Should I Ask To Work Remotely?

If you are not already working remotely full time as an immediate results of the COVID-19 pandemic, you’ll be considering asking your manager if you’ll make the switch to working from home. But many ask: Should I ask to work remotely?

Obviously there are good reasons to work from home and we will discuss them later in this article.

But some are just nervous to ask their employer or manager to work remotely. And they ask should I really do it? Should I ask to work from home remotely, or better not?

 

To answer the question is all boils down to the question:
Do you really want to work remotely?  

 

I mean think about it – working remote in your home office means to be away from your colleagues for most of the week. It means to motivate yourself when you are alone in your home office, dealing with obstacles yourself without immediate help from coworkers and to deal with daily distractions.

To give you an idea about downsides of working remotely in your home office please refer to the article: WHAT ARE THE DISADVANTAGES OF WORKING FROM HOME? and HOME OFFICE: THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES.

But don’t get me wrong: I love to work from home and the freedom it comes with it. But to answer the question: “Should I ask to work remotely” you need to be totally convinced that this is what you REALLY want.

 

How can I find out if I should I ask to work remotely ?

 

Well, as we said, you need to convince yourself before you want to convince your manager to allow to work remotely.

Don’t take this decision lightly. Rather think about it thoroughly, sleep it over before making this discretion. You don’t want to fight for your working remotely only to find out after some weeks that this is not for you.

To come to a solid conclusion make a list of the advantages for yourself and also disadvantages for yourself. Writing them out on paper helps you to evaluate the topics for your own personal circumstances.

If you came to the conclusion that you definitely want to work remotely, then by all means go for it!!

 

How will my boss react when I ask to work remotely?

 

Well, this large depends on how you go about it. Obviously you don’t just ask your boss in the hallway on the way to next meeting.

During the corona pandemic your boss most likely had some who worked from home already – either voluntarily or because of quantene situations that required them to so.

So the topic is now easier to address then ever before. Many companies realized that they can allow their employees to work from home without losing productivity. 

So if your boss also already made good experiences with home office work days and remote work, it is more likely he or she will not reject your request right away.

But in the end of course, you never know how your boss will react if you never ask him! Actually you only can win when you ask your boss. A “NO” you have already and it only can get better for you.

Don’t think your boss will get angry or think you are just lazy and just want to get out of work with your request. If you approach your boss respectful, prepared and sincere these is a good chance your boss will consider your request.

But you need to be well prepared to outline how working remotely can work for the benefit of the company and yourself before you address the topic to your boss.

So we will go into more details later and see how you can prepare to ask your boss working remotely.

 

But some might still be hesitant and ask:

Should I Ask To Work Remotely if my boss doesn’t even want to talk about it?

 

Well, how do you know that if you have not already asked? Do not let fear hold you back to ask to work remotely!

Don’t just simply assume your boss doesn’t even talk about working remote, or because coworkers already tried it before. Find out yourself!

But what if you asked and your manager turned you down?

Well, if your contract does not specifically mention that you are allowed to work remotely from your home office (which most likely it doesn’t) it is up to your company to decide or for your manager to make that decision. You simply don’t have a right to do so.

If that is the case you would first need to find out the company policy about the matter. Some companies have the possibility to allow home office for certain circumstances. Make yourself familiar with the company policy.

If your manager doesn’t even talk about it, but you know the company policy allows for it, you might be able to mention that at the right time.

But be careful! Just don’t tell your manager how to do his job! That certainly will backfire. Don’t start arguing it. Rather allow some time before you can bring up the topic again – maybe from a different angle.

By all means be respectful and friendly. After all – you want something from your boss. And you don’t have a legal right to demand it. So just be friendly. That will leave the door open to ask again later at a more appropriate time.

For example special situation comes up. Rightnow of the coronavirus situation is suchan extreme example. But also a snow storm, heavy rain, a family emergency or any other situation might come up. Use this opportunity to ask to work from home for just that particular day or week.

Prepare well so you can be VERY productive and work twice as hard, do your very best, during that day or week to show your manager the great benefit if had for him and company to allow you work from home.

That might slowly help you to ask for additional home office days in the future. Ask then to work remotely only for one or two days a week. In time you might able to extend that to longer periods.

Helpful information you can find also in the article HOW DO I ASK MY BOSS TO WORK REMOTELY?

 

Before you ask your boss however you want to be prepared well. So lets highlight how you can go about.

 

What are the advantages of work remotely from home full time?

