Requesting working from home (Tips and Tricks)

Remote work is not a new trend. Before Covid, some companies promoted once-a-week telecommuting practices to their employees. It’s an understatement to deny though the pandemic was a dramatic force in the spike of on-site to remote work transitions for most organizations.

Now that restrictions are starting to loosen, some employers consider calling their employees back to the office space. While some may find this a breath of fresh air after a long lockdown period, some may be reluctant. A study showed that 76% of global employees surveyed want to work from home after Covid.

While some organizations now are even considering work options remotely permanently, your organization might need some pushing.

Specifically, this list includes:

• How to work from home after covid
• How to work from home permanently
• Remotely permanently
• Keep working from home

If you’re a part of this percentage and want to keep working from home, we’ve gathered some tips on initiating that talk with your manager and being able to work from home permanently successfully.

So, here is the list!

1. Start with the Why

You probably started working remotely in a troubled state. With everything shutting down, you felt cooped up within your homes: no more coffee runs, lunch-outs, and pantry run-ins with colleagues. Now, over a year later, you’ve relished in virtual space, and you’ve decided it’s the best thing that happened to you.

You now have dinner with your kids and your husband every time. You no longer had to face the dreary and long commute hours. You have control of your workspace. Working remotely certainly has its benefits in terms of flexibility. When you need to be somewhere at a particular time, you don’t need to file time off and negotiate with your boss. You need to bring in your laptop and make sure there’s a secure internet connection, and you’re good to go.

While it’s undoubtedly an id

yllic situation for you now, take the time to imagine how it would pan out for you when everything starts restructuring back to normal. If schools re-open, your kids may need to go back to their classrooms. Your roommate’s employer may ask them to report back to the office.

• Are you ready for the possibility that you may be the only one left working at home?
• Will you still feel comfortable about your setup?

Before you barge into your boss’ office, evaluate yourself first and make sure this can work for you in the long term.

On the other hand, look at how working from home permanently will benefit your employer.

• Will zero commuting let you have more time to make creative ideas?
• Will they save cost on office overhead since you will not be taking up physical space?

Factor in your company’s why and make your case, not just about you. Find some convincing reasons and adapt them to your team.

2. Put Yourself in Your Manager’s Shoes

Negotiation is a two-way street. Once you’ve sorted out how beneficial remote work is for you, think about how your manager will see it in his position. An excellent way to do it is to ask yourself questions from your manager’s perspective.

Questions are like, “How will you define your work hours?”, “How will you stay involved and updated on regular communication?” or “How will you stay true to the company culture while being apart from your team physically?”. These mainly revolve around time management and productivity.

According to an HBR 2020 survey, 38% of managers who participated in the study believed that remote workers have lower performance than traditional office workers. In addition, 41% mentioned that they are not assured that remote workers can stay motivated for a long time.

Although a minority voice, we all know the numbers don’t lie. This data still speaks that not all managers are convinced about remote and only see it as a temporary solution, given the times. However, you can always prepare for a rebuttal. When you’ve gathered these possible questions from your manager, answer them with your manager’s voice in mind. Be prepared for your stance and work out how you’ll come across your immediate superior.

3. Gather Statistics

There can be many aspects to look into when gathering facts about remote work, but you can zoom in on the two major concerns for both employees and management. These are productivity and engagement, the two most talked-about concepts when it comes to the workplace.

There’s a long stance about productivity in remote work. Before Covid, many employers opposed it, with some seeing no foreseeable future that they’d venture into the virtual workspace. Then, the pandemic happened, and businesses had to reevaluate their decision about the physical work environment.

In a recent study by McKinsey, 45% of employees said they were more productive working remotely than in the office. After a long time of being in a remote-based setup, more and more employers have become confident that a remote environment works as much as the physical space.

In another study on a global scale, productivity also takes on a positive note. 70% of the respondents felt that they are productive while working from home as much as in the office. However, more are much satisfied when collaboration happens face-to-face.

Engagement is the second primary concern in remote work. Managers fear that remote workers will be less motivated and less collaborative. A Forbes 2020 study, where most of the respondents are US workers with a mix from top management to middle management and up to the rank and file population, says otherwise. 90% of the respondents felt they positively connected with their supervisor even while working from home.

Debunking your management’s fears about a permanent work from setup involves not just your reasons. Research is probably your biggest ally when it comes to negotiations. Learn what the data is telling you and use them to your advantage.

Find out tricks to best apply work-life balance techniques for distributed teams.

4. Create a Plan

Make a proposal that is well-planned and structured. It’s okay being spontaneous, but in negotiating, you have laid down your proposition in order. When you constantly jump from one idea to the next, your manager will see how distracted you are and sense that you’ve come unprepared. You can start with your reasons and how advantageous working from home is for you and follow up with how the company will benefit from your remote setup.

Before your manager can butt in, answer his questions ahead. This move shows that you’ve been proactive by choosing to include the company and your manager in your thought process, not just about yourself.

Some examples of questions:

• How will I know you’re working?
• What if I need you and you’re not available?

Lastly, present the facts that you’ve gathered and show your boss that you've not just based your proposal on opinion but instead took your time to be educated before coming up with a decision.

You can also suggest a trial run in cases where you know your management is leaning towards on-site work or is not entirely convinced of a permanent remote-based position. A trial week or two also gives you and your manager opportunities to see what adjustments can work for both of you. Don’t come empty-handed and ill-prepared.

5. Have the Talk

Sure, there are many ways to communicate, and with the different platforms available, it’s easy to choose convenience over a gut-wrenching live interaction. However, if you’re thinking of just sending a long email to your boss detailing your plans of working from home, chances are you’re not going to get that big yes.

Allotting the time to talk with your manager in person, or at the least through a video call, is your best option. During the talk, stay professional. Be open-minded about the questions being asked. In some cases, you might not get their response instantly. Respect their request to take more time to consider your proposal and agree on a schedule when you’ll be able to follow through.

Make sure to have techniques to conversate with your manager on efficient ways to deal with virtual teams.

6. Walk the Talk

Suppose your manager granted your request; congratulations to you! You’ll now be working from your home, a cafe, or just about anywhere that’ll work for you. However, this is not the end of the negotiation road. Remember that you’ve made commitments to your manager.

Since you’ll be working apart from almost everyone:

• Be proactive in reaching out to your teammates and make connections.
• When there are meetings on schedule, dial in on or before the time.
• Take the time to update your boss about your progress now and then to ease any doubts or worry.

Don’t forget to work on those commitments and prove to them that you can walk the talk. You will need to build up the concept of physiological safety to be truly decentralized.

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