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This employee was just following policy! He tried to book a more convenient travel plan once, and he got reprimanded. So, when he had to travel with his boss, he didn't want to take anymore chances. Sure, he could have booked them a flight that would have gotten them home by 1 pm, but that could get him in trouble.
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Man in a suit traveling in the airport with a rolling carry-on bag headed to his flight gate. -
"I worked for a small company where employees could plan and book their own travel, but there were some guidelines. One of them was "Always select the least expensive option for flights, do not book based on convenience."
After a particular trip, I picked a flight that was an additional $50 so I could get home earlier on a Friday. Problem was I was travelling with a co-worker who followed the rules, and when we submitted our expenses, I was asked why I took an earlier and more expensive flight, instead of spending 3 hours at the airport after our last meeting. I was given a warning."
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Airplane aisle of a full flight. -
“Well, my boss and I had to go to a conference in London. Since we were flying from the US, we decided to piggyback on some client meetings. We left our home airport, spent two nights in Amsterdam, and then 5 days in London. My boss would never book his own travel, so I had to do it for him.”
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Upgraded business class or first class seat in an airplane for a commercial flight. -
"On the way home, there was a direct flight to our home airport, but it was an extra $250, so I booked a flight that put us through JFK and instead of landing home around 1 PM, we landed at 5 PM.
Enter my malicious compliance: I booked the less expensive trip, and we had a 4-hour layover on a Friday afternoon. My boss was *issed because he had an hour drive from our airport, so he had to cancel a date night with his wife."
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Older man looking out the window of an airplane. -
"He asked why I booked this flight instead of something that got us in earlier, and I explained the policy. Monday morning, we had a chat with HR about using "best judgment" when it comes to booking.
Oh, the kicker was that because of my status with the airline, I got an upgrade on both flights and was able to stretch out. Boss? Not so much."
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Hopefully, the boss learned a valuable lesson here and the new policy sticks. However, it is kind of shady when the policy is just “use your best judgment." Because like, what does that mean? What if my best judgment doesn't coincide with whatever your best judgment is? Does that mean I'm going to get written up? Unclear. And unprofessional of HR, if you ask me. This employee might have taught his boss a lesson, but he should still be wary.
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Commercial airplane flying across a clear blue sky. -
I'm not the only paranoid one it would seem! Others agree that many companies have some insane travel policies for their employees. But if you are requiring your workers to travel on your dime, you better understand the gravity of it all!
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Ill_Industry6452
Boss did not care if less expensive flight inconvenienced you or other employees. He did care that it inconvenienced him. Having him experience it himself was the only way he would ever change the policy. Great job of malicious compliance!
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CoderJoe1
A tale as old as commercial air travel. I worked for a company that forced us to use a specific travel agency. When my boss scheduled a meeting for our team on the other coast, I simply went along with the travel agent's poor decision-making. My boss was furious that I arrived a day late, so I showed her the policy and how I spent the last 28 hours on four connecting flights to save less than $100 for a direct flight.
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That_Ol_Cat
Finance groups can be stupidly nit-picky about this sort of thing. I get not allowing employees to run rampant with expenses, but at the same time application of a little common sense does wonders.
My wife had a lot of international business travel over the years, and her most effective managers directed her to submit her travel arrangements through them so she could get things like business class so she'd be ready for meetings same day as her arrival, and better hotels so longer stays were more comfortable and required less traveling to appointments.
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Ha-Funny-Boy
One company I worked for sent me 3 times to a city to make a presentation. To get there on a commercial flight I would have to get up at 3AM, leave the house by 4AM, drive an hour to the airport and be there 2 hours before my 7AM flight, get rental car and drive an hour to the site. Return would not gt me home until around midnight. I asked I I could fly my own airplane and bill for the same as the commercial flight. I lived 5 minutes from my airport, and could be at the site at the same time, but get up much later. I would also be home much earlier.
Company said no. I was not a happy camper.
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