maxopedia

For almost a year now, I have been working locally. However, last Friday I rolled off.

This means that I am due to be scheduled for a new project, apparently one in Minnesota.

At this point though, I am simply not willing to travel. Business travelers, my heart goes out to you. Modern airplane travel is a great abomination. Commercial jets are massive energy consumers and they don't even have the common decency to provide a plain-Jane passenger with a modicum of comfort; unlike our friendly buddies Air Conditioner and The Passenger Car.

Also, travel dislocates an individual. Some of the worst excesses of personality I have seen were acted out on the road. The type of person that enjoys this lifestyle for a long period of time is often not a nice person. Often, they tend to drink inordinate amounts of booze, combined with large amounts of heavy grub. More often than not this is at the client's expense.

In the past, I have let my managers know that I do not wish to be staffed on a traveling project. Unfortunately, there are few local projects.

When I heard yesterday that the next project that wanted me was not a local project, I let them know of my refusal to travel.

I'm not sure what reaction I expected, but not the one I received. My manager used a word that almost made me laugh, insubordination! That's such a ridiculously militaristic word.

Yeah, I understand that you think travel is in my job description, and me refusing to do so is 'against the rules' so to speak (interestingly, I never signed any documents of employment with HP that indicated travel is a requisite part of my job), but how is it INSUBORDINATION? I'm sorry buddy, but as far as I'm concerned, I am your equal, and hence insubordination is not possible. Just ask me to leave the company; isn't that the standard practice? Just tell me there are no local projects and ask for a resignation.

This is precisely the sort of thing I was discussing when this website was barely neonatal. (example 1, example 2)

I feel very insulted by this usage. Yeah, I'm some stupid punk kid on the bottom of the totem pole, but that's a little too much. It's almost as if my manager felt the need to shove my face against the hierarchical institution of HP, like I didn't get it or something. He seemed to really struggle with the idea that I could decide to not bend in the wind. I really don't get how being true to yourself can be considered 'insubordination'. We all have our own lines in the sand that we must draw, and their locations might very well change.

It's fine if you tell me that I no longer have a place at HP, but don't tell me that I'm 'insubordinate'. That implies you had the right to give me orders, rather than the ultimately temporary state of me granting you the privilege of doing so in the first place.

You know, after reading the Wikipedia entry on insubordination I think that maybe being insubordinate is a label that's going to work out for me.

It worked for Douglas MacArthur, Hunter S. Thompson, and Howard Zinn apparently. I'm in good company.