Travelling 4 hours there and 4 hours back to get to work

[gk5jzdk]

My new job wants me to travel into their London office to meet some of the London-based team. They will pay for travel and one night's stay in a hotel. However, it's 4 hours there and 4 hours back which means even when leaving as soon as I finish work I won't arrive until gone 9:30pm. I can't leave in the morning as to get there for 9am I'd have to leave before 5am.

Has anyone had to do similar and, if so, do you prefer to travel up the evening before or the morning of?

I do this regularly enough (also 4 hours travel) and prefer to travel the evening before. I’d usually leave mid afternoon though so I can get something to eat and a bit of an evening, and still be available for calls and working on the train. But I don’t have the kind of job where I’d need to ask permission for that kind of thing.

That sounds reasonable for a one-off or occasional travel. I’d perhaps suggest arriving for 10am instead of 9, given the distance.

I occasionally have to do similar, but I can count the travel as work time so usually go the day before, do the meeting and leave after lunch

Can't see what the issue is. I would go the night before and then travel back after in the evening.

We do it regularly as we have offices in all four UK nations. People tend to stay for one or two nights.

I travel the morning of and start late, 10-11am then leave 5-6pm and get home 10 ish

Depends what 'meeting the team' looks like. Meetings between 9 and 5, maybe a spot of lunch together: travel night before. After work drinks, one or two later morning/early afternoon meetings: travel in morning to arrive maybe 10ish.

I would stay the night before the meeting. Getting there 9.30 wouldn't be a problem but I also wouldn't be expected to do all the travel on my own time so would probably leave the day before around 3.30.

I do this occasionally. I wouldn't be happy doing it weekly but now and then is fine and I get the additional hours back as time owing. Work rarely pay for a hotel the night before so long day trips are the norm.

Having travelled extensively with work I would always prefer to travel the afternoon / evening before. Even if you are arriving late It means you can have a good night’s sleep and be prepared for the day ahead rather than get stressed if there is a problem with transport that morning - certainly if it’s your first face to face meeting with the team 🙂

I'm in London and have a team member in Leeds. She frequently gets e.g. an 8am train down, works from it, has the afternoon in the office with us, stays the night and leaves the next lunchtime. Can't you do that? I'd expect the travel to be work time, effectively.

I’d always travel the day before leaving late afternoon to arrive early evening then home after my meetings the next day.

That sounds fine. I would travel the night before and enjoy a night in a hotel on the company. I used to do London - Edinburgh pretty regularly and that journey was about 4 hrs door to door for me. It was fine.

If it is a one off I would go the night before. This is quite normal for a job if you are working remotely.

Is there a childcare issue?

It's normal in our company, i've done travel like that week after week for months on end! Travel the night before if you need to be there for 9am.

As you’ve established you can’t leave at 5am for a 9am start, you’ve answered your own question, haven’t you? Go up the night before and stay in a hotel.

I occasionally have to travel to offices about 3.5 h away. If public transport is a possibility, I prefer the early start/late finish (often leaving home before 5 am!) rather than overnight stay, and either sleep or work on the train, which can help build up hours (if your type of work allows for this, eg prep before a meeting).
If an overnight is needed, I’d go the night before - takes away the anxiety of public transport cancellations or road hold ups etc if you’re driving

Go the night before and visit the office the next day. If you do travel up in the morning surely there isn't really a need for you to arrive bang on 9am, have they specifically said you would need to get there for 9? That seems quite unreasonable

Id Go the night before if expected to be there early especially since they're happy with you doing so

Personally I would rather go down the night before and sleep in a hotel.

I’d go the night before but see if I could travel on work time ( or leave a bit early) so not arriving so late.

I do this monthly and leave at 5.30am, do two days in the office, and travel back on the second night. It's a bit crap but it means I get to live in the north and not down south, so I'm happy.

My friend does a similar journey once a week and he gets a coach at just after 5am but has to get up at 4.30am. He usually gets home at about midnight. So it's definitely possible to do in a day, he says he's absolutely knackered after it but I guess as it's a one off for you maybe ok?

I do this once a month but my travel is 5-6 hours each way.

I get a half day of toil for each overnight stay.

I always travel the night before as red-eyeing it in the morning means I feel rubbish all day.

I'd leave around 7am on day 1, get there 11am, meetings and office things for the rest of the day, dinner and hotel, and then meetings again in the morning until about 3ish. 1 overnight and about a day and a half worth of office time, but no ridiculously early or late hours.