re: OT dads with small kids and a job that travels, how do you like it?

Back to add a caveat. Earlier in my career, the travel rules suuuucked.
-Sunday departures common
-if a meeting was after 10am, they expected you to fly same day. This worked out REAL well when packages shipped to hotel were lost, etc, or any other delay.
-you were expected to fly home after a meeting if a flight was available. This also worked GREAT when you were racing to pack up a booth and get to airport on time. Quality packing job.
-you were forced to take cheapest flight option available unless you had approval for another option. Hello Atlanta to Grand Rapids via Orlando!
-even if you took a redeye, the "culture" expectation was to see your arse in the office the next morning.
-for international travel that could be a month long (for some people even more), the only COMP time earned was if your travel was over a holiday.


Now, in my last job... my boss was a career traveling guy and was awesome. Weekend travel was never expected. And if you did, he was okay with off-the-books comp time.

He supported flying in the day BEFORE a meeting, and flying out the morning after. Our company had over 50 production locations, and I'd spend a day at each facility. It was nice to be able to shower, have dinner with the locals, and not stress about catching a flight. The reward was so obvious, when you have 50+ plant staff that know you and want to help you out.

It was nice to have a guy that understood work/life balance. If you were out all week, busting your arse... he'd frequently tell you to stay home on Friday or leave early, etc. It just makes good sense to me to have happy employees that are literally out there on the "front lines."