How To Survive Your First Work Trip

Josh Felgoise (00:00.206)

Welcome to Guy's Set, the guy's guide to what you should be talking about. I'm Josh, I'm 23 years old, and I'm here to find all the tips, advice, and recommendations for guys in their 20s. Let's get into it.

Josh Felgoise (00:17.934)

Hi guys, welcome back to guys said the guys guide to what should be talked about. I just came back from a work trip. So let's talk about it. And before you get into it, before you think, well, Josh, you know, you have coworkers who, and a boss who has access to this podcast. I know, I fucking know that people can find this podcast. I'm not coming on here to talk big shit about my boss and my coworkers. like them. So I'm not doing that, but I am going to talk about the work trips. think there's a lot of different things that go into a work trip that we need.

that you need to know. We, I'm going to say we, we need to know before going into a work trip because work trips, there's a lot of like, I don't know the right word, like minutia. There's like a lot of like, no, I fucking hate that word. There's a lot of like things that go into a work trip that you need to think about, like how to act, how to behave, how to be. Also, it's exhausting being on a work trip. It's like it's day and night when you're at home. When you're working from like life, we're working in general, working at the norm.

in normal life is you go to work, you go home and you have your night. But when you're on a work trip, it all, all rules are off the table. You're, mean, not really. So we'll get into that, but all like your, your life is that trip or your life is like with the team for that, the duration of the trip. So I, I had an interesting work trip. It was like a three day long, it was a company offsite, which is different than my other two trips. My first trip was with my last job.

And I went to Austin, Texas. The second trip was with this new job. Shocking to hear. know that that this podcast is not a full-time job. The second trip was to San Francisco. And then the third trip was that's, where I recorded that episode, like two ago when I was on a bed in a hotel room, cause I had to bring them all my stuff with me. And then this trip was also San Francisco, but it was a full company offsite. like most of the people from the company came to this trip and, and we got it. We got to talk about each, each part of the work trip because

There's things that I wish I knew going into a work trip. We'll talk about each of them. And then I also want to talk about happy hours. I thought this was a good time to talk about drinking at work because that's been a topic I've, I've touched on in like advice guy segments, but I haven't done like a full rundown of a happy hour. So let's, let's do all that. So work trips and happy hours, the topic of the, are the topics of this one. And I'm going to start with work trips because that's, that's the most fresh in my head. So I got back yesterday. So

Josh Felgoise (02:34.862)

The first tip I have on a work trip is to get to everything like 15 minutes early. I got to most of the things on my work trip during the first day, like a minute or two before they started, because that's how I usually look at time. I'm like, all right, if I have to be in a meeting at 9am, I will be there at 8.58 or 8.59 and I'll be I'll be present. My ass will be in that chair at 9am, but like no time before then. Like that is that is the time I have to show up. I'll be there at that time. So when I rolled up to the conference room on the first day,

Mostly every single person was there except for me, like probably 15 minutes before me. And I rolled up at eight 59. I was like, what's up everybody? Like, but no, that you should, you should be there early. That's my first tip for you is to get to everything a little early. That's what I've learned from my boss already is I don't know how the fuck she does it, but she's everywhere early. Like she's so, so, so busy, so much busier than I am. And I'm still rolling up like at the time she's there 15 to 20 minutes early every single time. So time management is something on a work trip that like

I mean, some people are early to a lot of things. Some people are like me on time. Some people are late. I mean, I'm I fall between the early. I mean, I fall between the on time and late mostly every single time. But I I've never been early to things. And that's something I'm going to know now for my next work trip. And maybe I'll bring it into my everyday life. Probably not. But that's something I know for a work trip because everyone was there just like bantering, like talking in the morning before. And I didn't have that because I was there at nine and then like the programming started. So I would get there a little early. That's my first tip.

