No business, no ethics
We have trips with no business, therapists with no ethics and some great leaders to follow….
The No-Business-Business Trip
Several months ago, maybe 6, I found myself at lunch with two female colleagues. After much delicious food and equally delicious wine we were lamenting the demise of the business trip. You see while we love our families, the business trip was an opportunity to be alone.
Alone in a taxi on the way to the airport.
Alone in the airport lounge.
Alone on the plane to watch a movie without interruption.
Alone in a hotel room and only having to worry about getting yourself ready.
And alone in the hotel bed to sleep soundly.
High on wine and hummus we hatched a plan. A no-business-business trip. On a cruise to nowhere. Within a week we had all booked.
The thing that was potentially surprising about this plan, is that often in organisations assumptions are made about women, particularly those who have children. The assumption is that is that women don’t want to travel because they want to be home with their kids.
In many cases, anecdotally, women love to have a break from their kids and travel. Many women have missed this opportunity during the Covid 19 period.
In addition, this pandemic has taught me is that it’s good to have things to look forward to. I have also learnt that when you plan things during this time, government decisions change swiftly and your plans can evaporate.
With this in mind I didn’t look forward to the cruise because I didn’t want to be disappointed. But a week before the departure date things started to look up. Restrictions had been lessened, all of us were vaccinated and the cruise was on.
And while it has been so nice to have some alone time and stare out at the horizon, I miss the business trip for other reasons too. I miss meeting work colleagues and sorting out stuff face-to-face and I miss going to new countries and learning new cultures. I miss building relationships that can only be achieved when you get to see people “in real life” and I miss shaking up the routine.
I don’t expect that business trips will go back to the level they used to be at, and I don’t expect to be on any business trips in the near future, but I do hope they come back.
Lisa xx
Some real life stuff
The Shrink Next Door
During the Covid period we have been encouraged to look after our mental heath and seek professional help if needed. Journalist Joe Nocera’s neighbor in the Hamptons was a therapist named Ike. One summer, Joe discovered that everything he’d thought he’d known about his neighbor was wrong. Super interesting podcast that has been made into a Netflix TV Series with Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd
100 DE&I Leaders to Follow
Loved this article that was shared on LinkedIn. It’s always great to learn from others and there is some useful infofrmation here too.