How to Ask For Remote Work Days [8 Ways to Get a Yes]

In the past, if remote work was ever permitted, it could have been saved for unique circumstances. The ability to work remotely was given to those with long commutes, logistical difficulties related to their families or employment, or unusual situations involving team members who resided in separate cities. Nowadays, working remotely is the norm for many businesses.

Teams are still getting used to the culture of working remotely. Still, it doesn’t have to be any different from going into the office daily, provided you have the correct tools, frameworks, and communication choices. Numerous flexible workers outperform their office-bound colleagues in terms of productivity. Companies save money, and staff members are content and more effective.

A boss can no longer claim that working from home is impossible since millions of employees worldwide have shown that they were even more productive than they were in the office during the epidemic.

However, although some businesses are adjusting to the modern world, others are determined that employees return to the workplace. Don’t be afraid to argue your case if you’re one of the many employees who want to continue working from home, but your employer isn’t so sure. If you want to ask for remote work days, go ahead and state your case. We are here to help you out!

Look up the standards in your company

Once you’ve considered working from home, it’s wise to take things slowly, so you don’t overextend yourself. Ask yourself what your company’s standards are. Does anybody presently work from home at your office? Are there any duties to do or tools to utilise that can only be done in the office?

Prior to beginning remote work, it’s a good idea to consider your company’s conventions. It will offer an overview of the factors you must consider while drafting your presentation strategy. You won’t spend time creating a comprehensive proposal just to have your supervisor point out all the duties that need to be done in the workplace.

Prepare yourself

Prepare your speech in advance, then practise delivering it with assurance. Clearly outline how each of your everyday duties and chores may be carried out from a distance. Give your supervisor a description of your home office so they can picture it as a calm, tidy space that promotes work.

Give responses to any inquiries you anticipate, such as how you’ll continue to be reachable by customers and colleagues. Additionally, provide instances of your efficient time management and fulfilling deadlines. Include instances of how you’ve collaborated well with others to finish tasks to demonstrate your exceptional collaboration abilities.

Construct a case

If you ask your employer to buy a software subscription or recruit someone to the team, you’ll need to create a business case. Similarly, in order to ask for remote work days, you need to persuade them.

How may working remotely make you more effective at your job? How will remote work improve the performance of your team?

Depending on your job, organisation, and function, make a case that persuades them. Try to use facts and statistics as much as you can to persuade your supervisor. Working remotely will boost your productive time as compared to working every day on-site if your daily travel to work takes two hours roundtrip. Working remotely will improve your team’s ability to record tasks, communicate through email and instant messaging, and conduct more efficient meetings. Whatever your specific situation is, create a compelling argument for your manager to agree with when you ask for remote work days.

Participate with coworkers

The declarations of your coworkers and peers might bolster your request. Invite them to participate in the strategy if they believe that working remotely may benefit them and the business. They may have had successful experiences working from home themselves, which might support your argument.

Flexible remote work days

Highlight how remote work will benefit the company

Keep your attention on certain advantages for the employer. Cite data shows that remote employees are more productive, less distracted, and cost the organisation less money.

Describe how you might change your weekday so that you could be accessible to customers sooner or later than usual office hours without having to travel. Good business suggestions need attention.

Request a trial period

Offer to work remotely for a trial period when you talk to your supervisor. Try working from home for a week or two to see how it goes. Be sure to keep any meetings and critical events on your schedule so you and your team can test how they will go when you participate remotely.

Discuss what success means to you and your boss once you’ve established an agreed-upon trial period, and then use those metrics to gauge how it’s going. In order to overcome any obstacles and demonstrate your adaptability and flexibility in meeting their demands, check in often.

Start off modestly and request to work from home one or two days a week if your company is still not on board. Your company will place more emphasis on your outcomes if you can show how effective you can be working remotely.

Outline the tools you will use

Your tools play a significant role in ensuring that remote work is successful. Unknowingly, the majority of businesses now use virtual office applications like Dropbox, Slack, Skype, Microsoft Teams, and Zoom. Your business is already halfway there if you do the majority of your work using cloud-based online technologies.

Although your manager will undoubtedly want to take the initiative, demonstrating that you have thought about probable obstacles and have discovered softwares to overcome them eases that load. They could even become aware of fresh options they hadn’t thought about previously.

Tread carefully

Some businesses could be slow to accept the notion of remote employment, or they might flat-out refuse it. Take a step back and reconsider your next course of action if it just doesn’t appear like your management will bend when you ask for remote work days. Pushing them more won’t help when they’ve already said no, so accept their choice and go on.

Respectfully and honestly conduct yourself, so you don’t cross any bridges, whether you choose to remain on and wait for a change of heart or decide to hunt for remote jobs from the start.

Conclusion

Despite its growing popularity, remote work is still viewed with suspicion in many workplaces. Be prepared for your supervisor to express doubts. In order to ask for remote work days, you must position yourself as a pioneer who can assist the rest of your company.