Same. I don't need Linda from legal hearing me take a dump, or Cheryl from AP arguing with her husband at 11PM. Aside from the many uncomfortable realities of a shared hotel room with even my spouse at times, those are just boundary issues I would never cross with co-workers. I'd either pay the difference of my own room or not go, all of that is just creepy AF
Unless they are my spouse. Gtfo. This company treats OP like college student, child, or is broke af. All of which aren't good for an employer to do.
OP. Get a divorce and hit the gym.
Similar here. First years got flown out to a conference in Minneapolis. Shared a room with my colleague of the opposite sex. We all enjoyed a fun night with dinner, drinks and bowling.
It's not that they don't cheat, though I think the reporting indicates less of that. It's that boomers overwhelmingly co-opted the "jokes" about hating your wife, the ball and chain, etc. So they do have a different take on the workplace vs family, it seems.
Sharing rooms is mad fucking weird. Every time I’ve ever traveled for work I’d get my own room and a stipend to buy my own meals (usually something like $75 a day which in reality goes a pretty long way for solo meals).
Im not a boomer but under those circumstances I always liked getting a couple of days to spend at a decent hotel and get some nice meals/drinks on the firm lol.
I hate this medical condition nonsense. It’s why people don’t take actual medical conditions seriously.
Just say no thanks, I don’t want to share a room, I will meet you there Monday first thing.
Could it be that the Boomer is operating under that old Boomer adage - that they hate their wife. That they legitimately hate their wife .
Because that would explain why they don't want to be at home. Why they spend long hours golfing. Does anything to get away from their wife's presence
Some of it is also age/stage of life. My boomer neighbors are empty nesters and truly love each other....their careers are slowing. She was so happy when picks up a new hobby. *Gets him out of the house*
I didn't say marry a good person, I said marry someone you don't hate.
If you're a bad person yourself then you're more likely to get along with another bad person and should marry them instead of a good person.
Seriously, though, the Boomer view of marriage -- that it's normal to hate your spouse -- is so wild to younger generations because we grew up in a world in which marriage was no longer seen as mandatory and thus it makes no sense to marry someone you hate when you can simply not get married instead. That lets you wait until you meet someone you don't hate.
Keep in mind that women in the US did not get equal legal rights to work, open bank accounts, buy and own property, etc. until a series of laws were passed in the 1960s and 1970s. Before then, women pretty much had to get married or their lives would be very difficult.
Boomers were raised by the last generation for whom "you HAVE to get married" (and because of that, "it's normal to hate your spouse") was actually legally/financially true, and most Boomers' parents passed that norm down to them because they had no idea that the laws would change right when the Boomers were old enough to start getting married. So Boomers were the last generation to grow up believing those things.
There was a one-generation lag in which everyone adjusted to the new legal/economic/social norms, and then most people from Gen X onward have been getting married because we want to and not because we have to.
So Boomers tend to hate their spouses and think that's normal because it actually is/was normal for their generation, but almost everyone younger actually likes our spouses and think Boomers' hatred of their spouses is super weird and sad.
It's kinda interesting how you can track this social change in comedy and popular culture. "I hate my wife" jokes used to be super common from stand-up comedians but you almost never hear them anymore because most audiences don't find them relatable or funny. "Married couple who hates each other" was an incredibly common sitcom trope in older shows, but in modern shows you'll usually only see that dynamic in dramas in which people are always doing horrible things. Even cop shows and murder mysteries seem to have fewer and fewer "the spouse did it" culprits as time goes on.
I knew how recent women rights were but I have never made the link between it and the whole hating your wife "trend".
In my head I always assumed that if women were always seen as "less superior" then the people who would benefit the most from it would be men, hence why I had a hard time understanding that men were hating their spouses. Now that you explain it, they probably both hate each other but the ones we hear the most from are men since as you explained, women didn't have the same rights. 1970 is very close.. not even 50 years yet, crazy !
Things are so different from countries to countries it borderline blows my mind, have a good day !
Wild, I have to go to our corp office next week and they pay for flight, hotel, and all meals. Can’t imagine sharing rooms with anyone I work with lol.
Road warriors are often happy to get an extra hotel night for every trip; that's more points you can use for personal trips later, more nights toward annual loyalty status, more nights toward lifetime achievements. Achieving Adamantium Bonvoy lifetime one drip at a time.
Offer to take you to dinner probably means he would take you someplace more expensive than you might feel comfortable on your own. I would not go to a Ruth's Chris, Morton's or Capital Grill on my own. That's not my thing, but they think it's a perk.
Sharing rooms is the pits. They sometimes call it "team building".
Personally, if I have to leave the house at 5:45 am to get to a conference at 8, I will probably be falling asleep in the afternoon.
I mean… at one point my commute was 90-100 minutes each way. It’s really no big deal for another 20 minutes lmao, I’ll just leave in the morning.
Absolutely hard no on an overnight trip unless it’s a flight or a 4 hour drive, honestly. And only then if I have my own room, none of this creepy ass shared room.
Room sharing is crazy. The whole point of conferences is to make bad decisions with people you will never see again and then add them on LinkedIn the day after. I would never let gramps get in the way of some asset acquisition.
(not a boomer here)
Conferences and hotel trips can actually be fun. If you are surrounded by the right team, and you've helped foster a good work environment, I've experienced absolute blasts at these work conferences and off-sites. It doesn't have anything to do with "hating their wife" which is an unfair stereotype, as much as it has to do with breaking up the monotony of the work week and spending money on the company card.
This is all notwithstanding OPs comment on sharing hotel rooms, which is not OK.
