How to Avoid Coworkers on Business Travel

By eHow Careers & Work Editor

Rate: (0 Ratings)

Business travel can be a total bust, especially when you and five less-than-friendly or overzealous coworkers are all assigned to the same trip. If you'd rather sneak off and do some sightseeing but your business associates are weighing you down, use these avoidance techniques to get away guilt-free.

Flag Article

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Step1

Book travel independently of the group. When a business trip is orchestrated, coworkers are usually put on the same plane and provided with identical accommodations. Get permission from the company travel planner to purchase your own plane tickets and hotel room and get reimbursed later. When a coworker asks you if you want to fly together, you can regretfully inform them that you've already booked. If they ask when you're traveling (which they inevitably will), tell them you had to pick different dates because of your cousin's wedding in Phoenix.

Step2

Excuse yourself to go sleep. Yawn often and stress how tired you are from the irregular routine. Business travel really wears you down. The instant the workday is done, head to your hotel room and place that "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.

Step3

Emphasize the need to speak with your family. Tell coworkers to go on ahead; you've got to talk to your daughter about her ballet lesson and your son about football practice. Since you're away on business, the conversation could be as long as an hour. You would hate for them to have to wait in the lobby all night long.

Step4

Turn down any and all offers to get together for drinks or dinner. When a group of associates is away from home, it's typical for everyone to get together for food. After one or two rejections, coworkers will probably stop asking you to join the group and avoidance will be successfully achieved.

Step5

Disappear. If you're dying to sightsee but you don't want to invite Talkative Tina or Bad Jokes Bill, figure out a way to disappear as the day is wrapping up. Have a pre-packed bag ready to go in your room and excuse yourself from the group to use the restroom or make a phone call. If the subject ever comes up later on in the trip, simply explain that you must have gotten your signals crossed.

Tips & Warnings

Ask for the itinerary at the beginning of the trip. Business travel is usually planned out ahead of time. Study the schedule to plan the best ways to avoid group social gatherings.