So you want to work from home. Maybe you’re moving further away from the office, maybe you’ve recently had a baby, or maybe you know you’d be more productive not being chained to your cube, trying to block out the ambient chatter of your co-workers nine hours each day.
The good news is, more and more companies are agreeing to part- or full-time telecommuting arrangements for their employees. So if you want to work from home, and you have a good reason, don’t be afraid to ask. I did—and here are the tips I learned for bettering your odds that you and your boss can come to a mutually beneficial arrangement.
These days, so many of us do work that can be completed from any location with an internet connection. But—not all positions are suited to working from home, and it’s important to know that before you begin. Do you do mostly solo work, or do you interact with people from different departments on a daily basis? Are you mainly on the phone and email, or do you attend lots of in-person meetings? Do you supervise others? Be honest with yourself about whether or not telecommuting would really make sense for your gig. Unfortunately, your desire to work from home and the practicality of the arrangement may not always be in sync.
Next, outline your responsibilities and detail how much time you spend working on each one. Make note of the tasks that might be more difficult to complete from home, as well as those that would be easier. You’ll need to show your boss how, exactly, working from home will impact your position.
Finally, make sure you think about your timing. If you’re new on the job or gunning for a promotion, now is probably not the time to be spending your days out the office.
Rather than just having a casual conversation, it’s better to design a formal proposal—for your boss to take the arrangement seriously, you’ll want to show that you do, too.
First, propose a specific schedule of the days and hours you will work remotely, explaining that you will be fully available by phone, email, IM, or whatever, during those hours. Your plan is also more likely to be considered if you start off asking for a temporary, part-time schedule, say, two days each week to be revisited after 60-90 days.
Then, outline the benefits of your proposed arrangement. Remember, the arguments that will appeal most to your boss are ones that have the “what’s in it for me?” factor. Sure, telecommuting may relieve you of a killer commute, but it will also mean that you can start work earlier (and more refreshed) by avoiding 60 minutes in the car each morning. Present it that way. Be prepared to show at least three ways that telecommuting will make you a better employee and a better asset to the company.
Alleviating possible concerns—i.e., concerns about your productivity or IT security issues—should also be a big part of your proposal. Try to put yourself in your boss’ shoes, think about what her biggest questions or hold-ups might be, and be prepared with solutions. For example, propose face-to-face weekly catch-up meetings or weekly task lists to serve as accountability that you’re not just watching daytime TV. Or, suggest working with your IT department to ensure that your equipment is safe. Many companies also have secure VPNs (virtual private networks) that you can log into and enjoy the same security benefits as if you were in the office. Doing your research, especially on these concerns, will show that you’ve thought through every facet of the arrangement.
Once you’ve done this groundwork, set up some time to present and talk through your proposal with your boss. Keep in mind that she probably won’t approve it right off the bat—especially if it’s not common at your company. More than likely, she’ll need to think through the arrangement and possibly also get it signed off by higher-ups. That’s OK. Just state your willingness to be flexible, offer to discuss any additional concerns and benefits that come up, and show your appreciation for your proposal even being considered.
On a personal note, I recently followed the above steps to propose a work-from-home arrangement with my boss, and the result was—success! I began by doing my homework, then I submitted a proposal, stating that I wished to meet with her to further discuss my intentions and her thoughts. I was lucky; my supervisor was completely amenable to the idea, and just asked to adjust my original proposed schedule a little. Even though I was a little apprehensive about the whole thing, taking the initiative to ask worked out to my advantage, and I couldn’t be more thrilled.
The bottom line: Do your research, make a compelling case, and don’t be afraid to ask—you just might find yourself working from home, too.
Elizabeth Lowman is a freelance writer whose work has been featured on national outlets such as Forbes and The Huffington Post. She spends time wearing out her AP Stylebook and navigating life’s little challenges as well as championing young, professional women and supporting children’s causes.
Interesting read, since working from home on critical situations should be included into the basic employee rights. We can do all basic tracking stuffs, including time tracking, task tracking, project tracking, etc. Moreover we do track all these even at office, isn't it? We use Replicon - http://www.replicon.com/time-bill for time tracking.
Bosses are now more open to the idea of employees working from home. This is an awesome article by the way.
I am a remote worker and I'd like to think we are as productive as in-house employees and we try to do our job even though there are a lot of distractions we encounter at home. It's very challenging to keep your motivation and focus when you are working from the comforts of your home. That's why we use a little bit of help from a time tracking software. Time Doctor helps us avoid distractions and helps us stay motivated.
Maybe you could encourage you supervisor to make you work at home if you tell him about this software.
Awesome article! Telecommuting is another effort to make employees become more productive than working in the office. Monitoring the productivity of employees is truly beneficial especially when done discretely but should also be supplemented with incentives, coaching and proper evaluation. I hope that more employers will consider the value of employee engagement, there is almost, always an underlying reason for slacking off because they’re not being motivated.
Thanks for the positive feedback Nina and Anne! I did indeed use this model to get my arrangement approved so I know it can work if everything else falls into place.
Wonderful article!
You're right on about many jobs being able to be done remotely and your tips for presenting the benefits to your employers are a great idea. I find that working in an office can greatly hinder productivity because of all the interruptions, a situation that working from home would definitely solve.
And the best part about this article is that you've actually used these tips to successfully negotiate a work-from-home situation - very inspiring!
Great article. I have been working from home for the past 12 years. In addition, I also hire home based workers. The most important factor that I look for when hiring telecommuters is whether I can trust them. I want to see great references and work history. If I can trust the employee, working from home is a win-win for everyone.
My work from home employees are more productive and much happier. This results in an increase in my bottom line and lower employee turn-over. If you are a proven employee in the office and can show your boss how you will increase profits by working from home, that is when you will become a telecommuter.
If you are looking for legitimate work from home jobs, I invite you to check out the Legitimate Online Job Directory at http://www.LegitimateOnlineJobDirectory.com
Anne Anderson
