# Do you have to do business travel on your own time? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 6, 2013, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629 "2013-05-06T16:49:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/61 "2013-05-07T15:48:02Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > A lot of people seem to be missing this point. > > What the OP is complaining about is that he’s being ordered to travel on the weekend WHEN IT’S NOT NECESSARY. They’re trying to squeeze an extra day of work out of him by forcing him to use one of his days off as a travel day. Tell them you’ll take Friday off when you return to make up for the Sunday travel day (and to recuperate from the long journey) ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/62 "2013-05-07T15:54:10Z")
I have on a couple of occasions gone to London for conferences (alas those days are long gone, now), which took place Tuesday through Thursday. I suppose Monday and Friday were meant for attendants from all over Europe to travel. However, as I wanted to do some touristy stuff as well I just booked package tours from Sunday to Sunday on the grounds that it would be cheaper for my employer than going on regular flights and staying at fancier hotels. Nobody complained about it. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/63 "2013-05-07T15:55:27Z")
In my first government job, we were required to have our travel office arrange all business trips and they seemed to delight in making you travel on weekends or at the end of a normal work day. As engineers, we could not be paid for that time. So if you had to be at a conference that started on Tuesday morning, the best you could hope for is that the last flight from home was mid-day on Monday. I hated traveling when I worked there. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/64 "2013-05-07T16:03:32Z")
So go back to punching a time clock if you can’t handle being on salary. There are plenty of people who would love to have a salaried job where they only _sometimes_ have to work on weekends. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/65 "2013-05-07T16:23:52Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > So go back to punching a time clock if you can’t handle being on salary. > > There are plenty of people who would love to have a salaried job where they only _sometimes_ have to work on weekends. I can handle the nights and weekends. What I _can’t_ handle is being compelled to work nights and weekends when it’s not necessary. And it’s really not a matter of having the backbone for it, it’s getting walked on that I don’t like. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/66 "2013-05-07T16:30:53Z")
> [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](#): > > Probably depends on what your job is. > > I do my current job strictly for the money. But back when I was a sales rep, I had a spirited discussion with the guy who ran the newstand by my apartment. He didn’t believe me when I said I looked forward to the beginning of every work week; he insisted that nobody really likes their job. But I did. I’d have enjoyed freelance writing if not for the financial insecurity. Nope. I pretty much feel that everything, if you HAVE to do it every day, becomes a chore. Especially if you have bosses overlooking you and their emotional swings, even if they are good bosses. I like my job a lot. I wish they’d pay more, but other than that it is fast-paced and there’s always something new and it’s a good cause. But there are definitely days I drag myself in and i would not do it for free. I love writing. I’d like to freelance write, too, but again, if I HAD to do it just to eat, I’m sure it’d become a chore. ---
**Author:** ![April\_R](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@April\_R](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/April_R)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/67 "2013-05-07T16:50:18Z")
> [@PatriotGrrrl](#): > > So go back to punching a time clock if you can’t handle being on salary. > > There are plenty of people who would love to have a salaried job where they only _sometimes_ have to work on weekends. A dismissive attitude doesn’t facilitate the discussion. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/68 "2013-05-07T19:40:43Z")
> [@Winston\_Smith](#): > > I could have been more clear… I tried to book Tuesday-Friday, but my boss is telling me I have to travel on my own time at least one way, so my trip will either be Sunday-Wednesday or Wednesday-Saturday. Ah - I thought they were telling you to travel Tuesday - Saturday. One way out is to get the people you are meeting with to say they can only do meetings Wednesday-Thursday. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/69 "2013-05-07T19:52:15Z")
I’m just going to hold my nose and book the trip as instructed. I need to choose my battles, and this is not one I would win, so it’s really not worth fighting. My “Fuck It” attitude has done me better over the years than rightous indignation. ---
**Author:** ![August\_West](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/august_west/32/18069_2.png) [@August\_West](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/August_West)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/70 "2013-05-07T19:54:29Z")
I travel for work regularly and probably fly out on Sundays 20% of the time. I’ve never even thought about taking a day of comp time in return, but maybe I’ll start. If I ever see a day on my calendar that’s empty I’ll grab it! ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/71 "2013-05-07T20:29:39Z")
