Getting Permission to Work From Home
Most of my life, I've managed to work from home at least part of the time. Mostly, I can thank a few understanding employers more than any especially persuasive argument on my part.
But what if you find yourself needing to justify a telecommuting role? Web Worker Daily has five tips for asking your boss for permission to work from home. Here's the skinny:
Assess your own motivation. Figure out if you're looking for more quality time with the family or less time on the road and figure out how your need aligns with your boss's.
Find the angle that will appeal to your boss. If you need to take care of your kids at a certain hour, for example, working from home would free you up to have more flexible work hours and the ability to fill other people's downtime.
Help define clear performance indicators. How will working from home be beneficial? If you can define them in terms of the benefit to your company, you can help your boss articulate a way to measure it.
Sweeten the deal. Is there something you can do to help make the remote work assignment more palatable? Perhaps you could cover the cost of setting up the home office, for example, or suggest a six week trial period for starters.
Believe your own hype. If you haven't internalized the value proposition, your won't be able to sell it to your boss.
Do you work from home? What has your experience been like? Is promotion and advancement more difficult because you're out of sight? Any other pitfalls? Weigh in with a comment! Photo by mccun934