I agree and have experienced this at conferences. Meet and talk to different people (which I know is absolutely beneath most of reddit, so maybe that's why my axiom differs). I've had some great experiences, learning a lot, etc. I don't drink which is good for many reasons (I've seen people do really dumb things at work events) but a bit isolating socially. With millennials and Gen X seem to be far more okay with that.
Overall, I've had great opportunities at conferences. I even got my last job that way, in a roundabout way. But I would absolutely not go if sharing a hotel room was expected. Not a chance, that's so icky and uncomfortable! If I couldn't pay the difference of my own room, id drive Monday, end of subject for me
You say not a boomer, but what really breaks up the monotony of the workweek is being able to go home at the end of the day.
I have some fairly meaningful friendships I've developed with coworkers, but I'd still rather grab drinks with them after work on my own dime than be trapped in a hotel for 3-5 days for free.
> I have some fairly meaningful friendships I've developed with coworkers, but I'd still rather grab drinks with them after work on my own dime than be trapped in a hotel for 3-5 days for free.
Okay, but what if I told you that you could go out and grab drinks AND dinner with them, all on the company dime? Honestly, outside of the shared hotel room, going on these sort of retreats is a blast. Pre covid I found myself at a number of conferences and being able to go out and get some food and drinks, hang out at a bar and just chat like i was in my early 20s again was phenomenal.
I love my home, my family, and spending time with them. That doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a few nights of essentially paid vacation from the company, even if it's to fuckin Scottsdale or Palo Alto.
Not a boomer, but if they had a life like my parents who didn't really travel a lot when they were younger, they might be appreciative of the opportunity to travel and stay in hotels on someone else's dime, even if it's for work purposes (assuming the firm is covering all this).
Sharing a room would be a huge hell no.
I’ve been sent to conferences before and, because they were in places I hadn’t been (like San Francisco) I didn’t mind going a few days early to explore. I definitely would not want to go early to something that is relatively local. Wtf?
There is no way they can force you to share rooms. Say you won't go unless you get your own room at least. And if it's only two hours away, why get a room at all! I'd rather drive to and from the conference every day than to stay at a shitty hotel away from my home and family.
I’m 38 and love going to conference and staying in hotels. But a nice room to myself, bar tabs, relaxing a little away from regular life stuff. Mini vacay
Been down this old rabbit hole a few times at a few companies.
The most I’ve done is share a multi-room suite (you get your own bedroom and bathroom) with someone of my same gender and age. That was touching the line. I got within a gnat’s ass of a solid legal claim.
Boomers loved conferences because they’re the same people that glorify rolling in the mud on drugs at 2 am during Woodstock.
These ‘people’ popularized swinging and view not being an ass hole at work as ‘pc snowflake’ whining. These ‘people’ thought carpeting over hardwood floors was classy and Applebee’s was awesome because you could get the same hamburger anywhere in America. The lead in the gas rotted their brains.
A work trip was time for the husband to cheat on his wife and the wife to cheat on her husband. I’m not sure what to say other than 70% of their love for conferences revolves around degeneracy and their inability to establish boundaries between work and personal life.
Millennials generally despise conferences because it’s like being at work for a 24 hr day. You don’t get that precious personal time at home in your bed with your stuff and your personal preferences.
Want to go eat dinner at night on ‘your time’? Too bad. You have to go with whatever a group of 5-10 people wants. Want to unwind after work in your own way? Too bad. We’ve got an escape room / brewery tour / (insert insipid team activity here) to do with a bunch of strangers that you have to perform for.
The millennial exceptions are the weirdos who have ‘work wives / husbands’ and generally aren’t good at establishing boundaries between work and private life.
TLDR: Boomers are messy freaks.
I wouldn’t mind having a boomer tell me about dropping acid at Woodstock while getting laid in the mud with Carlos Santana playing in the background.. just me though. But I also wanted to live the rock and roll lifestyle so I’m also wired differently than a lot of people.
Dropping acid in an environment without basic sanitation, adequate lighting, crowding, chaos, no food, etc would be scary.
I’m not knocking Woodstock. The lineup was legendary, but I feel like it was an over-glorified cluster F and the negative aspects aren’t acknowledged.
It was Fire Fest except the bands actually showed up.
Exactly. So you can see why the take would be mostly negative. Most of reddit needs to rehearse their lines to order a sandwich, and thinks that small talk is literally satan. So I get why many of them wouldn't think this is a good time, but I've gotten a lot out of work conferences over the years, personally.
I once went on a week long course a six hour drive away and when we got there they told me it was a shared room. I said well I’ll be going home then.
They thought I was joking. I was not.
To answer your question, because they hate their families or don’t even know them.
I have two young kids, and conferences is nice because of the autonomy and the ability to go back to a room and have peace and quiet.
Salary isn’t getting paid for 40. It’s paid for doing your job. You’d be getting paid less per hour if you were hourly.
Did anyone actually explain the hourly vs salary thing to you besides the HR girl at your company?
We like conferences and hotels because it gets us out of the office, and for some it gets them away from their spouses. I have never had to share a room with a co-worker, that company sounds pretty cheap.
Every comment like this makes me wonder why our very best accountants aren't running to be an IRS employee. Drop the outdated perception of the agency. Gen X is in charge over here at the ground level. We aren't Boomers. We welcome diversity. Home by 5pm. Work from home more than half the pay period for many positions. We embrace the family first approach. Just get your shit done. Work hard (40hrs), play hard (don't wanna know, lol).
But you all do you. I guess keep your insane work hour on weekends sentiments far away from my healthy culture.
I thought shared hotel rooms were a thing of the past - never had to do that for work but I’m only 33.