> [@April\_R](#): > > that would stink and reeks of not being so legal Unfortunately a lot of things that would clearly be illegal when you’re punching a time clock become legally grey when you’re on salary. And far too many employers LOVE to take advantage of that. And that is EXACTLY what the OP’s employer is trying to do. Look at his original post: the London work meeting is on a Wednesday and Thursday. His plan was to travel over on Tuesday, and come back right after the meeting on Friday; his employer wants him to stay over and return on the weekend. Either way, he’s not going to be at work on Friday, so why is it such a big deal to his employer? Because if he stays over and flies back on Saturday or Sunday, that Friday can be counted as PTO time or a vacation day, instead of a work-related travel day. (Now, me? I’d take Monday, Tuesday, AND Friday off as vacation, fly out the previous Friday night if I could, and spend Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday exploring London, as I’ve never been there. But that’s immaterial: the OP does NOT want to use any of his time off on a trip he’s only taking in the first place for work-related reasons, and that’s his choice to make. And I hate it when employers try to cheat their employees out of their vacation/PTO time.) ---
**Author:** ![artemis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/91b2a8/32.png) [@artemis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/artemis)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/72 "2013-05-07T20:36:12Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > A lot of people seem to be missing this point. > > What the OP is complaining about is that he’s being ordered to travel on the weekend WHEN IT’S NOT NECESSARY. They’re trying to squeeze an extra day of work out of him by forcing him to use one of his days off as a travel day. Exactly. He’s not going to be at work on Friday either way; he’ll either be flying back home (his preference), or spending the day on “vacation” in London and coming back home on the weekend (his boss’s preference - and something the OP objects to, probably because he has other plans in mind for using that vacation day than a forced layover in London). His boss is trying to cheat him out of vacation, and that’s not cool. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/73 "2013-05-07T20:39:02Z")
> [@August\_West](#): > > I travel for work regularly and probably fly out on Sundays 20% of the time. I’ve never even thought about taking a day of comp time in return, but maybe I’ll start. If I ever see a day on my calendar that’s empty I’ll grab it! I take a few comp days per year, but I’ve always told my boss I’m happy to just be able to come in late if I need to, or leave early, so that’s usually what I do. However, if I pull an all-nighter I’ll take the next day off as a comp day, and (as mentioned) I’m taking a comp day to offset the two weekend days I spent flying to China. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/74 "2013-05-07T20:41:13Z")
I travel a ton, and most of my travel is on my own time, but I am salaried, so the concept of my own time is pretty fuzzy to begin with. I live in Florida and have been working in California for the past three years, so I tend to fly there on Sundays and usually fly back on Friday, sometimes overnight, sometimes on Saturdays. We also have calls that are late at night to hook up with India, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/75 "2013-05-07T22:11:25Z")
I remember flying out to some podunk little town on a 12 seat plane on company business, bright and early in the morning. We spent a half day at the site there and flew back, arriving home at about 6-7pm. One of my co-workers started talking about heading in to the office to ‘make up’ the half day we spent on the planes. Nope. I went home. Never heard a word about it from my boss. Otherwise yeah, when you’re on Salary, companies (well, certain bosses really) pretty much expect that they own 100% of your time. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2013, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/76 "2013-05-07T23:55:55Z")
Do you guys all get to keep things like frequent flyer points? Years ago my brother did a ton of business travel, much of it extended over months. He would fly home as often as practical; flying Brazil to Pittsburgh, meeting the wife and kid for dinner, then flying back. He racked up so many miles that he was scrambling to use them. One summer they did two weeks in Hawaii, returned home for two weeks then, back to Hawaii for another week. ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/77 "2013-05-08T00:06:38Z")
Yes, I’ve got 50,000 miles racked up, plus whatever I earn on this trip. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/78 "2013-05-08T00:09:15Z")
Well, bright side! ---
**Author:** ![Winston\_Smith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e95f7d/32.png) [@Winston\_Smith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winston_Smith)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/79 "2013-05-08T00:29:04Z")
Yeah, it’s not all gloom and doom. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2013, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629/80 "2013-05-08T02:41:15Z")
The more important the job, the more you have to travel on your own time. And work throughout the flight too. I travel a lot for work, but I’ve never had a manager insist that for a 3 day business trip that I HAVE to fly on a weekend. I lose enough personal time with zero compensation. Gah, I’m working a big deal now requiring managing joint calls in both Asia and MEA. That’s killing me and it’s not like I’m on commission either. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/do-you-have-to-do-business-travel-on-your-own-time/657629.md?page=5)