How to sell the idea of working remotely to your boss
Getting to the office during the rush hour is a mission impossible for a lot of people, and it appears that those tiny cubicles are getting ridiculously smaller with each passing year. However, what if we told you that work doesn’t have to be such a stressful activity?
With the development of the Internet, businesses have been going through a revolution, and one of the biggest changes includes remote working. If this sounds interesting to you, but you aren’t quite sure how to approach this idea, and present it to your boss, take a look at the article below, where we gave our best shot of putting things into perspective from a neutral standpoint. It might be all you needed to get your life changed for good.
Understand that work is work
While many people connect remote working to staying in pajamas all day long, or spending the day in bed during those rainy days, know that life doesn’t work this way. At the end of the day, they don’t call it work for nothing.
Don’t get discouraged right off the bat, though. Several major studies concluded that working remotely actually increases productivity, and some even claim that workers are 20% more efficient when working from home. Chances are your boss is gonna love hearing those numbers.
It’s all about the profit
Not only that your productivity will likely increase, the cost savings on the company’s side can pretty substantial. Renting those expensive office buildings doesn’t come cheap, and every inch of space can present a huge difference in the end.
It increases work satisfaction
One of the main reasons for people switching companies or even going on to pursue a different line of work altogether, is the overall lack of happiness. Getting a huge pay rise is awesome, but it won’t magically solve these problems in an instant.
Still, working from home might just do the trick. In case you’re not seeing eye-to-eye with some colleagues, how about avoiding them at all times? Your work space is dreary and depressing? Paint your home office in bright colors, or even better, become a digital nomad, and travel the world.
There’s one important question to answer here, though. What’s the upside to your boss? Well, having a good working atmosphere is crucial to any business model, and it’s been proven that satisfied workers oftentimes choose to stay loyal to their company, even if they get better money offers someplace else. Having a reliable personnel that will be there through thick and thin is absolutely vital to most businesses.
Less sick days
If you work in a crowded working environment, chances are you’ve caught the flu bug more than once. On the opposite side of the spectrum, individuals who work from their home are usually able to take better care of themselves, which once again results in better productivity and reliability.
Naturally, because they won’t be forced to everyday work commute, remote workers will also have a lot more time at their disposal, which means they’ll be able to focus on staying as healthy as possible. You wanted to visit a gym for all these years, but never had a chance to? There’s no excuses now.
Don’t be afraid to focus on what they want to hear
Some people are just tired of that boring morning commute, and want to sleep in an extra hour, but go to your boss with that idea, and you’ll get shut down before you start. While that might be the thing that drives you to work remotely, it’s not necessarily something your boss wants to hear.
Instead, look at things from a different perspective, and perhaps try to make a list of things that might work. It could include the following reasons:
- Increased productivity.
- Greater flexibility.
- Reduced company costs.
- Increased loyalty and job satisfaction.
- Improved motivation.
These are just some of our ideas, but don’t be afraid to add your own twist to the story. Just remember to stick to the plan of looking at things from their perspective, and you’ll be good to go. And the most important thing of all, don’t be afraid to try. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
Solve a communication issue ahead of time
One of the main obstacles for every employer is communication with remote workers. You see, most bosses love to have their workers nearby, just in case they need to quickly solve any issue. Naturally, with remote workers, that is rather difficult, especially for those who plan to work from a country with a different time zone.
So, in order to silence these doubts, there are a couple of things you can do ahead of time. First of all, you have to find software that is easy to use, that will allow you to see the existing tasks, as well as work that’s been done right now. Sure, that might include a couple more steps for you, but if it allows you to travel the world, it’s a price worth paying.
Show that you are serious about your intentions
If you go to a meeting with your boss, claiming that you need to work remotely, but don’t give any valid reasons why that’s the case, you’ll be facing an uphill battle. By showcasing your worth to the company, providing a blueprint for how you can get things done on the road, and accounting for possible urgent situations, you will create an aura of trust that’s absolutely vital to any company.
Perhaps you can even offer a trial period, during which you will prove that working remotely is actually good for you and your employer. At the end of the day, results will outweigh any story you can come up with. So, put your money where your mouth is and show that you deserve this opportunity. If your boss is reasonable, it can be a golden opportunity that you cannot miss.
Reduced commute time means better concentration
For people living in huge cities, commuting to work can be a source of constant stress and anger. We take this as a necessary evil, sacrificing the time we spend with our families and friends, just to get to the place of business and be productive. However, just because we are used to thinking this way, it doesn’t have to mean that it’s the right way to approach the situation. Just think about it for a second.
We are pretty sure that you have more than a few really great co-working spaces close to you, that will allow you to maintain high productivity, while reducing the wasted time you spend in traffic each day. Even if that’s not the case, you can always find a quiet coffee shop nearby that’s probably a lot nicer compared to your office anyway. If you cut down your travel time by one hour a day, you get at least 5 hours of extra time you can devote to yourself or to your working obligations. Doesn’t that seem like a no-brainer?
You will be fonder of your company if you have the added flexibility
Many people seem to believe that remote workers are always looking for a way to slack off, or even worse, find other employment opportunities when they have more time on their hands. Instead, the situation is completely the opposite.
If you have a job that allows you to be flexible about your time, even giving you the opportunity to satisfy one of your biggest passions, which is traveling, why would you ever want to change that? In the modern era, one of the biggest issues that most companies are facing is the inability to retain talent, and constantly having to look for a quality working force. Not to mention the time that’s necessary to properly introduce those workers to the slight nuances of the business.
In that sense, remote work and the flexibility it brings means that you bring more balance to your work and personal life, helping you not to feel trapped by the same routine from one day to another. If job retention is high on the list of priorities for your boss, this should definitely be a point of emphasis in your pitch.
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