Does Anybody LIKE Business Travel?

[WDW*Dreamer]

Since I always scold my kids when they use the word “hate”, I’ll temper this statement…..

I STRONGLY DISLIKE business travel!!!

I live in the metro Atlanta area and have to fly out today for a week of sitting in meetings in San Francisco. Yes, I AM grateful to have a job; I know there are a lot of out-of-work people that would like to have my problem right now.

But, I LOVE going home every evening….my dog jumping around greeting me at the door, the challenge of getting the kids to their different sports practices while squeezing in dinner, listening to my wife tell me about everything that happened at her school that day (she’s a HS teacher), listening to my son and daughter tell me how “nothing” happened at school that day, homework time, late night trip to the gym, and then to bed and do it again the next day. I LOVE IT!!! The only interruptions to this routine I appreciate are the trips to Disney.

Instead, this week, I will stand in line at the airport to get crammed on a plane with a bunch of people I don’t know, sit jammed into that horrible seat for 5+ hours, walk a mile through the airport to pick up my stinky rental car, drive through city traffic in a city I don’t know, struggle to stay awake and attentive through all day meetings, go to dinner with the same people I just sat in all day meetings with, sleep alone in a hotel room, and get up and do it again, and again, and again.

The flight home isn’t so bad…at least I’m going home.

That’s all…..just wanted to vent a bit. I am blessed with my health, family and job. Doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons to fuss a bit from time to time.

Thanks for listening.

 

[bored]

I despise it as well. My brother on the other hand is mid 20's and single. He travels 2-3 weeks out of the month and absolutely loves it. I don't blame him he gets to see the world on somebody else's dime and isn't "missing" anything at home.

 

[Christine]

I haven't had to travel in awhile. I enjoyed it a good bit when I was younger (late 20 and 30s) and, I have to admit, as a worn out mom during those times, sometimes the business trips were the chance for me to get a good 8 hours of sleep in, have my meals made for me, and have the time just be about me.

Now, with airline travel the pain that it is, and my aging digestive system, all that change in routine can be tiring on me.

So, yeah, I would be dreading it.

 

[pogo791]

A colleague of mine likes to say that a trip beats working at the office, hands down.

Forty years ago when I began working, I agreed. Plane travel then was a rare perk, and for me many of the trips were abroad.

I still travel a lot, at a rough guess two or three times a month, ranging in length from a day to a week. All the trips are by plane. This past summer alone, a week in San Antonio and a week in Washington, plus three weeks in Australia (an unusually long trip, that), one week in Beijing / Hong Kong, a week in Vienna and a couple of jaunts over to Brussels.

Travelling by plane still has its pleasures. The main pleasure for me is to be able simply to unwind, read a novel or catch up on my work. But it's becoming far less glamorous, what with cramped seats (oh, how I agree with WDW*Dreamer about the horrible seats!), airlines skimping on just about everything from meals to drinks, and with crowded planes. And then there are those long, long lines and earlier check-ins in order to clear security ...

I can also enjoy just being by myself in the hotel room, for the same reason: unwinding, reading and catching up on work. And I'd love to be able to have a week of free evenings to wonder around San Francisco - I haven't been in there in years!

But one thing has changed over the past forty years. Because of the obnoxious mobile telephone and e-mails, none of us are ever disconnected from the umblical cord to work. Colleagues and business partners feel that they can send text messages or e-mails no matter where I am, and they expect an answer pronto. You never really leave the office, and yet you still have to deal with whatever it is you were sent to San Francisco, Canberra or whatever to do.

I still love to travel. It's having to take care, in effect, of two jobs that I don't like.

 

[Tinkermommy]

There are things I like about it and things I don't.

Pros
- I have been to some very nice places on the company's dime (London, Paris, Copenhagen and heading to Amsterdam in a few weeks and Rome in January) You don't get a lot of time to tour but it is great experience.
- I always seem to meet kind and interesting people.
- I think it's great that my children (especially my daughter) see me having a great career that I love. My daughter is still mad she didn't get to go to Paris.


Cons
- I miss my family a lot and they miss me. My children are small so it's hard on my husband and my kids.
- It's disruptive to my kids and husband's routine. He works a lot as well and this just puts more stress/pressure as it is.
- I have a lot of prep work before I go (making meals ahead of time, getting kids school stuff situated, picking out my daughter's clothes while I am gone).

I do have a good balance in that I get to work at home when I am not traveling. That is really wonderful in terms of flexibility and stress reduction. Atlanta traffic is a nightmare!

