Work travel - I really don't want to go

[Thereluctanttraveller]

But I honestly can't see an alternative. Is there anything I'm missing? Or do I just have to get on with it?

I have a quite senior role which overlaps with a number of areas one of which us performance development / training.

This quarter, senior management given instructions to roll out some extensive training. This has to be delivered F2F to 5 sites in the UK, with over 350 people involved. I am based at the 1 site in the South. All the other offices are in the Midlands/ North.

The training can only be delivered in small groups, and is at least half a day per group. Doing the maths I will need to spend at least a week at each site. All are 3+ hours from home so I will be away for a week at a time.

I just can't face it. But I don't see the alternative. I am running the sessions with another person but there's just the 2 of us. No one else knows the material or is able to travel.

I am dreading being away from home for that long. A night or 2 is fine but weeks at a time...I don't know how I will juggle all my home responsibilities. I feel exhausted just thinking about it.

Would a male senior executive ask for a nanny to cover?

You'd be laughed out of the room at my employer for that. There is a senior level way to push back on unreasonable or unrealistic requests (and what that constitutes varies with people or timing) and I'm not sure that's it.

I don't need a nanny.

Make colleagues either travel because they have a little wife at home to cover it all, or if their wife works everything is arranged to cover their drop off/ pick up from school. As a woman I have never had that kind of consideration, typical corporate bullshit. Anyway, thanks for the ideas- I don't think there is much chance of another way of working being agreed when the current f2f is so highly regarded. However there are a few other angles I can try. I will go over train the trainer but I expect this will be resisted because of the fact no one can stick to a bloody message.

I don't want to leave my kids for more than 2 nights really. They get plenty of time on their own when I'm out at work for 10-12 hours a day, plus at least 1-2 overnights a month. Plus perish the thought I might actually like to have some time off in the summer holidays!

The number of people who think it's fine to leave mid teens for a week at a time is shocking.

I think I would look at a proposal around compensatory time off for all this travelling. If you usually travel 1-2 days a month this is a massive leap if you are getting no time back for the travelling/overnights.

Maybe they think you will just suck it up and therefore have put no thought into the personal costs - perhaps you need to ensure they do!