I need some advice on this…
I started at my current company in Fall 2020. Prior to COVID, they had a “shared hotel room” policy. Opposite sex are exempt, but basically the policy is “if you are traveling with someone else, you’re expected to share a room.” They just reinstated the policy this week.
The CEO’s line is all about “family culture” and “small company feel.” He did acknowledge the cost savings in his announcement, which I’m sure is the real driver.
I travel a lot for work; 1-2 nights every week. I’m probably alone 80% of the time but I will travel with someone else once every few months. I have to say, I am 100% against this policy. I like my privacy and honestly have a lot of anxiety around sharing a room with a coworker.
I should mention, this is not a startup. We have 700 employees and over $200M in revenue every year.
Anyone have some truthful and respectable ways to tell my boss I’m not on board?
Share with your boss this story --
My first real job was as a traveling software salesman. The other salesmen were fellow men in their 20s, which lent the office environment to be something between frat house and locker room.
One weekend, there was a conference in Washington, DC at one of those posh hotels, and two colleagues came down from Massachusetts for it. I had dinner with them and then went home to sleep in my own bed. And while they were friendly to each other, those two had contrasting personalities.
To save on cost, company policy was to share rooms. Here is where the trouble begins.
"Zack" was a conservative, pious Tennessean in all the best senses of those terms. He went back to the room right after dinner was finished, read his Bible, and then surely went to sleep early.
"Bryce" was the king of the frat. Came from a wealthy family in the Northeast, reminded me a lot of "Otter" from
Animal House. He was brilliant -- truly -- but had certain bad habits and personality flaws that would often require him to use that brilliance to get himself out of some significant trouble.
Bryce went out on the town and came home at approximately 2:30 AM. He was not alone. He had brought a young lady with him, and the two of them stumbled into the room, occupied Bryce's bed, and... well... proceeded to do something that young people who feel passion for each other often do.
Zack awoke to this. Once he realized the gravity of the situation, he calmly got up, collected his things, left the room, and went to the front desk to request a separate room for himself. The next morning, he called up an attorney, and he then sued our employer for sexual harassment/hostile workplace.
The company settled with Zack. He resigned, took his money, and went back to Nashville. Bryce saw the writing on the wall and got himself a job for a hedge fund out in California.
The risk isn't worth the cost savings. Always assume the worst.
