My employee was upset I told him to drive, not fly, for business travel

"I manage a team of four. One of my staff members, Jeff, asked to go to a conference that was about a five-hour drive away. I approved the request as the conference would be good for his professional development. Three other staff members from our closely connected teams were also going. Jeff registered for the conference. A couple of weeks later, he asked me about booking a flight to it. I was surprised by this, as the conference was a reasonable driving distance. I explained that the department would rent a van and the attendees would drive there together. (Our department wants to minimize expenses when reasonable, so this is normal unless it doesn't make sense logistically or financially.) He pushed back with a couple of reasons that he wanted to fly, such as it would save time and he didn't feel comfortable driving."

"He then said that he didn't want to be in a car for long periods of time since he sometimes has digestive issues. I empathized but suggested he make up a reason he might need more rest stops than usual and give the others a heads-up at the start of the trip. Something like, "Sometimes I get woozy when I'm in the car for a while, so I need to take more rest stops than usual." This was not acceptable to Jeff, and he ultimately decided not to attend the conference. It wasn't a huge issue, but he was salty about it for a while and complained to a few other people."

A manager approved an employee's request to attend a conference about a five-hour drive away because it was valuable for professional development. Multiple staff from connected teams planned to travel together in a department-rented van to minimize expenses. After registering, the employee asked to book a flight, citing time savings and discomfort driving. The manager explained that flying would not save time and that others were willing to drive. The employee then cited digestive issues; the manager suggested accommodations like extra rest stops, but the employee declined to attend and later complained to colleagues. The manager asks when exceptions are appropriate beyond distance and cost.

Read at Fast Company