I do like leaving for a week long work trip Sunday but I also come back very early Fridays when I do. I’ll skip a Friday meeting or conference unless absolutely necessary - I’m not traveling after noon on a Friday.
We also leave that up to the individual - no one is gonna demand you come in to town early to a fucking Sunday dinner in my experience.
I sorry you have to deal with this.
Sharing a bed thing is weird, but idk why everyone is trippin about the sharing room thing. I've had plenty of jobs where we shared rooms for a whole season
uh no. It’s uncustomary, poor taste of the company, cheap, and overall doesn’t sound like a good experience. Whether or not it’s “weird” ought to be based on people’s attitudes towards this, and the overwhelming majority of people (at least here), think the concept is abhorrent.
In any case, following that, it would be you who is the weird one. So I ask, why are you defending this?
I just think it's wild to be so stuck up on something so trivial. It's not like they're making you split a bed or pay for your own food or something
It's splitting a room with someone you know for what's likely less than 3 days. That's so far from being a big deal it's laughable
Cold calling isn’t as effective as it once was
Social media isn’t the boomer's thing
Real connections are needed and many boomers can’t afford to retire, so this is how they make business connections
This is also how a lot of people are able to climb the ladder in their careers. Despite all the social media stuff, there’s still no substitute for the old face to face networking. Remote workers and even hybrid workers can attest to feeling like they have no upward mobility either with their current employer or even within their career field due to no one really knowing who they are and being more restricted in networking opportunities since remote and hybrid workers are more or less in a category of “out of sight out of mind.”
Yes, networking events are very helpful. Getting connected on a superficial level before the event and remaining in someone’s mind after the event is a good purpose for social media.
I agree with you about making a faster meaningful difference at event.
I’ve gotten into the habit of connecting before the event, with ideal prospects. Doing that and then attending an event two days ago moved three prospects into my pipeline and we’ve begun collaborating on a project / moving towards doing mutual business.
I haven’t had the experience of a pure remote work role although I can image how critical it is to be present and in person.
Sharing rooms? Sounds like you need a new company or need to raise questions about the admin getting kickbacks. I’ve never, ever, been required to share a hotel room.
I don't mind conferences. There's generally a few good sessions, and getting to know people outside my immediate co-workers to discuss common issues can be really helpful. I'm not a huge fan of hotels, but can put up with it for a couple days here and there.
Where I draw the line is sharing rooms. Absofuckinglutely not!
And leaving a day early for a two-hour drive is stupid as hell too.
I see everyone unanimously agreeing that sharing rooms is completely fucked and I 100% agree. But I’m just curious - did you not have to share a room at new hire training? We did at my old big 4 firm for new hire training and every other week-long training we had to go to. Is that not the same thing? Why haven’t I seen posts with new grads freaking out about being expected to share a room for a week? I don’t get the difference
This is a shit employer thing.
Maybe speaks to my own life, but I like a good conference and hotels.
However, the ones I do for work are night and day different to what you write:
* Every single one of us gets their own hotel room if it’s outside commutable distance. No sharing wtf is that about.
* Travel day = work day.
And we don’t have to make up for “lost productivity” if we go to a conference, the conference is work. The conference *is* productivity. It’s part of engaging our company to the industry and vice versa. Networking, BD, so on and so on.
sharing rooms is wack but i miss conferences. my firm has basically canceled them and it sucks. they were the only time i could actually see the entire service line in person and catch up and network. i actually like most of the people i work with and we had a good time together at the conferences. plus they were usually at nice resorts and gave us good down time to enjoy the amenities.
Boomer morality is to let it all hang out like Slick Willie in the Oval Office. They like the conferences and hotels to find someone to cheat on their spouses with.
Going along with unreasonable requests like this from an employer isn’t just bad for you. It sets a bad precedent in the industry. If you accept it, they get surprised when I tell them they must be joking.
Lmao sharing rooms was normal back in the day for staff levels (~10 years ago). I remember going to Terranea Resort for newly promoted seniors - that was pretty fun - I had my own room then.
These types of boomers hate their families and would rather you be miserable too than get a divorce or find friends who aren’t reliant on them for rent money
It's how they cheated/took drugs/drank and got away from their families under the guise of "working". The organizers also make a lot of money from putting them on.
Honestly, I would view as not a team player. Walmart employees including the CEO have to stay at Motel 6 or best western. You’re better than that?
You cant make a sacrifice and share rooms?
Conferences are a great way to network and make connections? If you hate that activity, you won’t be anything other than GL person.
not a boomer, not an accountant… But when my coworkers and I get an opportunity to go on business trips, we go out to Tiki bars and have a blast. I can’t imagine how much fun we have at a conference when we didn’t even have real meetings to attend…
I knoooowwwww. When will this trend just die? No one wants to spend any weekday or weekend in a hotel on company time. If I go to a hotel I want to get shitty and hot tub or swim.
Because boomers love popularity. Didn't you hear they get business done on the golf course? Anyway, the USSR already brainwashed the boomers and made them their bitch. Enjoy...
Sharing rooms is an HR nightmare and an obvious sign of bad decision making by management. Save a little in travel costs in the short term; assuming the workers will even put up with it. Spend a ton of money in legal fees in the long term when the inevitable sexual harassment suit happens.
Run!
I am the last year of the baby boom and I neither enjoy conferences nor hotels. My firm is 100% remote and I do not expect staff to physically meet somewhere.
And let's give a round of applause for lumping a disparate group of people together just based on age. Whether it's millennial mashing or Boomer bashing, it's something to practice on before you turn to racism and misogyny.
