Like many people around the world, I travelled for Thanksgiving, going out of my own time-zone and back again. Upon returning to the office this week — and feeling a bit dazed the way one does when returning to work after a trip — I came across this article in Time:

http://healthland.time.com/2010/11/29/post-thanksgiving-travel-blame-jet-lag-for-your-memory-loss/

The article states: “According to psychologists at the University of California, Berkeley, chronic jet lag results in brain changes that persist long after a traveler returns to her normal day/night schedule,” going on to describe scientific research that demonstrated the difficulty of learning when coping with jet lag.

This got me to thinking about how this might apply to those working in the learning space. First off, it’d seem wise to avoid rolling out a learning program the week after an entire workforce has likely zipped around the country. But secondly, and more significantly, this further demonstrates the benefits of e-learning and all the other tools that allow employees to learn and collaborate remotely. The benefits of e-learning have long been stated in terms of the savings derived from travel costs and lost productivity in bringing far-flung workforces to a central location for learning programs. This research demonstrates a new benefit; that it is likely more difficult for people to absorb learning if they’ve travelled to do so.

Let us know your thoughts on or experiences with administering learning to travelling employees.