Want to Work from Home Permanently? Five Easy Steps.

As the prospect of returning to the workplace looms large for millions of people, many hope to continue to work from home. They realize they are more productive, focused, and some are even happier. And they want it to continue permanently.

You may wish to work from home full-time, or you may prefer a hybrid of a co-located and home office.

So, ask for it! Instead of waiting to find out what has been decided for you, ask for what you want! Your organization may appreciate that you have a preference and are happy to accommodate you.

Here are some things to do to ensure you present your request professionally:

1. Face-to-Face meeting. While we may not be able to meet physically together, this is not an email or a report that you submit. It needs to be a face-to-face discussion where you can present your request. Video chat is a good substitute for an in-person meeting. Email is not recommended as a way to introduce the conversation.

2. What has worked? Look over the past few months and make of list of all the things that have worked well. You should clearly articulate what has benefited the company and why (assuming that it will continue). Naturally, you will have evidence to support what you are saying.

3. Focus on company benefits. We are all likely familiar with WIIFM (What’s in it for me?) style of negotiating. This isn’t about your benefits, so mentioning that you will save $100/month on parking or the fact it will be better for your children shouldn’t be your argument. Mention that since you’ll have a better work/life balance, you’ll be more productive. Since you are in a distraction-free environment, you are getting more work done and take on even more responsibility due to your ability to focus. You can focus on cost savings, improved morale, improved productivity.

4. Be flexible. While you may be confident that you can continue to be effective, not everyone is fully on board yet. You may want to suggest a hybrid solution at first with the opportunity to discuss it in six month’s time to measure its effectiveness.

5. Be prepared to handle objections. Ask yourself what you expect the objections to be to your plan, and have a potential solution. Use examples of what you have done in the past while you were working from home. Expect objections such as communicating with the team, measuring your work output, the cost of a home office (equipment and security), etc. You may choose to have a report to give to your boss at the end of the conversation detailing all your solutions. Show that you’ve thought this through thoroughly.

You will lose nothing by requesting to work from home. You might get a solution that works for both of you, and by being prepared, you are showing that you work independently and are resourceful.

Go for it! Report back here what happened.

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