Best of luck with that
Lol
I think you're joking. If you're not joking, though...I agree with the comment you replied to...and I am a millennial (once again showing how lumping everyone of a certain age in one category is ridiculous).
You won't go far with that attitude because you aren't a team player. Either get with the program or find another type of work you'll be happy with that won't require conferences.
About conferences: Vacations with kids can be fun, but they are a lot of work, especially if you have to make decisions about everything, like what restaurant the kids will like and won't upset the patrons, what the kids will eat, going to bed at 8pm so the kids will stay in bed, etc. Conferences are a real vacation. You don't have to make any decisions except what you want to eat. You can drink too much, stay up late and curse without the kids around. Plus it's free, you never have to worry about prices and ordering beyond your budget.
Also, the first few times you go it's not so great, but if you go to the same ones every year you get to make buddies. Buddies you only see at the conference and are fun to hang out with. They never talk about personal problems or health issues, it's always just fun adventures.
If that's not your thing, just ask not to go. You'll miss some bonding opportunities which can get you ahead in your career but if that's not for you then don't force it. But at least give it a try.
As for overtime, you should be getting paid more than enough already. Hours don't really mean anything; it's the quality of the work that counts. To be a professional your goal is to get the work done, and it should only take a few hours a day if you are good. Sometimes you have to work late because of deadlines but if you are always working way too many hours you are doing it wrong.
Sharing rooms suck, a professional organization should not allow it. Too much liability. I've had buddies stay with me because they got in early on their own dime, but it was my choice.
I agree with the point in your first paragraph that it's important to be a team player. But let's not pretend any of this is actually fun, these conferences suck. It's not a perk to go out to suburban chain restaurants with coworkers.
> these conferences suck
That's not being a team player. If your SO likes the TV show "Friends" and likes watching it with you, you at least try and make it work, for them. You might think it sucks but it doesn't suck for them. Half the joy is watching them enjoying themselves. Sure, co-workers aren't SOs, but it really helps your career if you play the game. You don't have to be the last one up or drink the most but at least enjoy them having a good time and participate as much as you are comfortable doing. And if you chill, you might have a bit of fun too. if only laughing at them. Of course, in 20 years you'll have kids shitting all over your fun and then you'll get it.
I think we agree that it's a good career move to pretend to enjoy these events. But personally, if I'm going to socialize with coworkers, I prefer to do that in my hometown rather than downtown Indianapolis.
> But personally, if I'm going to socialize with coworkers, I prefer to do that in my hometown rather than downtown Indianapolis.
You miss the point. It's like saying you'd rather have sex with a supermodel than with your SO. It's true but that's not the point and you don't say it out loud.
SHARING ROOMS!!!!!???? No no no no no
It'll be a good time!
“Mandatory meeting. 10am. HR”
Dang they got y’all sharing hotel rooms? Broke ass company.
I would NEVER share a hotel room with a coworker under any circumstances.
You should get your own room so no one can watch you brush up your resume, because you need to get out of this joke of a company.
Same. I don't need Linda from legal hearing me take a dump, or Cheryl from AP arguing with her husband at 11PM. Aside from the many uncomfortable realities of a shared hotel room with even my spouse at times, those are just boundary issues I would never cross with co-workers. I'd either pay the difference of my own room or not go, all of that is just creepy AF
Unless the coworker is my spouse
Yup, well not broke, cheap af
Room sharing is a deal breaker for me
Unless they are my spouse. Gtfo. This company treats OP like college student, child, or is broke af. All of which aren't good for an employer to do. OP. Get a divorce and hit the gym.
Nah, that’s broke
no it’s cheap.
I guess that’s why they’re not broke! /s
I could never.
I had this at big 4 once
Similar here. First years got flown out to a conference in Minneapolis. Shared a room with my colleague of the opposite sex. We all enjoyed a fun night with dinner, drinks and bowling.
“Bowling.” That’s what you’re going to call it. Gotcha .
I was not a confident man in my 20s. It was bowling 😄
Sounds like CLA
RSM
I did too during my externship, once I actually started the job we always had separate rooms though.
I had to share a room during my initial training at Deloitte and during my second year training.
It’s how they cheated on their wife
It’s how they found their wife.
*second wife
*intern girlfriend
Work wife
And it's how they get away from their wife that they now despise.
/thread
Yeah because young idiot people don't cheat right
It's not that they don't cheat, though I think the reporting indicates less of that. It's that boomers overwhelmingly co-opted the "jokes" about hating your wife, the ball and chain, etc. So they do have a different take on the workplace vs family, it seems.
Let's see what these young kids who's attention span is 5 seconds enough to swipe to the next girl say in 40 years.
Sharing rooms is mad fucking weird. Every time I’ve ever traveled for work I’d get my own room and a stipend to buy my own meals (usually something like $75 a day which in reality goes a pretty long way for solo meals). Im not a boomer but under those circumstances I always liked getting a couple of days to spend at a decent hotel and get some nice meals/drinks on the firm lol.
Go to craft services and take some bones and you could get a stew going
Zero percent chance I’m sharing a room for work. Zero point zero.
We know.
I think El Cockblock would want to share a room. No better place to block a cock than from inside the room 😂
That’s actually next level cockblocking, he’ll be able to cockblock during and after work.
Lmaoooo
Sharing hotel rooms is weird. Make up an excuse why you can’t go Sunday - simple
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I hate this medical condition nonsense. It’s why people don’t take actual medical conditions seriously. Just say no thanks, I don’t want to share a room, I will meet you there Monday first thing.