 

When we are talking about benefits working remotely here we now mean benefits for your company. You of course are already convinced why remote work is great for you and what benefits it has for you personally. Otherwise you would not be at this point to ask your boss, as we have seen before.

But even the greatest and most compassionate boss will not allow to work remotely if he can’t see how this will benefit the company and also himself.

So think about the topic from your managers perspective.

Working remotely full time can provide several benefits, especially during this point as society works to beat the COVID-19 pandemic.

When asking your manager to permit you to switch to doing your job from home, it is vital to spotlight these benefits to support your request.

Focus on benefits for the company when speaking with your manager.

 

Here are a couple of advantages that remote work can offer for your company:

 

• Reduced stress related to commuting to and from work and being in an environment where the virus might be spread

-> Benefit for the company: Employees stay healthy and work will continue

• Decreased overhead costs for the corporate as a results of fewer people within the office

-> Benefit for the company: save money, less office space in the company is needed

• Increased productivity thanks to the power to regulate your work environment

-> Benefit for the company:  increased productivity leads to better results

• Increased work-life balance

-> Benefit for the company: happier and relaxed employees stay healthier and more work can be done, increased creativity is the result

 

How to ask your manager to permit you to work remotely full time?

 

The following are steps to require both before and while you’re making an invitation to work remotely from home full time:

1. Compute the small print before making your request.
2. Make a list of the benefits.
3. Create a proposal plan.
4. Account for potential problems that may arise.
5. Set a meeting with your manager.

 

1. Compute the small print before making your request

 

Do you need any special technology to finish your work on home? If so, do you have access to it at home?

Do you need to communicate regularly with others (coworkers, clients, etc.) to accomplish your work? How will you set about that while working remotely?

Do you supervise others? How does one do that effectively at home?

The more details you’ve got covered when going into your request, the more prepared you’ll appear and therefore the more confidence your manager will have in your ability to work remotely.

 

2. Make a list of the benefits

 

Showing your supervisor, the advantages of working remotely is vital to backing up your request.

Questions to consider include how working remotely will increase your ability to effectively perform your job and the way it’ll positively affect your team and output.

You can find also a list of the the 5 most important advantages and disadvantages her in our article: THE 5 MOST IMPORTANT ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

 

3. Create a proposal plan

 

Having a proper proposal plan ready makes far simpler to convince your manager than just casually asking your manager to work remotely.

A proposal plan shows your manager you are taking this seriously and may encourage your supervisor to undertake to do so also .

 

4. Account for potential problems that may arise

 

Remote working may present challenges that working in an office does not. For example, if you’ve got young children who are going to be home with you, you will need to make sure that you simply can still be productive.

Brainstorm all potential issues that would come up when working remotely and therefore the solutions you’ll to implement to beat them.

This ensures you’re ready within the event of pushback from your manager and shows you’ve got sufficiently planned for this transition to remote work.

 

5. Set a meeting with your manager

 

Once you’ve got completed the previous steps, it is time to line up a gathering together with your manager to present your request.

It’s best to form this request either in-person or on a video call instead of over the phone or via a text chat.  Answer any questions your employer has and be willing to listen to their side of things.

If your manager tells you they need more time to think about the request, set a selected time to follow up to make sure your proposal keeps moving forward and is not forgotten.

 

How to create a proposal when you ask to work remotely full time?

 

Use these steps when you present your request to work remotely from home full time:

• Explain your reasons for requesting to work remotely and therefore the specific nature of your request.

 

• Discuss your work diary in a way that shows you’re capable of handling the responsibilities that accompany working in your home office. Include your qualifications, performance and the other factors that show you in a positive light.

 

• Outline a selected schedule that clearly indicates your working hours while working remotely. Include the hours you’ll work and whether you’ll be available via email, phone or other methods of communication employed by your organization.

 

• Propose how you want to stay in touch with all necessary parties including clients, managers and team members. Questions to answer include: how often will you reach out to each one and of course the method of communication you’ll use.

 

• Discuss any costs which will be related to your working remotely, like new technology and software, and who are going to be liable for paying for it.

 

• Include specific steps you’ll fancy remain accountable to your manager and your team. For example, propose a gathering together with your manager once a week to stay in contact with them and keep them up-to-date on your work.

 

• Outline every benefit that your working remotely will have for your organization. Include at least three unique advantages.

 

So if you are asking yourself “Should I ask work remotely?” the answer depends on your preferences. If you really want to to work remotely than definitely you should talk to your employer.

But if you going to ask, be well prepared and highlight the benefits it will have for your boss and the company rather than just stating your benefits and wishes.