MSPeconomist

So the bad boss would use a limo when you traveled together and not invite you to join him/her?

DeweyCheathem

For many companies, that won't work, as it displays too much common sense.

Badenoch

If we were going together he would but we often travelled separately due to differently schedules and assignments.

lhrsfo

My wife's company has a clear and sensible policy. It flies people out and back at the best times. It will pay for an extra night in a hotel and then a day flight (back from NYC) or won't expect people to come in after a night flight but it only pays for Premium Economy rather than Business. Within those parameters, if you can find a cheaper alternative (which may mean an extra night at one or both ends and/or flying in Economy), then you are welcome to do it. But walking into the office sub-par is not acceptable.

This seems to me to be sensible and grown up.

gobluetwo

Not a single connection, but possibly 2+ stops, or maybe even an overnight layover (e.g., arrive around midnight, depart at 7am - expected to sleep at the airport??). I've seen more than enough comments about this in the "ridiculous things to reduce costs" thread.

Daner

As long as one is dealing with reasonable people, I have found that it is often quite possible to find a way to make things work out well for all concerned, saving money for the company and/or the customer while making the most of the situation for my own purposes.

I live and work in Stockholm, but a few years ago I was on assignment for a client that needed me to deliver some educational meetings in Silicon Valley. I grew up near there, and much of my family still lives there, so I arranged to spend some vacation time in California following my meetings. The cost to the company was lower due to the reduced cost for a flight with a weekend stay and the fact that I only needed reimbursements for lodging and per-diem costs for the days directly associated with the meetings. I had the opportunity to see friends and loved ones without having to pay for an additional trip or spend additional time traveling. On the same trip, I was also able to arrange for a layover at CPH on the return leg, where I spent a long weekend doing some volunteer work at a sporting event. None of this cost my employer or the client anything extra, but being given the freedom to use some of my vacation days in this manner was very helpful to me, and did much to gain my loyalty and respect.

Another time I needed to teach some classes in Shanghai, but once again, the scheduling was a bit flexible. This time I flew to CPH to work on my hobby on the weekend prior to the business trip (completely at my own expense) before flying to Shanghai to conduct the trainings during the week. I then spent an extra day in Shanghai to take advantage of the lower flight costs for the Saturday night stay (which exceeded the cost of the additional hotel night + per-diem), and returned home. Again, the total costs to my employer (flight + lodging + per-diem) were kept as low as possible, but by being creative with the scheduling and being willing to pay my own way to CPH (which I would have had to do anyway if I wanted to take part in the sporting event), I was able to arrange the trip to make it more of an opportunity than a drudge. This cost my employer nothing, but earned them much in terms of my appreciation and loyalty, and there was never any reason for any of my colleagues to suspect that I was getting special favors.

If you are working for people who can't recognize a win-win opportunity when one is presented, or surrounded by colleagues who are more jealous than they are creative, it might be a good idea to consider looking elsewhere for employment.

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Often1

This.

Employers should neither encourage nor discourage specific uses of off-duty time. But, within local labor and tax rules, there it is creative good policy to be flexible and permit employees to do what they wish.

It all comes down to productivity. Show up at work and be productive.

nocturne14

Yes, i think there needs to be flexibility where it is a win-win for the company.

timfountain

It all depends, at least for me, on how much you travel. I already lost 50% of my January weekends to international travel and I travel 75% of my time, so every day away from family is a sunk day to me. Also, I don't travel to sight-see or 'have a good time'. I am there to work and so I don't feel the need to stretch the trip to include personal excursions at the companies expense. If I can do an international trip starting on Monday and back on Friday, I will do that.

RichMSN

It amazes me that organizations expect people to travel THERE and BACK on weekends, but heaven forfend that the employee get some enjoyment out of the trip. The company's time is theirs and the weekend is theirs, too.

I'm thankful I work for a company that gets that. When I go to Europe for a week, I travel on Friday and take much of that day to do so. I arrive Saturday morning and have plenty of time to adjust to the new time zone.

I also schedule my return on a Friday if at all possible.

matrixwalker2012

It's not something companies should actively promote because it is in the end, keeping employees away from their families and homes for longer than necessary.

For someone like me, who is young and single and likes to travel, then it's no big deal for me to just extend my trips. I'm the major exception on my team. Everyone else is married with kids. Better to just keep it as a quiet option for those who want it, but not to actively promote it.

emma69

If he wanted to help his boss out he would point out that the boss had paid for a lot of the meal / coffee costs while they were together, hence the larger tab.

Badenoch

Only if that were the case. Lying on behalf of a supervisor is rarely a good policy.

What happens more often in my experience is that the "boss" will toss the dinner bill at you. It goes onto your expenses and you have to defend it.

roberino

That's usually specifically prohibited in most company expense policies. The highest ranked person at the table pays the bill to avoid them "approving their own expense".

StartinSanDiego

Moderator Note: We've already got 2 threads going on this topic,so I'm merging this one with existing discussion. Please follow the discussion as it merges.