Would you go on this work trip at such short notice ? ( new job )

[gahga]

I've not even started yet and just got an email from my manager to be, asking if I could go on a two night ( 3 day ) work trip in my second week- which is in two weeks time.

Would you do this ? Will it look bad if I don't do it ?

I have two small kids, so finding cover will be hard - but possible, probably.

I don't want to come off badly from the start. I also know that I'll need flexibility down the line, once they know and love me. So if I start putting in the good will now, it hopefully will pay off? Or would you categorically not do this ?

Thanks for your opinions !

Well assuming that you are the one who took maternity leave from your job and damaged your promotion chances and pension, the onus is on him now to do a lot more ( no doubt you will tell me if that assumption is wrong and he took at all or divided it 50:50).

And please don’t say he can’t do that - there are very few jobs ( like the armed forces ) that can refuse to give parents some flexibility / time off / home working / family leave / annual leave on short notice etc. There not a special class of man Jobs where you can’t do this and Woman Jobs where you can.

We've always managed so far tbh. They're getting a bit older now and sick a bit less. I'm not overly concerned about it. Just normal stuff if you have kids. My employers have always been very accommodating. I'm also always available to work if required outside of hours. There aren't really set hours in the what I do. You just do it. Hence why it's always pretty flexible.

Not true. Of course often it is possible, but in many cases clients need to see you face to face or interact in ways you can’t do online.

Some cultures won’t even do big business with you unless you basically come to their house and have dinner with wives/MIL’s and family members. No point talking business until after dinner.