International travel and work/life balance

greenbee

My current job (i've been there nearly 6 years) has always involved a certain amount of travel. Initially it was 2-3 weeks in Europe in the spring (usually 3 cities in a week - leave home Monday, get back Thursday or Friday), 4 in the US in the autumn (with weekend travel), and maybe another week in Europe in the autumn with weekend travel.

European travel started to increase a couple of years ago - with odd days in Central/Eastern Europe/Scandinavia, a bit of UK travel.

Last year I had 3 US trips - conferences with meetings attached which meant the odd weekend, and a 5-day nordic trip (4 countries in 5 days) plus a couple of odd days elsewhere in Europe.

This year demand has increased. I spent 10 days in the Nordics in March. I've already had a 9-day US trip in May. I've got a 3-day trip in Eastern Europe this week, and have to then turn round for a two week trip to the US/Canada. In July I'm back in the US (west coast) - number of days TBC. And I'm there again (east coast) in August. So far in September I only have a week in London, and beyond that I'm in Texas in November, but there may well be other requests coming in.

I know I'm lucky to be in demand, but I'm also finding it difficult to get a work/life balance. I've taken 4 days leave so far this year (and that was from last year's allowance) although I do have time booked for July and August.

In theory, I shouldn't spend more than 50% of my time travelling, as this is the maximum that we're expected to do, and very few of my colleagues do this, so June is exceptional for me. However, my boss has admitted that the growth in demand (which is good...) suggests that it's likely that I may be doing more than 50% travel fairly regularly for a bit. (And no, I wouldn't rather do video-conferencing thank you... ). In my line of work this kind of demand is great, and hugely beneficial to me as an individual, as it's ME that is in demand, and my profile that is being improved - not necessarily that of my employer.

How to do other people who travel like this deal with work/life balance? Do you only travel during working hours? Do you claim back weekend travel as time in lieu? Do you claim back weekends in the middle of trips as time in lieu (given that, in theory, you're free to do what you like while work pay for the hotel and meals)? How do you compensate your family for the evenings spent away from home? How do you keep up with your friends?

hcb42

You have to decide if the opportunity (and the sacrifice) is worth it or not. I did it for years. I dont any more, different role. I would never dream of asking for time back in lieu. Equally, the ability to manage one's own diary etc is priceless.

BrassicWoman

I'm not sure that lifestyle is comptible with having children. Other people I know take their non working spouses with them.

DKLS

How to do other people who travel like this deal with work/life balance? Hate the term but ensure you spend quality time with loved ones

Do you only travel during working hours?
Sometimes its mid week travel sometimes its setting off on a sunday, depends on the need of the project, budget etc

Do you claim back weekend travel as time in lieu?
I usually claim back the time, or sell it back to the company.

Do you claim back weekends in the middle of trips as time in lieu (given that, in theory, you're free to do what you like while work pay for the hotel and meals)?
Sometimes, depends on location and if my wife joins me or not.

How do you compensate your family for the evenings spent away from home?
By bringing home a bigger salary and being a much happier person, I love travelling and working abroad whilst its not all glam and fantastic and can be a pain, it is so much better than the jobs i have had where I never travelled further than the stationary cupboard. Plus its not a bad thing having a free pass whilst travelling. My wife also appreciate the gifts that come with business travel.

How do you keep up with your friends? Same way I kept up with them before I started travelling, I miss out on some events but would likely miss some events anyway you just need to put in the effort like all relationships.

greenbee

Thanks for the responses - at the moment I'm renovating the house, so hotels (showers, dust-free environment, beds made - and if I'm in the same place for more than one night, laundry done!) are currently a bonus. Mostly I can find somewhere with a gym and/or decent pool. As well as getting me away from the building site it does save me money on oil/electricity/water/food as well.

DKLS - thanks for the confirmation about TOIL. I know many of my colleagues don't do this (then again, plenty of them are such workaholics they don't take their holiday - something I'm in danger of doing as it seems hard to fit it in at the moment!). We don't have the option to sell time back. But given that I'm away for pretty much three full weeks in June, taking in 2 weekends, I certainly don't think it's unreasonable. I'm pretty sure that my employer doesn't want to kill me with overwork. :cool:

I'm making sure I take the opportunity to catch up with friends if I'm travelling to places where they live - so this year I've seen friends in Finland, New York and Boston, and will also be catching up with an old schoolfriend in Washington DC and a couple of people in Canada as well.

I do enjoy the job and sometimes even the travel (and the duty free!). As you say, it beats a daily commute and sitting at the same desk dealing with the same people every day.

BrassicWoman - I don't have kids, but many of my colleagues do - they rely on partners with more regular hours, parents and nannies, which I guess is the way many people deal with it. They also use airline and hotel rewards to include them in travel during school holidays.

DKLS

It works for me as I like the travel, often to places I wouldn't normally choose for a holiday and had some great experiences and have some very happy memories. Over the years I have built up a network of friends so I have people to meet up with and do stuff more interesting than eating room service in a chain hotel.

Massively helps if the company has a decent T&E policy.

greenbee

DKLS wrote: »

It works for me as I like the travel, often to places I wouldn't normally choose for a holiday and had some great experiences and have some very happy memories. Over the years I have built up a network of friends so I have people to meet up with and do stuff more interesting than eating room service in a chain hotel.

Massively helps if the company has a decent T&E policy.

I try to avoid room service - I'd rather take my laptop/ipad/book and eat in the bar or restaurant on my own than be stuck in my room. As I travel more, I'm not only tracking down old friends in these locations but also making the effort to connect with colleagues who live locally (and even, occasionally, bumping into other colleagues who also happen to be in the same location at the same time).

I never know where I might be going next, and while to begin with I found this a bit scary, it no longer bothers me. It would be nice to be able to plan a little further in advance - some of my colleagues have their travel booked for the full year in January. Mine tends to come up at 2-4 weeks notice, which can be stressful. I guess I'll get used to it.

We do have a generous T&E policy (well, some people complain about no business class under 8 hours/between London & NE US, but one thing I do realise is that once you get the hang of economy it is perfectly possible to travel comfortably if you pick the right seat and are organised), in that we get to stay in decent hotels and have a generous allowance for meals.

Mind you, I'm no longer prepared to get on a plane for a holiday. It's not holiday, it's work! Holidays are spent catching up with UK-based friends. I also now fine I prefer to travel alone as my airport routine suits me - I find when travelling with colleagues if we have different routines we tend to prefer to do our own thing and meet up again at the other end.