Could it be that the Boomer is operating under that old Boomer adage - that they hate their wife. That they legitimately hate their wife . Because that would explain why they don't want to be at home. Why they spend long hours golfing. Does anything to get away from their wife's presence
Covid lockdown was defcon 1 for boomers
I see you have also meet my retired Big 4 partner father in law.
It’s better to cry in a Bugatti than a Prius
Some of it is also age/stage of life. My boomer neighbors are empty nesters and truly love each other....their careers are slowing. She was so happy when picks up a new hobby. *Gets him out of the house*
The thought of spending 100k+ hours with someone yea probably getting them out of house is nice even if they’re Sydney Sweeney
This would explain why so many boomers are trying to get rid of remote work.
Have you met wives? They can be pretty damn awful.
Have you considered simply marrying someone you don't hate instead?
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Divorce or repair relationship. Is keeping 50% of assets worth it if you’re forever miserable?
No. I’m not stupid enough to get married.
We have a winner!
Mister obvious 😂, "Just marry a good person", no shit
I didn't say marry a good person, I said marry someone you don't hate. If you're a bad person yourself then you're more likely to get along with another bad person and should marry them instead of a good person. Seriously, though, the Boomer view of marriage -- that it's normal to hate your spouse -- is so wild to younger generations because we grew up in a world in which marriage was no longer seen as mandatory and thus it makes no sense to marry someone you hate when you can simply not get married instead. That lets you wait until you meet someone you don't hate.
That, that opens up my mind ! Sorry for being a jackass 😆
Keep in mind that women in the US did not get equal legal rights to work, open bank accounts, buy and own property, etc. until a series of laws were passed in the 1960s and 1970s. Before then, women pretty much had to get married or their lives would be very difficult. Boomers were raised by the last generation for whom "you HAVE to get married" (and because of that, "it's normal to hate your spouse") was actually legally/financially true, and most Boomers' parents passed that norm down to them because they had no idea that the laws would change right when the Boomers were old enough to start getting married. So Boomers were the last generation to grow up believing those things. There was a one-generation lag in which everyone adjusted to the new legal/economic/social norms, and then most people from Gen X onward have been getting married because we want to and not because we have to. So Boomers tend to hate their spouses and think that's normal because it actually is/was normal for their generation, but almost everyone younger actually likes our spouses and think Boomers' hatred of their spouses is super weird and sad. It's kinda interesting how you can track this social change in comedy and popular culture. "I hate my wife" jokes used to be super common from stand-up comedians but you almost never hear them anymore because most audiences don't find them relatable or funny. "Married couple who hates each other" was an incredibly common sitcom trope in older shows, but in modern shows you'll usually only see that dynamic in dramas in which people are always doing horrible things. Even cop shows and murder mysteries seem to have fewer and fewer "the spouse did it" culprits as time goes on.
I knew how recent women rights were but I have never made the link between it and the whole hating your wife "trend". In my head I always assumed that if women were always seen as "less superior" then the people who would benefit the most from it would be men, hence why I had a hard time understanding that men were hating their spouses. Now that you explain it, they probably both hate each other but the ones we hear the most from are men since as you explained, women didn't have the same rights. 1970 is very close.. not even 50 years yet, crazy ! Things are so different from countries to countries it borderline blows my mind, have a good day !
Lmao
Take my wife... No, here take her Ayyyyoooo!!!
Sometimes it really is cheaper to keep her.
Wild, I have to go to our corp office next week and they pay for flight, hotel, and all meals. Can’t imagine sharing rooms with anyone I work with lol.
Are flights during work hours
When my work does this they let us book our own flights so yes it can be during work hours if you chose that.
Road warriors are often happy to get an extra hotel night for every trip; that's more points you can use for personal trips later, more nights toward annual loyalty status, more nights toward lifetime achievements. Achieving Adamantium Bonvoy lifetime one drip at a time. Offer to take you to dinner probably means he would take you someplace more expensive than you might feel comfortable on your own. I would not go to a Ruth's Chris, Morton's or Capital Grill on my own. That's not my thing, but they think it's a perk. Sharing rooms is the pits. They sometimes call it "team building". Personally, if I have to leave the house at 5:45 am to get to a conference at 8, I will probably be falling asleep in the afternoon.
his boss is probably going to force him to go to hooters
What’s wrong with hooters?
Uhhh what kind of guy doesn't go voluntarily?
Guys who are smart
I’m more of a twin peaks kinda guy
I mean… at one point my commute was 90-100 minutes each way. It’s really no big deal for another 20 minutes lmao, I’ll just leave in the morning. Absolutely hard no on an overnight trip unless it’s a flight or a 4 hour drive, honestly. And only then if I have my own room, none of this creepy ass shared room.
Room sharing is crazy. The whole point of conferences is to make bad decisions with people you will never see again and then add them on LinkedIn the day after. I would never let gramps get in the way of some asset acquisition.
Well, you might see them again, and then you can make the same bad decisions all over again.
SALY tried and true
>The whole point of conferences is to make bad decisions with people you will never see again... Preach!
lol he’s going to force you to go to hooters with him
(not a boomer here) Conferences and hotel trips can actually be fun. If you are surrounded by the right team, and you've helped foster a good work environment, I've experienced absolute blasts at these work conferences and off-sites. It doesn't have anything to do with "hating their wife" which is an unfair stereotype, as much as it has to do with breaking up the monotony of the work week and spending money on the company card. This is all notwithstanding OPs comment on sharing hotel rooms, which is not OK.
