20 work-from-home survey questions to ask your team

This is a much easier “sell,” and you can then aim to expand on it over time. Once you’ve learned all there is to learn about the remote working situation in your own company, it’s time to look wider. Do your company’s competitors encourage home working, for example? You can always look on job boards and sites like FlexJobs to give yourself an idea of industry trends. Say, for instance, you have to take two buses and a cab, this would be more expensive than a bus that takes you from point A to point B directly .

Everything we are going to go through here is to help you set up and have that conversation with your boss, along with creating your presentation. How to Ask Your Boss to Work From Home – This includes playing to egos, directly asking, leveraging your time at the company, etc. Ask to work from home for a trial period and plan to check in with your boss when the trial period ends. Whatever the goal is, it should go beyond your personal needs and preferences and tie in to what the organization wants to accomplish.

Analyzing Your Job's Appropriateness for Working from Home

I wouldn’t suggest offering to take a pay cut in exchange for being allowed to work from home. Really, this undermines any argument that you can work just as effectively remotely. However, if there genuinely is a part of your job that you won’t be able to continue doing, your salary package could become part of the negotiation. So, if they say they still want you in on Wednesdays, agree to it even if you think it’s daft and unnecessary. Let them set certain conditions to begin with, if it’s what it takes to kick the arrangement off.

how to ask about working from home

You may also convince your coworkers to come to your boss with similar requests, increasing their perception of the concept’s normalcy. Just by mentioning the idea of working from home, you’ll be tapping into the mere exposure effect, by which people begin to see things more favorably the more they’re exposed to them. Over time, as long as you’re not stubborn, annoying, or unprofessional in your approach, you may effectively persuade your boss. The first tip for how to ask to work from home is to do your homework first! Start by making sure you understand the full context of your working environment before you make the request. For starters, are there currently other people already working from home?

Saving Time & Money

Providing links to resources shows the extent of your research and allows your boss to read them and come to their own conclusions. Remember to include any issues specific to your situation as well. This section outlines potential problems that you think your boss will raise and your proposed solutions. See our post on remote work challenges, then outline how you plan to address them. If you're proposing a part-time arrangement, specify the task you'll do when you're at home and in the office. Chances are that'll be in a similar format to how you currently communicate your progress, but with a heavier emphasis on written communication.

how to ask about working from home

Provide context on why your manager should consider a work-from-home arrangement for you. Highlight any information about previous remote work experience, positive performance reviews, and any quantifiable achievements you've made while working from home. I plan to turn off my computer around 6 pm each workday to prevent burnout and ensure I can focus when I am at work. The benefits above are great, but the meat of your argument should focus on how working from home will benefit your company. High temperatures and air pollution impact productivity and limit the value of the hours people put in.

Overcoming Your Boss’s Fears & Objections

In September, 10.4 per cent of staff went to Welsh government offices daily – an average of 549 staff out of more than 5,200. The Welsh government said this rose to 11 per cent in October. But the Welsh Conservatives said more staff should be coming in to ensure taxpayers’ money is not wasted on heating near-empty office buildings.

how to ask about working from home

Himalayas is the best place for remote job seekers to find a job. Even if your organization isn't ready for remote work today, they'll probably offer it in the future. Remote work was growing in popularity before the pandemic and has accelerated since. The expected growth rate of full-time remote work has more than doubled to 65%. Suggest a trial period, then agree on goals and key deliverables.

Be prepared to discuss your home office.

And if it’s a flat-out “no” with a hard no reason (e.g., they say it’s against company policy – common objection), it’s best to try and propose a 2-3 week “trial run” with a post-evaluation. The point here is to send the email and follow up on your promises – unanswered questions, sharing of presentation / game plan, etc. The most effective way to set success criteria is based on objective timelines and numbers. Regardless of your location, the biggest expectations to set are your primary job responsibilities. Identify quotes that show company benefits from allowing their employees to work from home. One way to define a successful trial run is to compare productivity between two time periods (before & after).

This is also good for you since you won’t have to go on a job hunt in a new city or country where you don’t know anyone. If you have been with the company for a while and wish to broaden your skillset or value, you can ask to work from home to give you time to focus on your education. This would include doing online classes during the day while still getting your work tasks done and having time to study. This is a good excuse because you are working towards being a better asset to the company. It will also benefit you because it can put you in line for a promotion or help you to get a better job opportunity.

A Script for Requesting Permanent Remote Work in a Meeting

Say you understand they're not ready to commit to remote work permanently. Repeating their words back to them shows you understand their point of view and are actively listening. You need to show you understand your manager's feelings about you working from home and then ease their worries. Steelmanning is the opposite of straw-manning, where you misrepresent the other person's position so you can easily defeat it. A steel man is about understanding their position so clearly and vividly that the person says, "Thanks, I wish I'd thought of putting it that way."

how to ask about working from home

Once you've finished your work plan and prepared for objections, it's time to set up a time to talk through your proposal with your manager. There's a good chance most of your meetings are video conferencing anyway, mainly if you work across time zones. Think about the benefits of remote work outlined above and share the most relevant ones. Ask if they're happy to let you work from home on a trial basis a few times a week to see if it'll work before either of you commit to anything. I spoke with IT to see if there were any security concerns or problems accessing the company’s network from home.

What are the benefits of working from home or working remotely?

Share successful companies in your industry that have work from home policies. Due to COVID, the majority of companies, at some point, have been forced to have their employees work from home. Ok, now let’s discuss some of the most common objections and how to overcome them. One of the most critical parts of your conversation and presentation. Report a better work-life balance as the top reason they work from home.

The raft of new measures will give employees greater access to flexibility over where, when, and how they work, leading to happier, more productive staff. Flexible working has been found to help employees balance their work and home life, especially supporting those who have commitments or responsibilities such as caring for children or vulnerable people. He is on a mission to provide actionable and reliable information that can create a positive change for each of his readers. Under the current law, all employees can make a flexible working request after 26 weeks in a job.

'Where's the value for the taxpayer?': Data reveals 90% of Welsh government staff are still working from home

Make your boss feel like they’ve “won” by telling them all the benefits the company will receive when you’re working from home. Before we discuss those topics, it’s critical to equip you with the ideal mindset when approaching to request to work from home. Even if remote-working possibilities aren’t advertised, the organization may be willing to accommodate you if you’re the right person for the job. Before you officially ask to work from home, put the details in writing as if you’re making a formal business proposal . This shows you’re serious about your request and have taken time to consider how the arrangement will work. No matter what, your boss is going to have some objections or concerns, so be prepared to address those concerns proactively.

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