Reality Check: Am I out of line?

[tulip]

Once upon a time I had two job offers in the same week. Pretty much the same salary, too, but one was a tad bit higher. When I went in for discussions about it, I asked outright how they feel about employees commuting by bike.

The first one (the wee-higher salary) looked at me funny and said, "well, I guess you can use the gym's shower. I'm not sure about that." They had a gym to promote fitness, yet didn't have a clue about bike commuting.

The second one had a bike rack (with bikes in it) inside the lobby and a commuter shower. When I asked about commuting by bike, they smiled and said, of course!

You can guess which one I took. I was there for four years. When I had to go to a meeting, I took a cab, rented a car, or took Metro (see above).

So, if it becomes an issue for you (sounds like it already is), you might want to look around at alternative places to work if you and your employer can't find a workable solution.

[Velobambina]

Drive your car in on Monday. Bring your bike, clothes for the week, etc. Ride your bike home and then to/from work til Friday. The car stays at work during the week. That would be one way to make it work and to commute by bike 8 times a week.

Keep pushing for a company car.

My commute recently went from about 7 miles to almost 25 miles each way. The building where I now reluctantly work is quite a distance from our headquarters, and we have a lot of meetings there & in DC. If we are lucky, we can use a GOV. Most times it's not available (it's shared w/other offices) or just not practical. So I drive my own car and charge back my mileage to the poor taxpayer. Forget about commuting by bike, as the new building is located in the worst of suburban sprawl (major, unsafe highways) or even commuting by public transportation. Luckily, this situation is not forever---I'm free to find another assignment next September. I love my job & my boss, but the commute is stealing between 45-60 additional minutes of my life every day.

[malkin]

Push on for the fleet vehicle;

Nag them to buy you a transit pass, or to pay for part of it, or at least set up a way to pay for it with pre-tax $$; (Aren't you in SLC? UTA works with companies who ask to set up alternative ride programs for employees);

Remind your employer of what a good employee you are, how you accomplish more in 32 than most people in 40;

Keep your eyes open and your resume up to date in case something interesting floats by,

and by all means, have the tequila.

[malkin]

Write a proposal detailing how much more special and green and sustainable they'd be, and how much actual real money they'd save if they'd teleconference or run meetings via conference call or *gasp* just settle stupid matters by email!


I'm sure some meetings are really worthwhile, just hardly any of the ones associated with my work.