As folks start to head back to the office, many are wondering if they can make their work from home life permanent.
Depending on your relationship with your boss this may be a difficult ask, so here are a few ideas that have worked in my experience to make the conversation easier.
Start Small and Propose a Trial Period
If you ask for the whole shebang it’s a harder pill for management to swallow rather than a day or two to start. As Tim Ferriss shows us in The 4 Hour Work Week – “We need to ask for an inch and turn it into a foot without setting off panic alarms.” By having a trial period with a set review date, it’s easier to ask for more when you can prove productivity.
Don’t Be Shy
When my mother first went back to work full time she negotiated the ability to finish out her Tuesday Morning Ladies Bowling League and come into work for a half day. While I didn’t understand the value of it at the time, it’s an incredible reminder for me to always ask, you may be surprised at the answer. Not to mention my mom is a baller (pun intended).
Trust Is Ongoing
While productivity is a determiner for success, you may still be faced with manager-employee trust issues. At one company I was allowed to work from home VERY sporadically, maybe a handful of times a year. Even though I was exceeding my sales goals, if there was a minute that I was idle on instant messenger it caused paranoia for my manager. Setting boundaries is key and instilling trust takes a while, in that case I was never able to get to the level I wanted so I had to find a healthier environment for myself.
Everyone’s situation is unique, determine what solution is best for you, and approach with the confidence of a lady just wanting to finish her Tuesday Bowling League.
September 24, 2020 – by Kym Insana
