Just the ticket

Pretty much all of the advice I’d give to employers to improve working conditions and productivity boils down to a single statement: treat employees like adults. So it was particularly mortifying when I recently made a mistake that could have been avoided if my employer had treated me like a child.

My downfall came on a conference trip. Things were going smoothly – I’d made it to the right city in a different country. I’d checked into the right hotel. But when I turned up to the conference venue, I was denied entry.

Which was fair, given that I hadn’t registered. Or checked whether anyone had registered me on my behalf. Or received any emails from the conference organisers that indicated that they were expecting me. Fortunately, I was able to buy a ticket on the door.