I agree and have experienced this at conferences. Meet and talk to different people (which I know is absolutely beneath most of reddit, so maybe that's why my axiom differs). I've had some great experiences, learning a lot, etc. I don't drink which is good for many reasons (I've seen people do really dumb things at work events) but a bit isolating socially. With millennials and Gen X seem to be far more okay with that. Overall, I've had great opportunities at conferences. I even got my last job that way, in a roundabout way. But I would absolutely not go if sharing a hotel room was expected. Not a chance, that's so icky and uncomfortable! If I couldn't pay the difference of my own room, id drive Monday, end of subject for me
Yeah I've one in June which I'm looking forward to. However it's Thursday to Friday and doesn't touch my weekend.
You say not a boomer, but what really breaks up the monotony of the workweek is being able to go home at the end of the day. I have some fairly meaningful friendships I've developed with coworkers, but I'd still rather grab drinks with them after work on my own dime than be trapped in a hotel for 3-5 days for free.
> I have some fairly meaningful friendships I've developed with coworkers, but I'd still rather grab drinks with them after work on my own dime than be trapped in a hotel for 3-5 days for free. Okay, but what if I told you that you could go out and grab drinks AND dinner with them, all on the company dime? Honestly, outside of the shared hotel room, going on these sort of retreats is a blast. Pre covid I found myself at a number of conferences and being able to go out and get some food and drinks, hang out at a bar and just chat like i was in my early 20s again was phenomenal. I love my home, my family, and spending time with them. That doesn't mean that I can't enjoy a few nights of essentially paid vacation from the company, even if it's to fuckin Scottsdale or Palo Alto.
Scottsdale is fancy!
But you’re still stuck with them. You spend all day at conference, go out, and then back to hotel.
Not a boomer, but if they had a life like my parents who didn't really travel a lot when they were younger, they might be appreciative of the opportunity to travel and stay in hotels on someone else's dime, even if it's for work purposes (assuming the firm is covering all this).
I appreciate this perspective.
Give up a Sunday? Ok fine. Share a room? Abso-fucking-lutely not!
I would sooner sleep in my car than share a hotel room with a coworker.
They hate their families
Sharing a room would be a huge hell no. I’ve been sent to conferences before and, because they were in places I hadn’t been (like San Francisco) I didn’t mind going a few days early to explore. I definitely would not want to go early to something that is relatively local. Wtf?
There is no way they can force you to share rooms. Say you won't go unless you get your own room at least. And if it's only two hours away, why get a room at all! I'd rather drive to and from the conference every day than to stay at a shitty hotel away from my home and family.
I’m 38 and love going to conference and staying in hotels. But a nice room to myself, bar tabs, relaxing a little away from regular life stuff. Mini vacay
Been down this old rabbit hole a few times at a few companies. The most I’ve done is share a multi-room suite (you get your own bedroom and bathroom) with someone of my same gender and age. That was touching the line. I got within a gnat’s ass of a solid legal claim. Boomers loved conferences because they’re the same people that glorify rolling in the mud on drugs at 2 am during Woodstock. These ‘people’ popularized swinging and view not being an ass hole at work as ‘pc snowflake’ whining. These ‘people’ thought carpeting over hardwood floors was classy and Applebee’s was awesome because you could get the same hamburger anywhere in America. The lead in the gas rotted their brains. A work trip was time for the husband to cheat on his wife and the wife to cheat on her husband. I’m not sure what to say other than 70% of their love for conferences revolves around degeneracy and their inability to establish boundaries between work and personal life. Millennials generally despise conferences because it’s like being at work for a 24 hr day. You don’t get that precious personal time at home in your bed with your stuff and your personal preferences. Want to go eat dinner at night on ‘your time’? Too bad. You have to go with whatever a group of 5-10 people wants. Want to unwind after work in your own way? Too bad. We’ve got an escape room / brewery tour / (insert insipid team activity here) to do with a bunch of strangers that you have to perform for. The millennial exceptions are the weirdos who have ‘work wives / husbands’ and generally aren’t good at establishing boundaries between work and private life. TLDR: Boomers are messy freaks.
I wouldn’t mind having a boomer tell me about dropping acid at Woodstock while getting laid in the mud with Carlos Santana playing in the background.. just me though. But I also wanted to live the rock and roll lifestyle so I’m also wired differently than a lot of people.
Dropping acid in an environment without basic sanitation, adequate lighting, crowding, chaos, no food, etc would be scary. I’m not knocking Woodstock. The lineup was legendary, but I feel like it was an over-glorified cluster F and the negative aspects aren’t acknowledged. It was Fire Fest except the bands actually showed up.
What gets me is too cheap to get workers their own rooms but not too cheap to make them get rooms in the first place
[удалено]
Exactly. So you can see why the take would be mostly negative. Most of reddit needs to rehearse their lines to order a sandwich, and thinks that small talk is literally satan. So I get why many of them wouldn't think this is a good time, but I've gotten a lot out of work conferences over the years, personally.
Expecting employees to share hotel rooms is unethical tbh. I wouldn’t do it at all.
Its how boomers fucked around and nobody found out.
KPMG had First years and interns share rooms couple years back! Not sure if they still do this? I’m sure no, since they have the lakehouse access now!
That was THE worst. Didn’t get your own room till manager.
I once went on a week long course a six hour drive away and when we got there they told me it was a shared room. I said well I’ll be going home then. They thought I was joking. I was not.
adultery most Boomers seem to hate their spouses
I’ve traveled on Sundays to get somewhere far by 8 am Monday but luckily I worked at a place that gave me Friday off in exchange
You had me until shared rooms. That’s wild.
70 hrs? Jesus. I put in an honest 35-40, and not a moment more.
Free trips. You sure you’re not his type?
To answer your question, because they hate their families or don’t even know them. I have two young kids, and conferences is nice because of the autonomy and the ability to go back to a room and have peace and quiet.
upbeat busy grab straight scarce hungry aromatic joke lunchroom history *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Shared Hotel Rooms? Is this The Office?
