How Do I Convince My Boss To Let Me Work From Home?
Working from home or working remotely is no longer a new concept. The Coronavirus pandemic has helped to normalize the practice of working from home. So the “How do I convince my boss to let me work from home?” question should not be a dreaded idea by any employee.
You can convince your boss by offering him a formal proposal detailing your desired working schedule. Explain how you will maintain a high level of productivity. Try addressing your boss’s concern and reservation about the idea and prove that you can be trusted to still achieve their objectives while working remotely.
Adopting tried and tested techniques when approaching this issue can guarantee you success in the form of a favorable response from your boss. You just have to prove to your boss that you can still deliver what is expected of you.
Do not approach the issue casually. Apply some level of professionalism and get your boss to listen to you through a well-thought proposal.
Here, we shall explore some “clever” ways that will put you closer to your goal of working at home. From carefully building your case to explaining your proposed arrangement’s benefits to your boss, we shall discuss great tips that can arm you with the necessary skills to navigate this “not-so-easy” task.
Despite being unconventional, convincing your boss and eventually being granted your wish to work from home has many perks. This arrangement can result in many benefits to both your employer and yourself.
Top Tips To Persuade Your Boss To Let You Work At Home
1. The Timing is Key
Before you discuss this big move, carefully assess the suitability of the timing. Do not just “up and go” into your boss’s office and bombard him or her with your proposal. There are situations, atmospheres, and conditions that are better than to start on this bold move.
Some cases where you are advised not to even begin this suggestion is when you are a new employee. As a new employee, your priority is to impress your new boss. It should be your number one task.
Therefore, presenting your boss with proposals such as asking to work from home can be detrimental to your job.
2. Build a Compelling Case
The trick here is to show your boss what is in it for them. Go an extra mile in detailing to your boss how the arrangement will benefit the business and its operations.
Showing how the arrangement will be mutually beneficial to both parties will spark the interest of your boss. However, do not pressure them as this will only hurt your chances of getting your wish.
3. Present a Great Formal Proposal
A formal and well-crafted proposal can go a long way to show your boss your seriousness on the matter. It proves that you gave it the required level of attention and consideration before coming up with the proposal.
A great way to approach this would be to suggest to your boss to agree towards a “trial”, a temporary arrangement to see how it works. For example, you can persuade them to let you adopt a part-time schedule where you can work remotely for two days each week.
You can then strive to make this arrangement work. If it does work well enough, propose a more “permanent” arrangement. Your boss is likely going to be more open to your suggestion.
4. Address Your Boss’s Concerns
Any boss would be concerned with the idea of their staff preferring to work from home. This is because they are constantly worrying about the levels of productivity and matters such as revenue and profits.
How would their staff working from the home impact these? Would it breed complacency on the employee? You can suggest to your boss that you can create time for having an in-person meeting with them twice every week as a way of boosting accountability.
That gives you a chance to discuss the most pertinent issues that require in-person attention to develop solutions. It is also crucial to share all contacts you have and let your boss that you will always be available and accessible.
5. Explain the Benefits
Also, explain to your boss that working remotely has a host of benefits. For example, you will be in an excellent position to start your working day earlier.
This is because you will no longer face the daily hassles of commuting from home and thus saving a lot of time that you would have lost on the road. You can also leverage the conducive atmosphere to do more work.
Are you Really Ready to Work From Home?
1. Do You Have High Levels of Self-Discipline and Organizational Skills?
If you are to make this arrangement work for you, these two traits are a must-have. With the numerous potential distractions present at home, a lot of focus is required to get your job done.
Your household chores and even family members can be a great source of distractions. You must have an excellent ability to navigate through such a situation.
You also need good time –management skills. This is essential in ensuring that all the workload and goals you set for yourself for every particular working day can be accomplished.
2.Is The Equipment and Space at Your Home Adequate for this move?
If you are to efficiently work from home, you need the same equipment you would usually use while you are at your workplace. From a laptop to a computer, a printer to a good supply of stationery, the requirements can be very taxing.
And it does not stop there. Since you would need to focus more and maybe isolate one of your rooms and convert it into an office. You will therefore need office space.
All these requirements are closely tied to finances as well. After agreeing to let you work from home, some employers may provide a stipend to buy equipment, while others might not. In light of all these realities, you need to have a budget to buy the most necessary equipment to make working from home a reality.
