How to Ask Your Boss to Work From Home

Do you dream about working from home but keeping your job? Do you dream about not wasting time commuting, not having to deal with office drama and having more flexibility in your life?

Have you always wanted to know what other people said when they successfully asked their boss to work from home?

You don’t have to figure it all out on your own. You can use proven methods to successfully ask your boss to work from home. You can stop dreaming and have that conversation with your boss or HR with confidence.

Get the yes answer you have been dreaming about and then move on to the good part – more flexibility in your life.

Kristen’s Story

Let’s talk about my friend Kristen for a minute. Kristen worked for the same company for almost eight years and enjoyed her job. Her position had grown and changed over the years allowing her career growth and to learn new things.

But Kristen wasn’t happy. With her promotions came more travel and she felt like she was always on the go never having time to stop and enjoy time with her husband and two young children.

She missed simple things like being able to stroll through an art festival and impromptu dates with her husband.

Kristen liked her career and the company she worked for but she knew something needed to change. Traveling constantly and being in the office when she wasn’t on the road wasn’t working anymore.

Kristen knew the change she wanted was to keep her job but work from home.

She already woke up early, before her husband and children, to catch early flights. She knew that she if she could work from home she would start her work days before they woke up too.

With those extra morning hours, no commute or office distractions Kristen could get her work done much faster leaving her time to catch up on life during the week. This would open the weekends back up for family time and re-connecting with friends.

Kristen’s thoughts about this lifestyle change filled all the open moments in her mind. She couldn’t stop thinking about it.

But Kirsten had a problem. Not only was she terrified to ask her boss for this opportunity but she had no idea how to ask.

Kristen’s Dilemma

Does Kristen’s dilemma – the fear and not knowing how to ask – sound familiar?

Have you thought over and over about asking to work from home but don’t know how to have that conversation with your boss or HR?

Your situation might be different from Kristen’s. You might not travel for your job or have small children. But you do need to pay for that roof over your head and crave a work schedule more flexible than being in an office from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday.

And every time you think about asking your boss to work from home does your stomach do flip-flops?

Are you ready to learn the secret to get you the work from home life that you have been dreaming about?

The Secret to Asking to Work From Home

I always wondered how my co-workers were able to convert their office jobs into work from home opportunities.

What did they say behind that closed-door meeting to walk away with the flexibility that I had only dreamed about? I reached out to my former Vice President of Human Resources to find out.

The first thing she said to me was the people who were successful in getting the green light to work from home presented a clear and convincing business case.

They laid out how the organization would benefit from this change. And they detailed how they would meet their current deliverables and exceed expectations.

Building Your Business Case

Okay I thought, this makes sense. But I pressed her for more. What exact details did those businesses cases include? They included the answers to the questions that she or the supervisor were thinking she responded.

• How do you plan to stay connected to your supervisor, your co-workers, subordinates?
• What will your work hours be?
• Will you have a dedicated work space in your home?
• How will clients and colleagues be able to reach you?
• How will working from home benefit the company?
• Employers aren’t supposed to ask about your child care situation but, if you plan to keep young children in daycare, talking about that as part of your business case can help ease their mind that you won’t be distracted during work hours.

Successful business cases also included what the employee would need from the company including a cell phone, lap top, and printer/ink/paper and in some cases shared internet/landline costs.

Is there anyone else in your office that works from home part time or full time? Reach out to them. What lessons learned can they share? Show your boss you did your research by highlighting what you would do differently.

Conclusion

My friend Kristen drove her husband batty about wishing she could work from home. He finally challenged her with thinking about what the worst-case scenario would be if she asked and they said no. All she could come up with was that she would still have to go into the office.

Kristen wrote up a business case. She made a joint appointment with her supervisor and HR because that was the protocol at her company. With confidence in her business case and deliverables, she made her pitch.

After taking a few days to consider her proposal they approved her request. Kristen couldn’t be happier and has a new appreciation for her role at her company.

If you dream of working from home and keeping your job put together a business case. Have a little ESP when you are writing your businesses case and answer the questions your supervisor or HR are thinking before they have a chance to ask.

Be confident and make it easy for them to say yes.

Additional post you might like:

10 Mistakes Not to Make When You Work from Home

Balancing Work and Family as a Work From Home Mom

How to Get Your Time Management Strategy Back on Track