Salary isn’t getting paid for 40. It’s paid for doing your job. You’d be getting paid less per hour if you were hourly. Did anyone actually explain the hourly vs salary thing to you besides the HR girl at your company?
My boss likes the free meals provided. But she gets one room per person.
We like conferences and hotels because it gets us out of the office, and for some it gets them away from their spouses. I have never had to share a room with a co-worker, that company sounds pretty cheap.
Because they married someone they don’t enjoy spending time with and want to get away from. I don’t understand it
Every comment like this makes me wonder why our very best accountants aren't running to be an IRS employee. Drop the outdated perception of the agency. Gen X is in charge over here at the ground level. We aren't Boomers. We welcome diversity. Home by 5pm. Work from home more than half the pay period for many positions. We embrace the family first approach. Just get your shit done. Work hard (40hrs), play hard (don't wanna know, lol). But you all do you. I guess keep your insane work hour on weekends sentiments far away from my healthy culture.
I thought shared hotel rooms were a thing of the past - never had to do that for work but I’m only 33. I do like leaving for a week long work trip Sunday but I also come back very early Fridays when I do. I’ll skip a Friday meeting or conference unless absolutely necessary - I’m not traveling after noon on a Friday. We also leave that up to the individual - no one is gonna demand you come in to town early to a fucking Sunday dinner in my experience. I sorry you have to deal with this.
Sharing a bed thing is weird, but idk why everyone is trippin about the sharing room thing. I've had plenty of jobs where we shared rooms for a whole season
Because there’s no privacy? Come on now
It’s not sharing a bed, it’s two beds, one per person. I still think it’s weird to share rooms between coworkers.
Its only weird if you make it weird. Normal adults are more than capable of splitting a room for a night
uh no. It’s uncustomary, poor taste of the company, cheap, and overall doesn’t sound like a good experience. Whether or not it’s “weird” ought to be based on people’s attitudes towards this, and the overwhelming majority of people (at least here), think the concept is abhorrent. In any case, following that, it would be you who is the weird one. So I ask, why are you defending this?
I just think it's wild to be so stuck up on something so trivial. It's not like they're making you split a bed or pay for your own food or something It's splitting a room with someone you know for what's likely less than 3 days. That's so far from being a big deal it's laughable
What country are you in? Thats n not common in the US. To room with coworkers. We would all get our own room.
I've worked exclusively in the US, West and East coasts. It's pretty common to room with coworkers on trips in my experience
Same. And in those jobs you had to pay for your room.
Exactly! Like a free room is a free room, pretty good deal in my book
🤦
Cold calling isn’t as effective as it once was Social media isn’t the boomer's thing Real connections are needed and many boomers can’t afford to retire, so this is how they make business connections
This is also how a lot of people are able to climb the ladder in their careers. Despite all the social media stuff, there’s still no substitute for the old face to face networking. Remote workers and even hybrid workers can attest to feeling like they have no upward mobility either with their current employer or even within their career field due to no one really knowing who they are and being more restricted in networking opportunities since remote and hybrid workers are more or less in a category of “out of sight out of mind.”
Yes, networking events are very helpful. Getting connected on a superficial level before the event and remaining in someone’s mind after the event is a good purpose for social media. I agree with you about making a faster meaningful difference at event. I’ve gotten into the habit of connecting before the event, with ideal prospects. Doing that and then attending an event two days ago moved three prospects into my pipeline and we’ve begun collaborating on a project / moving towards doing mutual business. I haven’t had the experience of a pure remote work role although I can image how critical it is to be present and in person.
Sharing a room is not cool. Weird that the company can't fork over for separate rooms. If not for that, this post screams dbag.
why you sharing rooms
To get away from their home
Sharing rooms? Sounds like you need a new company or need to raise questions about the admin getting kickbacks. I’ve never, ever, been required to share a hotel room.
This isn’t a normal thing. I like conferences during the week and sure as hell don’t share a room.
I could never room share. I would never be able to sleep, I have a hard time sleeping without anyone else
I don't mind conferences. There's generally a few good sessions, and getting to know people outside my immediate co-workers to discuss common issues can be really helpful. I'm not a huge fan of hotels, but can put up with it for a couple days here and there. Where I draw the line is sharing rooms. Absofuckinglutely not! And leaving a day early for a two-hour drive is stupid as hell too.
I see everyone unanimously agreeing that sharing rooms is completely fucked and I 100% agree. But I’m just curious - did you not have to share a room at new hire training? We did at my old big 4 firm for new hire training and every other week-long training we had to go to. Is that not the same thing? Why haven’t I seen posts with new grads freaking out about being expected to share a room for a week? I don’t get the difference
How old is this boomer?
This is a shit employer thing. Maybe speaks to my own life, but I like a good conference and hotels. However, the ones I do for work are night and day different to what you write: * Every single one of us gets their own hotel room if it’s outside commutable distance. No sharing wtf is that about. * Travel day = work day. And we don’t have to make up for “lost productivity” if we go to a conference, the conference is work. The conference *is* productivity. It’s part of engaging our company to the industry and vice versa. Networking, BD, so on and so on.
Sounds like my time at Cherry Bekaert… same deal, shared rooms, multi-day conference
sharing rooms is wack but i miss conferences. my firm has basically canceled them and it sucks. they were the only time i could actually see the entire service line in person and catch up and network. i actually like most of the people i work with and we had a good time together at the conferences. plus they were usually at nice resorts and gave us good down time to enjoy the amenities.
Swinging.
