative to plan virtual dates. Share reflections and feelings often.

Discuss what’s working and what’s not after each trip. Prioritize quality time together at home. Consider counseling to develop coping strategies.

With care for your relationship along with trust and communication, you can find new normals across distances.

How can we keep our sex life going despite frequent business trips?

Creativity and openness to new things will keep intimacy alive across distances. Schedule video dates for romantic encounters.

Discuss new fantasies or desires to try on reunions. Send flirty texts and pictures. Leave each other intimate voice memos.

Use remote intimacy apps that allow tactile interaction when apart. Watch movies together virtually. Upon reuniting, set aside time to be sensual without distractions.

Frequent separations can actually heighten anticipation and passion.