I have a job that requires a lot of travel. In the past, it wasn’t really a problem. But then I had the nerve to go and start a family with my husband. I didn’t anticipate how much having a baby would change my feelings on how much I traveled for work. I find it to be very anxiety inducing. So I’ve been looking for work elsewhere.
That said, I have been able to travel overnight and not have any huge issues. But now, my boss is asking me to go to Mexico. I don’t have a passport but the company will pay for one.
Would you get a passport through work even though you want to leave? Would you not go on that business trip even though it might cost you your job?
Sure, get the passport. The company needs you to go to Mexico to do your job so they will get you a passport. If you quit the week you get back, it does not matter, they still needed you to go to Mexico and you did. From my point of view, a passport is not much of an investment and you shouldn’t worry; it would be different if they were paying for your medical school or something.
Regarding not going on a trip and potentially losing your job; I don’t know your financial situation so how can I answer this? When my wife and I married, we both traveled extensively, about 3/4 time. There were months where we would not see each other because our travel schedules did not overlap (the majority of the travel was international). We both started pushing back when we married and both quit within 6 months of having our first child. If you agree, you should find another position but I don’t know if you should just quit or suck it up for a few months until you find a good position. I would say the latter seems wiser.
If they are willing to pay for your passport expenses I’d let them. It’s not a big expense anyway. I always keep an up to date passport independent of any job.
If they need to get an expedited passport for you, I might feel guilty about having them cover that expense and them quitting a month later.
I see no problem with this if you are still looking for the other job.
If you are currently still actively working for the present employer, then having them obtain the passport for you to do your job should not be an issue. And really, we’re talking a small cost here.
If you do land a new job as you’re about to leave for Mexico, just make the new start contingent on completion with your current work schedule (within practical reason).
Yeah, the passport’s like $50-100. If they’re paying for you to actually go somewhere international, the cost of the passport is a drop in the bucket, and a slight bonus for you, along the lines of getting to keep the frequent flyer miles afterward as well.
My situation is a bit different, since I’ve been an ex-pat for more than 10 years, but I would always expect to keep a valid passport with me at all times. It’s useful in many situations, and you don’t need to get one in a hurry if travel is required.
In your situation, I would go ahead and get the passport even if I planned to quit. It’s not a large expense. I negotiated the payment of my work permit with my current employer, and that was a substantial amount of money, so we agreed that I’d have to pay it back if I left within two years. A passport is nothing compared to that, so I wouldn’t give it a second thought. They are willing to pay, and once you’ve gone on this trip, you’re clear, IMHO.
For domestic travel, my company has daily limits of $180/night for hotel & $75/day for food.
A passport costs less than one hotel night or 2 days of food. If they offered to pay for one, get it. It’s not a large expense & I highly doubt they’d grumble about it, even if you quit the day you came back.
It always amazes me when people say they don’t have a passport. My SO didn’t have one until a few years ago! Absolutely let the employer pay for yours, and congratulations!
In the unlikely event that they ask for the passport money back that’ll only be a hundred bucks and you’ll still have the passport. It’s useful as ID as well as for foreign travel. No loss to you.
Or are you thinking that if you get a passport through them it will obligate you, morally, to go on the trip?
From the perspective of a parent of a teenager (and she’s a special needs teenager who needs me more than most kids, too), the kids won’t suffer from you being away for a week (and I assume you mean five or six days really) if you plan it well and could even gain a lot from it through getting to know their Dad better and then you doing better at work. It will definitely be harder on you than on them.
It’s probably worth trying it this time, at least, so that you know if longish trips abroad really is a deal-breaker for you and your family when it comes to work.
I’m assuming you have childcare, etc in hand - if not, that’s a different problem, but again it can be quite useful to plan this time when extra childcare and support is needed so that if it ever happened unexpectedly, like through illness, you’d know what to do.
I’m also assuming the kids are young and the trip doesn’t coincide with exam time or something like the start of a new school year. That would be a little different.
Only you know yourself and your family, but IMHO a week seems manageable. I traveled a bit for work when the baby was young and it was helpful- gave me a break, built my husband’s confidence, and somehow during that period he got the baby to sleep at night.