The next tip is about how to dress. like we were given like an interesting, okay. And also, okay, okay, okay. Let me, let me take one step back. Every work trip is different. So a lot of people going on work trips are for consulting or for, I don't know who else travels beside like consultants and sometimes for like clients and stuff. So work trips are look different in that respect, but I feel like the first tip still works for those people because you should be early to everything, especially if it's like a client or a

someone you're working with or for like consulting for. So the reason behind work trips are always different. This one was a company offsite and that's why this experience is about the company offsite. But yeah, for other trips, it's very different. So like what to wear to this type of stuff. I would wear what you're wearing to the office for the most part. Like I have these Lululemon pants. I couldn't recommend more. I feel like they work well for everything. Like we were told we're going on like a company hike at some point in afternoon. So it was like, wear like hiking clothes as well. I'm not going to wear fucking sweatpants to like

Josh Felgoise (04:54.274)

the all day conference, but these Lululemon pants, not sponsored, but you should invest in a pair of these pants because they are like good for everything. I think I wore them like mostly every single day of this conference and they were just like super comfortable and I could walk around and do like a company hike in them and wear them and they look like normal pants. So maybe I'll put like a Lincoln Manchurian story or something. But yeah, those those are highly recommend. But what to wear? I would wear what you wear to work. The next thing is about etiquette at your like

company or work trip or offsite or whatever it is. I would say we were like pretty much mandatorily told like you cannot be on your phone from this time to this time. We had like specific pockets of time for phone time and every time we had that I was like, I was so happy to finally have my phone again, which is a problem for me for sure. But I, I would recommend not being on your phone.

during a lot of this stuff and like making a conscious effort to not check your texts or your Apple watch and just like really be really present with where you're at. If you want to go on your phone, just like go to the bathroom. I would just step out of the room. So that's like etiquette around phones. So that's on that. So the next thing is around company meals. And I know it's so exciting when someone's going to pay for your meal and you don't have to pay for like an expensive dinner. So here's what I would do in these circumstances. I would see what the people above you are ordering.

before you order your food, food, food, Jesus, before you order your food. And if they, if like the waiter comes to you first, be like, please, you, you, you go first, please. By all means, I'd love for you to go first because you know what they're gonna get. And then you can decide, like if they're getting the steak, then you can get the steak too. But if they're getting like some, like pasta that's less expensive than the steak, I wouldn't get the steak.

So some people ordered the steak, some people ordered the pasta. I used what my boss ordered to decide what I was going to order. So that's what I would recommend. and then drinking company drinking at a dinner. I, I had one to two drinks and I I followed suit everybody else. Like, first of all, before you drink at a company dinner, know your tolerance. Like if you're going to get kind of fucked up after one drink,

Josh Felgoise (07:04.298)

Maybe don't even drink like you need to be on point at these company things you're with you're at work like you are at work I know it's at dinner. I know it's like after company hours you are at work. So do not Get fucking sloshed at dinner with your boss like that's never a good idea We'll get into that with the happy hour stuff in a second, but dinner specifically I would order one to two drinks like Maximum, I feel like anything above that is like, he had three drinks at dinner. He had four drinks at dinner unless

the people at the top like your boss, other people's bosses, they're leaving and it's just like the underlings left. If it's just you guys left and the tab is still open and the check is still flowing, like yeah, have another drink, that's fine. I'm not gonna tell you not to do that. We definitely did when the people above us left. But I would say to stick to one to two drinks so you can be in control of what you're saying and not be like, that.

fucking bitch and like start just going off the rails. So have like, have yeah, one to two drinks is my, my recommendation for you for a work dinner and then expensing things. Okay. So if you are with your company and you're on a work trip, whether it's you're with your whatever job you're in, if you're on a work trip, go into the trip, knowing your like per DM or your per day expense, like what you can expense to the company.

and make that clear before you travel because I didn't do that. And I certainly spent way above what I was supposed to spend and I expensed it and the guy was like, L, fucking L, absolutely not. Like this is not, so I learned that my company doesn't even have a per DM. Some people tell them companies don't, we're a startup, so like they don't even have that. Absolutely sucked when I found that out. So they expense like a little bit of the dinner I had, but not all of it. So.