3.Is Your Role Suited to be Performed from Home?
Different job duties and responsibilities have other requirements and needs. Some roles require you to frequently interact with your colleagues, supervisors, and even managers on a daily business.
For such a role, working from home may cause you unnecessary difficulties and leave you in a position where performing your duties becomes much more complicated than it should.
For example, a Human Resource Manager is a vital cog in any company. They are the “bridge” between the management and other members of the company. They cannot afford to stay away from the office.
Tasks that need all the team members or daily collaboration of several departments daily cannot be efficiently handled remotely even if conditions are put in place for constant communication between you and your colleagues.
4.Are You Mentally Capable of Handling the “Isolation”?
It is not rare to hear people who feel a sense of “isolation” when they work alone at home. These people are generally used to working in the traditional workplace setting where they are surrounded by tons of workmates, colleagues, and friends.
The gossiping during the short breaks, the storytelling sessions with their colleagues, and the constant interaction with others motivate such people. These are conditions that they cannot be able to find at home.
Therefore if you are not mentally ready to work at your home without others in the vicinity, you may be prone to developing mental issues over time. Taking the Coronavirus pandemic into account, working from home would mean extended periods where you have to be alone, working, and in your thoughts. If you cannot bear to face such a situation, then working remotely is not for you.
The Perks of Working From Home
The need to convince your boss to let you work at home only shows that numerous benefits come with it. Let us go through some of the services that arise out of this arrangement.
1.You are free to customize your office whichever way you want.
This offers you the uncapped freedom to play around with your imagination and develop a workstation that suits you best. I have come across some of the craziest home office ideas that I have ever seen. I saw someone who decided to convert her bedroom closet into a hidden office to encounter minimal distractions.
2.Less Commuting Stress
Commuting daily to and from work is no easy feat. Waking up early and rushing to work to try and be can be very stressful. Add to this the unreliability of public transport, the traffic jam snarl-ups on the roads, and the chaos that comes with it can serve you a recipe of stress every morning.
These movements in the morning can reduce your overall productivity, especially by frequently arriving at your workplace late and even getting there when you are tired and uninspired.
3.You Can Save A Lot Of Cash.
Working at home can essentially help you to save a great deal of money. Working from home means you do not bear the costs of commuting. No bus and Uber fares mean less strain on your pocket in terms of transport expenses.
Also, the office setting is a place that usually requires a formal wardrobe. As a professional, you are required to seriously invest in your closet and boost your look and appeal. Thus, working at home is another area that can potentially help you save a lot of money. Heck, you can even work in your PJs as long as you get the work done.
Costs of buying food for lunch at the workplace are also minimized since you will probably eat at home when you are there.
4.Positive Environmental impact
Remote working also results in decreased air pollution. This is because fewer people will be found on the roads jostling their way through the congested traffic in public and private means of transport.
Fewer people on the roads means less greenhouse gas emissions that would otherwise affect people negatively and, in extension, negatively affect the environment as well.
5.It Offers You A Flexible Schedule.
It’s one of the most attractive factors of working from home. You become in charge of your working schedule and managing your own time. This allows you to work at whatever time you deem most suitable for you.
The only important thing to remember is always meeting your deadlines and delivering all the work and reports when you are supposed to hand them over.
You can also take breaks between your work sessions-something that is otherwise difficult to do in a traditional office setting.
6.More Productivity Due To Reduced Distractions
Working at home hands you a greater ability to control your working environment more. The workplace setting can be very distracting, from your colleagues hovering over your desk wanting to “spill the latest” gossip and aimless storytelling about last night’s football match.
The workplace environment can prove so counterproductive at times. However, at home, locked away in your bedroom, for example, you can be able to get a lot of work done in less time than you would have at the office due to more focus on your work.
7.Lower Overhead Costs On The Part Of Your Employer
This should serve as the most significant motivating factor to convince your boss to let you from home. By allowing some of the staff to work remotely, the company will reduce its overhead costs significantly.
The office’s size will be smaller, reducing the amount of rent paid for a bigger space to hold many people. The reduced numbers at the workplace also help the company to save on utility expenses.
In conclusion, there are numerous benefits to gain from remote working. These can motivate you into convincing your boss to let you work from home. However incredible as it sounds, many factors come into play into making this arrangement work. Consider all these requirements.
After that, layout a clear strategy into convincing your boss that remote working is the route to go!