 

[SaraJayne]

Since I always scold my kids when they use the word “hate”, I’ll temper this statement…..

I STRONGLY DISLIKE business travel!!!

I live in the metro Atlanta area and have to fly out today for a week of sitting in meetings in San Francisco. Yes, I AM grateful to have a job; I know there are a lot of out-of-work people that would like to have my problem right now.

But, I LOVE going home every evening….my dog jumping around greeting me at the door, the challenge of getting the kids to their different sports practices while squeezing in dinner, listening to my wife tell me about everything that happened at her school that day (she’s a HS teacher), listening to my son and daughter tell me how “nothing” happened at school that day, homework time, late night trip to the gym, and then to bed and do it again the next day. I LOVE IT!!! The only interruptions to this routine I appreciate are the trips to Disney.

Instead, this week, I will stand in line at the airport to get crammed on a plane with a bunch of people I don’t know, sit jammed into that horrible seat for 5+ hours, walk a mile through the airport to pick up my stinky rental car, drive through city traffic in a city I don’t know, struggle to stay awake and attentive through all day meetings, go to dinner with the same people I just sat in all day meetings with, sleep alone in a hotel room, and get up and do it again, and again, and again.

The flight home isn’t so bad…at least I’m going home.

That’s all…..just wanted to vent a bit. I am blessed with my health, family and job. Doesn’t mean there aren’t reasons to fuss a bit from time to time.

Thanks for listening.

My DH has been traveling a lot this summer and he hates it. He is much like you in that he enjoys being home at night with his family.

I understand where you're coming from.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

I used to LOVE it. I would travel about 100,000 miles a year in the air and LOVED just about every minute of it. I knew most major airports like the back of my hand. I could even find a Pepsi in the Atlanta airport (home of Coke!). I relished my quiet time in the Delta Crown rooms, my comfy seats in first class and the excitement of new cities and new people. I would spend at least a week a month at the same hotel in another time zone and was on a first name basis with the entire staff. It was a fun life to a point but I missed my family.

Once my youngest was born all that came to a screeching halt and I never looked back. I wouldn't go back on the road full time for a zillion bucks right now. Maybe when he is older I wouldn't mind traveling a bit but never the life on the road like I used to have.

 

[luvmarypoppins]

My dh is the international traveler.

I think he is getting just about as sick of it as I am.

He usually goes to England, Denmark, Sweeden, Siberia, Beijing and New Zealand.

Lets just say this year he bought a memership to one of the frequent flier lounges.

The only upside is that we get alot of ff miles to use for our disney trips but only if its the right airline. He has no control over which one they pick for him etc. They look at time, cost etc.

This year he had some surgery and was on the plane a few days later. Now I might need some surgery next month and he will have to plan a trip to china around that etc.

I think we are so done with this at this point. His boss did volunteer for the next trip, yeah, I doubt that will happen.

 

[bettymae1121]

I only have to travel for work once every few years, but I actually enjoy it! I miss my DH and my doggy, but overall I have a good time. It's a nice change of pace from my usual routine.

If I had to travel once a month like some of my co-workers do (and some even travel 2-4x a month!) I'm sure it would get real old, real quick. But for me I looki forward to business travel.

Sorry you're not looking forward to the trip. Try to focus on the positve aspects of it rather than the negative. If you dread the trip and concentrate on how awful it's going to be, then you'll be miserable for sure. Try to find the silver lining and direct your energy to that instead. It may not turn your trip into a paid vacation, but it could make it into something you can at least tolerate.

 

[diznygirl]

Once upon a time we worked in Burbank and had to travel for business.... to WDW. Yeah, it sucked but somehow we managed.

 

[NotUrsula]

I'm sure that I wouldn't still like it if I were a true road warrior (one of those more-than-300-days people), but yes, I do like it, even when I have to drive. I travel hardly at all with my current job, and I really miss it -- it was wonderful to have some time purely to myself in the evenings, to eat out without children in tow or a time limit on the sitter. It was also always re-energizing to work on some really important and high-pressure project with a new team of people during the day. Conference travel I don't like so much, because I'm not much on small talk, but project travel was great.

 

[design_mom]

I usually only have to travel once per year for a couple of days. (And that trip was cancelled this year due to budget concerns.) There are things I enjoy about travel -- time alone, meals out, etc. However, I am always glad to come home.