Be careful when going on a work trip, know what your company will pay for and what they won't. They're most likely going to pay for your flight. I mean, obviously paying for your flight, the most likely pay for your Ubers to and from the airport, your Ubers to the hotel, the most likely pay for the hotel. Like that's probably the extent of it mostly, unless they specifically tell you that there's like a per DM. It's that's what it's called per day, like a cost allocated to your spending.

Josh Felgoise (09:21.344)

Otherwise, you probably don't have that money and I didn't. So I learned that the hard way. So I had a great sushi dinner. Thank you for asking, but it was not covered by my company. So, so be careful, be careful out there. So know what you can expense and what you can't before you go on a trip is the next tip. And then when you're hanging out with your coworkers and you're, probably most likely to be drinking or like having a good time together and you're, you want to get to know your coworkers. If you're, if you're all together.

and like boundaries are down and you can like talk a little more shit than you would in person or over zoom or over slack. But just be careful of like what you say to your coworkers and just like know who you feel like you can trust and who you can't. At the end of the day, you're still with coworkers. You're still at like a work environment. I know like it sometimes feels like when you're drinking with coworkers, it's just like it's all fun and games and like fuck it. The old people, not the old, yeah, the old people, the old people are.

old people went to sleep and like the kids can go out to play. Yes, I agree. But just be careful with who you trust who you don't just just know that you're still at work is like the biggest tip. There's nothing like else to it is just know that like anything can get back to anybody. This is this isn't this didn't happen to me. I'm just saying and I feel like this could happen in a work environment. Just know who you're talking to and what you should say and what you shouldn't and

Don't let your guard so down that you're just like, yeah, fuck that. My boss is a piece of shit and what I'm doing, my stupid project. Just be careful not to like sling absolute shit at your coworkers because they can easily go back to somebody else and then somebody else and somebody else. And even if you trust that one person and they tell someone else, they're like, don't tell anybody is that like, and then they tell the next person, don't tell anybody is that like, it could just easily get back to who it's not supposed to get back to. So be careful. Just know that you're still at work. This also goes for the happy hours. We'll get into that in a second. I keep saying that because it's

I guess they kind of flow into each other, but just be careful with what you say when boundaries are down, your guards down, you're drinking with your coworkers, which you're supposed to do. Like, why not? It's fun. You and you're drinking on company time. So like, yeah, okay. Why not? You're working hard. You deserve it. You deserve that espresso martini, but just don't don't tell everything to everyone. So that's those are my biggest tips around a work trip. One being, yes, I know my coworkers are listening to this. Hi, everybody. If you're listening to this to

Josh Felgoise (11:41.806)

etiquette for like being on time, showing up even early, going off your phone, your etiquette at dinner. So it's like not ordering the most expensive filet mignon on the menu if nobody else is if they are like and that's the vibe go for it. But if they're not like don't be that guy to order the seventy five dollar porterhouse ribeye. And then for drinks stick to like one or two or three if like if that's the vibe. But like I would really stick to one or two drinks.

and like know your limits and what you should stay in and don't get fucked up at the dinner. And when hanging out with coworkers, like know that you shouldn't tell everything to everyone. And expensive things, know what you can expense, what you can't, and know your money you have from the company and don't go out to a really expensive sushi dinner and not be covered. And you think it is and you're like, fuck it, I'll ball out at sushi dinner. it's just not, sushi was great, really was.

So I guess it was worth it. fine. Whatever. And okay, the last thing I'll say on work trips is you don't have like a ton of time to yourself. At least this is in my experience. I didn't feel like I had a lot of like downtime. Everything was either with someone else or in a meeting or in a call or then like following up with the work. And it felt like when I wasn't with everybody, was I had to do the work I was supposed to be doing that day because it was still a work day. So it was just a completely overwhelming and exhausting day of like three days of work. The end of each night, I was just like, fuck, I'm so tired.

