To need time alone in the evenings during work trip away with colleagues

[WalesScot12]

I've a work trip away for 3 nights with 5 colleagues. They're busy, hectic days. Usually everyone is happy to eat in hotel that we stay in, and I'm happy with this as I can leave them drinking and just go up to my room when suits. I would describe myself as an introvert who needs a lot of time alone to recharge, especially after hectic days and I've spent all day with these people, who are colleagues, not friends.

Now, however, this time someone has suggested going out to different restaurants every evening to far side of the city where we'll be staying, which will involve taxis etc. I just don't want to do this and want to chill. Is this rude, or can anyone understand my need for downtime?

"Thanks, but I just want to go to the hotel gym/go for a run, order some room service and call my family." Works for me every time.

Neither they nor you are unreasonable but why should your preference dictate everyone every night.

Personally I would find it boring to eat in the same hotel restaurant every single night. But I also find when I’m away at a work event, I need to duck out at times.

So be a grown up; use your words. Compromise. Or negotiate.

Go with them and get a taxi home early. Or make your excuses. Or negotiate - 3 nights; 3 restaurants - 1 in the hotel, one nearby; one the other side of town. You can choose to do 2 nights and just excuse yourself one night.

I used to do a lot of travel with work if people wanted to go out in the evening I usually found it inconvenient as I needed to phone home. Early first to speak to the girls before bed and later after a meal to speak with OH. Work paid for meals but sometimes it was more convenient to buy a salad and eat in my room with a book and the telly.

Just say no to going elsewhere. Say you want an early night.

It's a work trip.

Kind of depends on the point of travelling for work. A lot of the time the value in your work paying for you to go to a different location is to have a lot of face-to-face time, often outside of a work environment, with people you might not get the chance to do that with otherwise.

I'm an introvert who needs time alone to recharge but 3 nights on a work trip is nothing. It's intense but you power through it. (But then I WFH and would be able to have a very, very quiet week seeing no one after getting back.)

It's often easier on work trips to get alone time in the mornings.

But so much of this depends on context and your particular role.

I'm with you OP - being a quiet and reserved personality I prefer to spend my personal time doing quiet things, in quiet places with quiet, sensitive, intelligent and cogniscant people. The thouģht of being in loud, noisy places, with loud, noisy people, especially if alcohol is involved, is my worst nightmare. But, for the sake of 'form', I would probably endure one night of it and just say "no" to the other nights and care not one jot what others might think or say. My private time is exactly that - to do with as I wish