Many of us have gotten used to working from home. To be frank, it comes with a ton of nice perks that you don’t get by going into the office. However, some people have changed jobs or never had the chance to work remotely. In that case, it’s always possible for you to negotiate with your employer for the opportunity to work from home. If you find yourself in a situation where you want to negotiate working from home with your company, then you’ve come to the right place! In this article I’ll be breaking down how to successfully negotiate so that you can work from home, and I’ll go over the pros and cons of a remote lifestyle as well.
Make It A Win-Win
First off, you need to make this a win-win scenario. You can’t just think about yourself and how this affects you if your employer isn’t already on board. The best thing you can do is try to frame it in such a way that it seems like everyone involved wins. For example, you can talk about how the company could potentially save money. If that’s not enough, or not true in your case, you can also go over how it positively impacts your productivity.
Show How Much More Productive You Can Be
Speaking of how working from home impacts your productivity, make a good case for it. That shouldn’t be hard to do, as being free of the distractions can help you hunker down and get your work done faster and at a higher quality. Many bosses aren’t aware of just how much time is lost at the office, or how hard it can be to work with constant distractions and people interrupting you. Working from home lets you focus on the work alone – which will help you get everything you need done plus some.
Understand That You May Have To Take A Pay Cut
It sucks, but it’s reality. If you want to work from home, you may have to accept a pay cut. Now, I don’t think this is usually the case, but it happens. Just be aware that if you want to work remote, and then move away, you may have to take a pay cut. I’ve mainly seen this in cases where a company has a strict pay scale policy based on the location the employee is working out of. At the same time, I’ve seen this work the opposite way where they end up getting a pay raise depending on where they move.
Either way, it just depends and is something to be aware of. You likely won’t need to take a cut in pay, but be prepared for that discussion.
Use The Facts
Your best friend during negotiations with your employer is doing the research and using facts. There are tons of resources you can use to back up your desire for working remote, so do the work and research them. However, it’s also important to research the data on working in the office. If you need to, make sure you have counterarguments suited for your employer and situation.
In This Case, It’s OKAY To Mention Personal Reasons
When it comes to working remote, it is one time where it’s okay to mention to your employer the benefits you’ll receive. Don’t lean into them, or use them as a way to make a case for it, but it’s perfectly reasonable to acknowledge them. In a way, it can be viewed as a benefit or incentive. Just don’t make the conversation about you and what you’ll get out of it.
Focus On How Your Employer Benefits
If the conversation steers towards what you benefit from this, try to always push the conversation back towards what the employer gets out of it. The more you appeal to their needs, the better your case will sound for them. Ultimately, they’re only going to do it if it makes sense on their end.
Be Ready To Leave Your Employer
When it comes to negotiations, you need to know what’s most important to you. If working from home is a must, then prepare to interview elsewhere and leave. It may not be ideal, or what you originally wanted, but don’t settle for an employer that doesn’t value you. At the end of the day, your employment needs to make sense for you just as much as them.
Of course, don’t up and quit if they refuse your proposal. Instead, stay employed while you line up another job. Quitting before you’re in somewhere else is a quick ticket to long-term unemployment.
Get It In Writing
As with everything these days (or so it seems), you need to get it in writing. If you boss leaves, or they go back on their word, you need something to prove this is part of your job now. So, be sure to get it in writing. Don’t consider it locked in until you have something that says you’re guaranteed to be allowed to work remote.
Suggest A Trial Period
If they need extra convincing, suggest a trial period. This tends to work out well. If you fail to perform, then they can reject the proposal with no complaints. However, if it works out well and you’re doing at least as well as before, that just strengthens your case. More often than not, when they agree to a trial period, people prove just how productive working from home can be.
Create Metrics For Accountability
To cement this idea, come up with some metrics to measure your performance. Your work may already have some, but create additional ones if you need to for this trial period. This can just be more evidence later on to prove that you should work remote.
Is Working From Home Actually For You?
One thing people don’t consider sometimes is whether or not working from home is for them. The fact of the matter is that some people do need that in-person interaction – especially for certain jobs. Additionally, not everyone can hold themselves accountable and keep up the pace when they’re remote. Make sure you know what you’re getting into and that you can handle it. If this isn’t something that’s important to you, then it’s probably not worth negotiating for – instead focus on getting a raise and making more money.
The Pros Of Working From Home
- There is far more flexibility. Not only do you get to work from the comfort of your home, but you can choose your pacing and how you work. Want to work in bed? You can. Want to work in more breaks, but smaller ones? Easy. There are a lot of options with remote work, so take advantage of it.
- There are fewer interruptions. Not only will there be no coworkers to drop in and interrupt you, but it’s easier to isolate yourself. For example, you can turn off the television. However, you can’t turn off the coworker down the hall who doesn’t realize they sound like they’re in a screaming competition.
- There is no commute time or office expenses. You can save on gas, get more free time back, and cut back on any expenses related to going into the office. For frugal people, this is obviously a plus. The biggest thing for many with long commutes can be cutting that out of their schedule though. You can catch up on sleep or find far more productive things to do with your time.
- Which brings me to the next positive – you’ll get more time with family. Less time in the car and in the office means that you’ll be with them more. Isn’t that what we all want?
- It’s easier to find a good work-life balance. At the end of the day, you can shut off your computer and call it quits. When you’re in the office, there are usually distractions or things that can delay you. I’m sure we’ve all had someone stop us before as we’re leaving, bombarding us with questions.
- When you work remote, it’s easier than ever to control your diet and maintain your health. You can cook food, meal prep is easier, and you can go on walks during your breaks. If you have a home gym, you could even work out during your lunch break.
The Cons Of Working From Home
- It can be hard for some people to separate work and play. The key here is turning off that computer and your work phone. If you don’t do that, then it’s easy for people to keep contacting you for more and more help. Set a boundary.
- Communication is undeniably harder. There is a lot lost when it comes to communicating virtually. You don’t always get that body language or non-verbal cue that helps. Beyond that, it’s easier to whiteboard and collaborate when you’re together in an office.
- For some it can get lonely. If you don’t have a family or roommates, then you may find yourself alone all day. Some people may find that to be a perk, but many will see that as a negative.
- There are no in-office perks. For example, if your employer offers free lunch, then you won’t be able to make use of it. This is a relatively minor negative usually, but some offices have tons of perks that actually make your day much easier.
- Setting up your home office can cost a lot. Hopefully your employer provides you with the basic necessities. Unfortunately, if you want multiple monitors or a nice desk, that will have to come out of your pocket most of the time.
Conclusion
Hopefully this article gave you everything you need to decide if you want to work from home permanently, and how to negotiate for that if you do. If you have any tips of your own, let us know in the comments. For more content like this, and a free budgeting template and financial goals worksheet, be sure to sign up for the Bitter to Richer newsletter!