and I would just like go to bed at like 10 or 11, which is that is early for me. I know it's not for some people, but that is like really early for me. And I would just be so tired. So try and make a little bit of time for yourself, like text some friends, call a friend or something and try and like, if you work out on a daily basis or weekly or whatever you do, like try and find some time to do like a quick little workout. I really didn't and I wish I did. I usually journal every night too. I didn't make any time for that. So like, I just found that I didn't make any time for myself on this trip and I

felt after the three days I was just like dead. So if you can try and squeeze in some stuff for yourself in there, whether it's like 20 minutes of like calling a friend or like updating your family with how it's going, just something quick, something for yourself. So make sure you get that in there too. They can be really exhausting and very tiring. And then you just keep going, keep going. And then you don't want to like burn out. So that's, that's probably the last thing on, on the work trip. And then into happy hour, let's talk about drinking with all your coworkers, which we kind of talked about before.

Josh Felgoise (14:06.872)

but a happy hour is a different situation than a dinner because a dinner you're like everyone's, I don't know, a dinner is a little different. So happy hour is the most wonderful time of the year because you get to go hang out with all of your coworkers who I'm sure you just love so dearly and you get to drink a lot. And if you don't love your coworkers dearly, you drink even more and people drink because it makes it easier to talk to people. And that's probably the number one reason a lot of people drink is for social anxiety.

I know that's why I do it sometimes and like I'll have like a drink or two just to like ease the nerves of talking to all these people. But here's the thing about happy hour is someone is bound to get so excited that it's all free and drink a fuck ton of alcohol and and loose lips sink ships. So don't be that person is like the biggest thing. So as I said that to drink rule at dinner also and this year you may not like me for this also pertains to happy hour.

I think you should have no more than two drinks with a company until the old farts go to sleep. When they go to sleep, then you can start drinking a little more with the younger people. But when you drink more, just know that that your lips start running and they don't stop running. So just be careful when you drink a lot with coworkers, because again, it can always go back to somebody else and somebody else and somebody else. So just know all that before you start drinking with people. These are things I wish I mean, not like I not like I've spilled so many like

company secrets and like, it's not like I'm running my mouth and like saying all this crazy shit I'm not supposed to be saying at happy hours and stuff. But I've just I've seen it. I've seen people do it and it's not a good look. And I've heard some absolute horror stories of people at happy hours saying the wrong things to the wrong people at the wrong time. So just don't be that guy. So stick to two drinks at a happy hour, unless you know your tolerance is like so

great, which none of ours is really that great. So yeah, I'm going to keep the rule, six to two drinks. And if you're, if it's just the kids at the end, then, then you can go have a little bit more. Just don't be the guy who's like twerking on the wall. That's my biggest tip. If you can take one thing away from my 40 episode to this podcast, if you're at a work event, don't be the guy ripping off his shirt, running around and like twerking on someone like don't don't do that. Thank you for listening to the guy sit.

Josh Felgoise (16:25.824)

Yeah, know your limits and if you don't know them, learn them before drinking. And if you don't drink, this is something I haven't done yet. Every time I talk about drinking or something, I just talk about the drinking crowd. If you don't drink, this part is for you. Hi, thanks for listening. If you're not drinking right now or don't like it or decided against it and have stopped drinking, I'm sure these events can be really, really hard. And I'm not in a place to talk about that, like that headspace.

But I have some coworkers at my last job who I know I'm not as close with the new one since I've been there for a couple months. But I so I have some coworkers my last job who never drank, but they would always hold like a seltzer water or a soda or something just to like sip something and like casually be in the same crowd. But yeah, I mean, it's I'm sure it's hard to be at these scenarios if you're not drinking. So I would hold something and like hang out with everybody. And then like there's

all this food that nobody eats because everybody's always like, like I'll have like a little bit of this and I'll just like try like this little thing. And like, there's some people like me who are like free food, like that's the best part. So you can also just like enjoy the food and like just you, you don't have to stay for that long. Don't, don't do anything you don't want to do. If you're not comfortable or happy being in that environment with those people, it's all good. You don't have to go to these things. these are all like an extra, extra part of work for some people. They're the most fun part, obviously because of the free booze and the free food and like that, that's

always, I mean, a lot of people like that, including myself, and like the social socialization stuff. But you can also just like go for like half an hour, you can go say hi to the people you're supposed to say hi to, you don't have to stay at these things like after the work after work day, it's your life after that, and you should leave whenever you want to leave. So don't feel obligated or pressure to stay for a really long time drinking or not drinking either way. I think you should go to any of this stuff, especially if you're new to a job, go to any of this stuff for at least like half an hour.

