Aibu 6.20am train for a meeting

[Chantholtmouse]

Is it unreasonable of my workplace to expect me to get a 6.20am train to attend work meetings and training 300 miles away? I absolutely don't mind attending but a 6.20am train seems unreasonable. It's the only one that would get me there in time. I'd have to be up at 4.45am to quickly shower, dress, walk the dog around the block (I also have to find someone to pick him up) and drive to the train station which isn't that close.

It's then 3 full days of meetings and training which I'll be shattered for. I'll get a bit of time back but it still seems a big ask. There's no option for paid accomodation to stay the night before.

Aibu?

You work in the public sector, don’t you?

Also worth working out who is saying no to the hotel room and what they care about and presenting your argument in that way e.g. if you're exhausted productivity will be lower, an extra night where others will also be there could be a good networking opportunity, could you go into the other office the day before and add in some extra meetings to make it more worthwhile etc.

FFS at everyone else's hours and dh's hours and job on this thread!

We're talking about OP's job, not yours! God almighty.

Hahahahaha, good luck with that in private! You would just get "hated" for being inconvenient/inflexible... Simultaneously handed the rubbish projects for career progression!

The joke is, it's often cheaper to get a hotel room and an off peak train the night before than a peak hour train on the day.

We had this situation for a training course and I think once they were presented with the financials they allowed people to stay the night before if they wanted to.

This sounds like madness. No privately owned company I've ever worked for would entertain this sort of thing, and my employers have always been extremely reasonable.

As a one off no it's not an unreasonable request however

If they know you will need to get up at 4:45am to get to the 6:30 train then they clearly do not care about you as a person. Any decent employer would be making a case by case decision and paying you to stay the night before.

I would not complain because they have made their decision. But in your shoes I would sack off the 'networking' bullshit on the first night. Have a meal or whatever with the colleagues or clients [assuming it is held at a reasonable time] then say you are feeling unwell and kick back in your room and watch a film.

As someone who regularly had to get a 0500 train to get to work (leaving at 0430) and now has to get an 0455 bus to get to work (also leaving at 0430), I say "Suck it up, Buttercup"

Ah yes!

Just in case it's not obvious, people are describing their work and others to give some perspective.

The OP did ask about reasonableness- so what do you expect in responses?

@Meowandthen @SouthernLassies I literally almost typed the same thing lol

The suggestion to begin the day at midday; that's the start of lunchtime at most workplaces!

As someone who regularly had to get a 0500 train to get to work (leaving at 0430) and now has to get an 0455 bus to get to work (also leaving at 0430), I say Suck it up, Buttercup

But that was your choice to take that job knowing the place of work and where you live. Therefore comments like that are of no relevance to ops scenario.

Whilst she has only put limited information it appears that meetings held far away are NOT in ops contract. However she should really clarify this point.

I wouldn't do it. But my company would pay for the hotel so it's a moot point.

I am not annoyed, I'm just asking what you would do and picking you up on some assumptions you made. Not taking anything personally at all.

How would you know that two locations would be a) available and b) accessible to everyone?

How would you do something as online training when not everything can be done that way?

You don't sound very experienced whatever your role is.

And of course the trainers may be consultants they are bringing in from outside, so their location and commitments need factoring

Actually I think it’s less relevant the start time. It’s the length of the day that’s a potential issue. Is there an option for the first day finishing earlier to allow for the travel time OP? Or is the networking pretty much mandatory?

I would say a few considerations to raise if pushing for a hotel the night before:

• expecting you to put in for example a 14 hour day when you usually work 8 is unreasonable
• You won’t be in your best frame of mind and be able to fully engage if you have insufficient rest. Not great if you are with clients or any assessments required for training etc
• have you checked with colleagues travelling similar distances if they are staying the night before, I’ve know this be the case sometimes
• Also IME companies have factored in distance but not necessarily travel times e.g. lots of train changes so may be unaware of the impact.

I’ve had similar, company training 250 miles away from home, when I first joined the company the regional training centre was 60 miles away but they combined two regions together for training after a few years and initially refused to choose a central location as it would be pricey to hire a suitable venue!

The new location meant leaving home at 6am with a 30 minute drive to the station, full days training so got back to the station at 9.30pm, I realised I was WAY too tired to safely drive home so had to sleep in my car for a few hours first.

Unfortunately conveniently the following month my car broke down and I couldn’t afford to fix or replace it, and the public transport in my town starts at 7.30am with taxis being rare and expensive (no Uber here!) but the company had no choice if they wanted me to go to the training.

I’m guessing others in the company had similar issues to me, as after a few months it was changed to a more central location between the two regions, I guess the cost of people’s taxis or people saying they needed a hotel made hiring a venue cheaper in comparison!

After the first training in the more central location my manager (accidentally on purpose) shared some confidential feedback from the MD to say I seemed like a different person and why the change?…erm because the training course was no longer a 16 hour working day 🤷🏻‍♀️

And yes I get up at 6.30am daily currently and I’ve had roles with 3am/4am starts and 14 hour days /48 hour on calls on site etc so I’m not afraid of hard work/long shifts/ early starts etc.
However it massively depends on your life circumstances and doing a 16 hour working day when you have chosen a role that is contractually an 8 hour day is the issue and I would say fine to speak up! YANBU

wow didn’t realise I am still quite angry about my experience….it was a good few years ago 😂🙈

I work a 3hr drive from my national office, which is quite central. They start our quarterly meetings at 12.30 with lunch to ensure that those of us travelling from outlying parts of the country dont have to get up at godforsaken hours and arrive exhausted. Overnight stay and meeting the following day finished by 3pm so we dont get home too late.

The general rule is that anything over a 4hr round trip is eligible for a nights accommodation. I dont always avail myself of the opportunity but it's nice to know it's there.

NHS too and they have paid for accommodation the night before a training day too on numerous occasions.

I was thinking the same - surely a Premier Inn or something is cheaper than the train fare that early? Although it won't help with dog care.

I wouldn’t do it as not an early bird, but then I would pay for accommodation.

If you can’t afford to then going to have to suck it up probably. Sleep on the train!

Also what's the schedule for the day? If there' an hour for lunch I'd ask for it to be cut to 30 minutes and start 30 mins later.

i commute to the office weekly and my train is 6:10 I really don’t think it’s that bad, you can sleep on the train as well

Yes there are people who commute 2h to work every day at 5am. But I chose my job based on commute and the work hours to fit my life and it doenst include early mornings or a commute.

Since this is a one off I'd do it. I wouldn't be happy about it but that's because I don't really have any leverage at work. You need to decide if you can push back or if just doing it is better for you long term

I think some people are missing if OP is flexible, shown to be team player and helpful.. The company are more likely to be the same with her. It's all about building goodwill. So many men stay late at work, travel and entertain clients then they're rewarded with promotions...

What has that got to do with anything? She's complaining about a 3 hour journey starting at 6.20, not about having to go into work at 6.20.

I think it's unreasonable. Very unreasonable.
If they pay for a room the night before you'll have to pay for an extra dog care day.

If your train is late you will be very late.