FEAR OF ANNOYING HABITS RUINING RELATIONSHIPS
After working for almost two decades, I have had my fair share of work trips. Mostly, I have been lucky enough not to share a room with a colleague, so we easily maintained our professional images, simply retreating to our own rooms at the end of our day.
One company I worked made us stay in Airbnb apartments to save on costs. Though we all had our own room, it was still quite the experience living under one roof with colleagues. We had to get used to each other’s toileting and sleeping habits and schedules, and seeing each other sans make-up and in our pyjamas.
One former colleague used the only toilet in the apartment we both shared for at least half an hour in the morning, such that I had to wait or wake up earlier to work around her schedule.
I also had to share a room with that same colleague. She was the kind who would set her alarm clock to wake up early but when it rang, she would hit the snooze button and go back to sleep – not once, more like four or five times. Being a light sleeper, that was easily an extra half hour of sleep lost.
But did the experience ruin my impression of and working relationship with that colleague? No, it didn’t. She was a hard worker who did her job well. Would I avoid travelling with her? If I could.