I don't like socialising with my colleagues on business trips
One thing bugs me when I am on business travel. It's all this socialising I am expected to do!
Let me explain: When travelling on business, especially when doing trade shows, everything seems to revolve around drink. A drink here, a drink there, going out for drinks after dinner, before dinner, during dinners. My company's alcohol policy is liberal so you can claim for drinks on business travels.
When I travel on business I just want to go do my job - customer meetings, trade shows etc. and then head straight back to my hotel. Maybe order room service, go for a swim in the pool, have a massage, or go for a walk. Or - just chill out on the big hotel bed, enjoy not having to clean up after myself no matter what I do, and just watch a film on the hotel movie service or even read a good book.
Yet I am expected to go out for "team dinners", or even worse - just "drinks". Alcohol does nothing for me, so the drinks themselves have no value to me. Standing around in a loud bar does nothing for me either. Intelligent conversation in a quiet place would be great, but there are just so many topics you can't discuss with your colleagues conversation becomes tame and uninspiring. Also, why should I go out with my colleagues - they are just people I work with, not my friends. I get along with them professionally but when I am off duty I just want time to myself.
Many of my colleagues have kids. I don't. They tell me that their lives at home are so regimented that when they finally get to go away they let their hair down and stay out until 4AM. Also, some of them have told me they don't want to come back to an empty hotel room - they find it depressing - and stay out as long as they can and then just go to their rooms to sleep.
Am I the only one who feels like this? Some of my colleagues think I am grumpy. I'm not. I just don't like all this going out business.