Say hi to right people, say hi to your boss, mingle a bit, be a personality and be somebody that people can go talk to. I also think happy hours are such a good opportunity to make friends and meet new people at your jobs. If it's a bigger company and you don't really know the lay of the land yet, this is a great time to just walk up to people and be like, hey, how are you? What do you do?

Josh Felgoise (18:45.194)

You're already in the same company. So you already have a commonality. That's usually the hardest part when you're meeting people is like you don't have anything in common yet and you have to find something to keep the conversation going. At this point, you already have a common ground of you work at the same company. So there's you already have something. So you make a conversation based off that you can talk about the other people you know and like what you do and what you like about the job, what you don't like about the job. Great time to socialize. Also, like obviously a best time to network, meet new people. You should at some point like walk up to the higher up people at the company and try and make conversation with them.

I feel like this is the time in our jobs when everybody kind of is guard down, drinking or not drinking. I talked mostly about the drinking part. This is the part where I'm talking about like networking and speaking. The actual things you need to think about. Well, no, the drinking thing you need to think about because that leads to the speaking. So you're not slurring your words and being a fucking mess. But you should at some point make an effort to go up to the people that you probably wouldn't speak to on a daily basis.

like the the C-suite people or the C-suite meaning like the not the CEO. You don't need to talk to the CEO at the happy hour. But if you're in a small company, you should. But otherwise, like the the chief of the CFO or like whatever, you can talk to anybody at this and they're down to talk. I if they're there and they're not in a conversation, I wouldn't like interrupt. I'd wait till a time when they like have.

no one around them or no one to talk to and just like be like, hi, I'm Josh. I it's really nice to meet you. do whatever. And I would love to hear what you're working on right now and just be open to have a conversation with anybody. These are the best networking opportunities. And then afterwards I would try and remember who you talk to and either connect with them on LinkedIn or Slack or email them the next day or that later that night or the next day just be like,

Hey, it was so great chatting with you at the happy hour. Would love to grab lunch or would love to grab drinks or not. You don't need to grab drinks. Would love to like have a coffee chat with you at work one day next week. Wouldn't like get to know you a little bit better. And like, that's just a, it's a really good way to network. use happy hours for that. You don't have to stay for so long and don't get fucked up are my biggest three tips about a happy hour. Okay. Thank you so much for listening. I feel like when these like things happen and I go to like something at work or something new happens that I can now.

Josh Felgoise (20:55.502)

dive into on the podcast. It's so great because I'm also experiencing this alongside anybody who's listening to this if you are my age. So we're pretty much in the exact same boat if you're going to happy hours right now and add a new job and trying to network and meet people and not get too fucked up at your job and your work. So I feel like it's just cool that I can leave a work trip and then come on here and tell you about it. if you have any questions about anything I talked about or something you want me to talk about,

or yeah, just a question in general. You can email me at advice at guyset.com. A D V I C E at guyset.com. wait, I I did it wrong. A D V I C E at GUYSET.com. Or you can DM me at the guyset T H E G U Y S E T on Instagram or Tik Tok. and then on my, on my website, you can leave like an anonymous question as well. guyset.com, GUYSET.com.

And yeah, ask me anything I'm down to answer and I'm down to tell you about my experience with it for pretty much anything If you like this episode, really hope it did please like subscribe leave a review give this episode five stars, please And thank you and then send anything you want me to talk about anything that should be talked about for guys in their 20s to my email advice at guys.com or to my DMS at the guy set and I will see you guys next Tuesday. See you guys