[lbo-talk] premium for travel?

Chuck Grimes cgrimes at rawbw.com
Thu Apr 22 20:13:18 PDT 2010


I would argue that travel is a very materially expensive life style, with heavy psychological and social baggage, and often goes uncompensated. So it's more money AND a company credit card AND longer leave and vacation. Travel also means a very professional (read expensive) rig of cloths. You are representing the company on the road, so they can bloody well pay through the nose to represent their interest, their social standing, their politics, and their bullshit capitalist front. You are essentially their living logo and ad.

I had a job once that involved a lot of travel. It required something like fourteen hour days after arriving. I was gone about ten to fifteen days out of every month and was paid on contract---a very bad deal. It helped ruined my marriage, so watch out. Among my other duties was learning the party line on every imaginable political and social issue, because it was an NGO associated with disability rights. I had to become a believer.

I would also request a definite percentage of travel to include your significant other on company paid travel, room and board. IMHO you will need the old man around for real support in a strange city around people you don't know and probably don't trust. It gets mighty lonely and weird out there.

I had a very strange experience when I came home. It was usually in the middle of the day and nobody was home. It felt profoundly empty. I had missed all of the significant events of my wife's and kid's days, I knew nothing about their lives, they became strangers. When they got home from their day, there were no warm hugs or happy chatter. Dad's home. Yeah, and? Most depressing period of my life.

I would never take a travel job again. Nobody offered anyway so ... My experience was not unique. Most of the people I traveled with started to have the same problems within their own domestic lives. You could watch them psychologically break down over a year period. They all got to hate travel, some developed flying phobias that required drugs and hand holding and reassuring talk during take off and landings. Everybody became almost instant alcoholics...and sex manics. Going back and forth against the sun screws up your hormones in un-nice ways. It creates what amounts to a traumatic stress disorder.

Basically I would ask what they expect to pay---fuck this coy shit about my offer and their consideration. You tell me what the range is, period. And then I would double it, explaining it will take a year of recovery for every year worked. Chances are they will think their travel job is a big juicy apple. It ain't. It is a nightmare.

CG

ps. Obviously I wouldn't even consider such a job. Your results may vary but I seriously doubt it. It's like everything else. If you want to travel, it seems great. If you are paid to travel it turns into a giant drag.

I am not a good representative for capital. I'd rather be homeless, as long as I have a connection...



More information about the lbo-talk mailing list