After so many of us have had the chance to work from home, a lot of my clients are asking how they can keep doing this even if they change jobs.
Many workplaces are anxious to return to “normal,” but at the same time, many employees have learned to love the flexibility, lack of commute, and comfort of remote work. So how can you ask for WfH options, whether you’re changing jobs or just wanting a different lifestyle in your current role?
First of all, you’ll want to do a little research to see if working remotely is normal in the landscape of your field of work. Obviously it’s not possible for things that require you to be physically present to do the work, but you might be surprised to learn that some nonprofits, for instance, have a require physical presence at an office location as part of a grant. Some places also require a certain number of staffers to be in at the same time because of safety concerns. So do some poking around to see if the kind of work you would be doing in the new job might have any of those things going on. A relatively easy way to do that is to see if the organization’s competitors offer remote or hybrid schedules, particularly for the type of work you would be doing. You can also do some research on sites like FlexJobs, but be aware that you can’t access all the available info on the site for free. If you want to keep your job but do it from home, the research is a little easier. Ask trusted colleagues what they think, check with HR about the rules, and compare the roles of people in different departments.
Once you’ve ascertained that remote work is possible for you, draw up a list of the benefits to your future (or current) organization. For instance, if you found you were more productive when you were working from home, see if you can quantify that. Maybe a project you were working on was supposed to take you 2 weeks but you finished it in 7 days. Or maybe having your pets sitting by you made you not feel anxious when you had to speak to a large group. Could you start work earlier or wrap up later if you don’t have a commute? Can you focus better because there are fewer interruptions? Write all these things down so you have them in front of you when it’s time to negotiate.
Next, write up a plan for your remote work. Provide details like your proposed schedule and how you will communicate, both with and across teams. If you can, add some measures of success so that, as you meet your goals, you and your boss will be on the same page. You can even suggest some communication tools for the whole team—bonus if they’re free, like a Slack channel. Your goal here is to address any potential concerns your boss might have, so if you’re in a leadership role, talk about how you can build teams remotely, and how you might address tensions among team members. Be sure to cover the following:
- A summary statement highlighting the benefits to your employer. Include a statement summarizing your proposal to work remotely and why you are asking for the arrangement. For example: “I am proposing to work from my home office each Tuesday and Friday so that I can have interruption free time to work on my writing and editing responsibilities and be at home when my children come back from school. Below please find the details of my proposed schedule, which ensures I will meet or exceed all of my work responsibilities with this arrangement.”
- Your proposed remote work schedule. Detail your proposed remote work schedule. If you are proposing to start the day earlier, end the day later, or another change from your normal schedule, note how your remote work schedule will allow you to be available when needed. Note whether you’ll be in the office for regular meetings or, if not, how you plan to attend them remotely. (You can also offer to share your work schedule with your boss as a calendar, particularly in the beginning as you transition to remote work). If remote work is new territory for your organization, you could suggest a trial period, or a moderate schedule, like one or two days a week, to ease into it.
- Your key roles and responsibilities and how you’ll accomplish them remotely. List out each and every job function you currently perform and how you’ll accomplish each of your responsibilities as well or better remotely.
- How you will communicate with your team. Include the best number to reach you at in case of an emergency, the times of day you will check email, and how you will be present for meetings during which you’re working remotely. If your team doesn’t already have one, you’ll want to suggest a communication tool for remote-friendly workplaces that you’ll use to keep in touch.
- How your manager and team will know your output. Describe how you and your manager can assess your performance while working from home. You’ll likely want to stick to whatever metrics your team currently uses, but you may need to communicate your accomplishments more regularly if you go remote. Depending on your team’s work style, this could mean sending a weekly email with an update on what you completed during the week, using project management software like Todoist to break down projects into tasks with deadlines, or noting accomplishments at a weekly check-in with your boss. (For ideas, check out Remote.co’s survey of remote companies on how they measure their employees’ output. The list also reinforces just how many companies make remote arrangements work.)
- Your home office. Describe the location and arrangement of your home office, including the equipment you already have (laptop, wifi), as well as the privacy, quiet, and lack of interruption it ensures.
- Equipment needs and security. List equipment needs, such as computer hardware or software. Show that you understand the security implications of working remotely by suggesting the use of VPN clients, encrypted chat, and if needed, data encryption software. You may want to talk to your organization’s IT department to find out what digital security resources are available. (Some companies will want to provide a work-issued laptop to ensure proper security measures are followed, but at least you’ve made clear up front that you take privacy and security concerns seriously)
[Source: https://blog.doist.com/how-to-ask-to-work-from-home/]
Finally, anticipate any objections your supervisor might have. Prepare some notes that demonstrate things like ways to test the waters (maybe a trial period with specific goals that you set out) and a thoughtful description of how you can still accomplish your goals.
If possible, make your request in person instead of via email. That way you’ll be more able to read your manager’s reactions, and you can address any concerns in real time instead of after your boss has dug in on any of them.
And let me know if you are successful in your negotiations!