Business travel is not the same as leisure travel (and I prefer leisure travel hands down), but sometimes it's a nice change of pace. However, I am glad it's only once a year. If it were more common, I would not like it *at all.* I'm too much of a home-body for that.

 

[marcyinPA]

I have the opportunity to go to the conference for NAEYC (national association for the education of young children) every couple of years, and I do enjoy going. I look at is as my time away to develop myself professionally. This year, I was fortunate to be chosen by my director to accompany her to Anaheim!

Could I travel and be away from my family every month? No way! But once in a while...sure!!

 

[FireDancer]

I had to do it with my last job but didn't mind. I was living in FL and the office I usually traveled to was back in Cleveland so I could visit all my friends and family at the same time. It was like company sponsored trips home .

Now I only have to travel down to Columbus about 4 times a year and love it. I catch up with friends down there and it is a quick 2 hour drive home. I get off work the same time while traveling as I do while at the office so there is plenty of time to meet up after work.

If I had to travel all over the country it would really depend. If I put in an 8 hour day and then am off like I am when I work at home I could find a way to see the city in that amount of time. If it meant 14 hour days and nothing but the hotel and office then I'd hate it but I would also hate it doing it from home. I love to travel and while doing it for business isn't ideal it would probably be fun for a couple of years before it got old.

 

[DizBelle]

It makes me miserable... Absolutely miserable.

 

[A_Princess'_Daddy]

When I was in my 20s, I traveled for business every week and was away from home, on average, 23 nights a month. I spent over 250 nights a year in a hotel every year from 1999-2005, flew well over 100,000 miles a year, and loved it. My DW (who was my girlfriend at first, then my fiance, and then my DW) was able to travel with me, as she could work remotely for her job, and my employer even paid for her travel on many occasions. We stayed in fantastic hotels, ate wonderful food, and in general had a lot of fun.

In 2005, when she was expecting our first child, I was away from home (as always) and received the dreaded call at midnight that she was having trouble with the pregnancy. We were both terrified, and no matter what I did there was no way to get home until the next afternoon. Everything ended up being OK with the pregnancy (now DD5), but literally the next day I took the management position that I'd been offered but had turned down multiple times and I never looked back.

I'm still in management in the same industry, albeit for a different employer, and I now travel for business about 6 times per year. I won't say that I hate it, because I love my job and I miss the work that could only happen on the road, but I will NEVER go back to it on a full-time basis, and the six trips that I make a year are a chore and not a perk. I'd much rather be home than on the road, and do not envy those who have to travel for work. It is a tremendous sacrifice that few non-business travelers comprehend.

 

[sbell111]

I enjoy it.

 

[SaraJayne]

I had to do it with my last job but didn't mind. I was living in FL and the office I usually traveled to was back in Cleveland so I could visit all my friends and family at the same time. It was like company sponsored trips home .

Now I only have to travel down to Columbus about 4 times a year and love it. I catch up with friends down there and it is a quick 2 hour drive home. I get off work the same down while traveling as I do while at the office so there is plenty of time to meet up after work.

If I had to travel all over the country it would really depend. If I put in an 8 hour day and then am off like I am when I work at home I could find a way to see the city in that amount of time. If it meant 14 hour days and nothing but the hotel and office then I'd hate it but I would also hate it doing it from home. I love to travel and while doing it for business isn't ideal it would probably be fun for a couple of years before it got old.

When DH travels, he typically has 18-20 hour workdays. He has to be at the plant when it' running.

So no, not exactly a great experience for him. On his last weeklong trip (that he just returned from) he logged over 80 hours.

Too bad he's salary. lol

 

[mrodgers]

I've only had to travel 2 or 3 times for work. I enjoyed it. I got to eat out expensive which I hardly ever eat out. I got to do things like take my first airline trip which was really neat since it was 1 year later on 9/11. There was 3 of us on a huge airplane.

What I don't like is the fact that I don't make a lot of money. I was in a credit card bind while the kids were little. A multimillion dollar company expected me to have a thousand + (flight alone was $1400) to pay for the trip and get reimbursed. I don't have a credit card I am willing to put company expenses on.

It's all changed now though because my wife went back to work. No one to watch the kids so I couldn't go if they wanted me to travel.

 

[FireDancer]

When DH travels, he typically has 18-20 hour workdays. He has to be at the plant when it' running.

So no, not exactly a great experience for him. On his last weeklong trip (that he just returned from) he logged over 80 hours.

Too bad he's salary. lol

That does sound miserable, though an 80 hour workweek at home with no overtime would be just as miserable.