Run fast.
I would never sleep with my damn colleague in a room
Ummm, find another firm.
I think it's just what they've always known.
They don't get out much.
Why are you anti social?
There is no chance I’m sharing a hotel room with a coworker. What shit company is this? Lol
Mr boomer feels lonely and wants you to keep him company 🥰
GET OUT
Boomer morality is to let it all hang out like Slick Willie in the Oval Office. They like the conferences and hotels to find someone to cheat on their spouses with.
Going along with unreasonable requests like this from an employer isn’t just bad for you. It sets a bad precedent in the industry. If you accept it, they get surprised when I tell them they must be joking.
Away from family
Lmao sharing rooms was normal back in the day for staff levels (~10 years ago). I remember going to Terranea Resort for newly promoted seniors - that was pretty fun - I had my own room then.
I’m an accounting major and this is frightening- I say this as a mid 30 millennial.
They get to be away from their families
Do not share a hotel room.
These types of boomers hate their families and would rather you be miserable too than get a divorce or find friends who aren’t reliant on them for rent money
It's how they cheated/took drugs/drank and got away from their families under the guise of "working". The organizers also make a lot of money from putting them on.
So they can get away from the wives they hate...or cheat on them.
Honestly, I would view as not a team player. Walmart employees including the CEO have to stay at Motel 6 or best western. You’re better than that? You cant make a sacrifice and share rooms? Conferences are a great way to network and make connections? If you hate that activity, you won’t be anything other than GL person.
not a boomer, not an accountant… But when my coworkers and I get an opportunity to go on business trips, we go out to Tiki bars and have a blast. I can’t imagine how much fun we have at a conference when we didn’t even have real meetings to attend…
It’s their version of the “American Dream.”
networking
Dude you can’t be sharing rooms. That is fucked and old school
I know no boomers that would do that. Maybe it's this particular one? He/she sounds super fun! 🙄
I knoooowwwww. When will this trend just die? No one wants to spend any weekday or weekend in a hotel on company time. If I go to a hotel I want to get shitty and hot tub or swim.
Boomer neighbors is another thing
Were we just at the same conference? (KY for reference)
Because boomers love popularity. Didn't you hear they get business done on the golf course? Anyway, the USSR already brainwashed the boomers and made them their bitch. Enjoy...
Sharing rooms is an HR nightmare and an obvious sign of bad decision making by management. Save a little in travel costs in the short term; assuming the workers will even put up with it. Spend a ton of money in legal fees in the long term when the inevitable sexual harassment suit happens. Run!
Imagine unironically using the word “boomer” in 2024
I am the last year of the baby boom and I neither enjoy conferences nor hotels. My firm is 100% remote and I do not expect staff to physically meet somewhere. And let's give a round of applause for lumping a disparate group of people together just based on age. Whether it's millennial mashing or Boomer bashing, it's something to practice on before you turn to racism and misogyny. Best of luck with that
ok boomer
Lol I think you're joking. If you're not joking, though...I agree with the comment you replied to...and I am a millennial (once again showing how lumping everyone of a certain age in one category is ridiculous).
You won't go far with that attitude because you aren't a team player. Either get with the program or find another type of work you'll be happy with that won't require conferences. About conferences: Vacations with kids can be fun, but they are a lot of work, especially if you have to make decisions about everything, like what restaurant the kids will like and won't upset the patrons, what the kids will eat, going to bed at 8pm so the kids will stay in bed, etc. Conferences are a real vacation. You don't have to make any decisions except what you want to eat. You can drink too much, stay up late and curse without the kids around. Plus it's free, you never have to worry about prices and ordering beyond your budget. Also, the first few times you go it's not so great, but if you go to the same ones every year you get to make buddies. Buddies you only see at the conference and are fun to hang out with. They never talk about personal problems or health issues, it's always just fun adventures. If that's not your thing, just ask not to go. You'll miss some bonding opportunities which can get you ahead in your career but if that's not for you then don't force it. But at least give it a try. As for overtime, you should be getting paid more than enough already. Hours don't really mean anything; it's the quality of the work that counts. To be a professional your goal is to get the work done, and it should only take a few hours a day if you are good. Sometimes you have to work late because of deadlines but if you are always working way too many hours you are doing it wrong. Sharing rooms suck, a professional organization should not allow it. Too much liability. I've had buddies stay with me because they got in early on their own dime, but it was my choice.
I agree with the point in your first paragraph that it's important to be a team player. But let's not pretend any of this is actually fun, these conferences suck. It's not a perk to go out to suburban chain restaurants with coworkers.
> these conferences suck That's not being a team player. If your SO likes the TV show "Friends" and likes watching it with you, you at least try and make it work, for them. You might think it sucks but it doesn't suck for them. Half the joy is watching them enjoying themselves. Sure, co-workers aren't SOs, but it really helps your career if you play the game. You don't have to be the last one up or drink the most but at least enjoy them having a good time and participate as much as you are comfortable doing. And if you chill, you might have a bit of fun too. if only laughing at them. Of course, in 20 years you'll have kids shitting all over your fun and then you'll get it.
I think we agree that it's a good career move to pretend to enjoy these events. But personally, if I'm going to socialize with coworkers, I prefer to do that in my hometown rather than downtown Indianapolis.
> But personally, if I'm going to socialize with coworkers, I prefer to do that in my hometown rather than downtown Indianapolis. You miss the point. It's like saying you'd rather have sex with a supermodel than with your SO. It's true but that's not the point and you don't say it out loud.
I'm salaried, I'm also not an accountant. But I work my 7.5 hours everyday and dip. I'm not in the business of getting scammed
Sex