How to Negotiate for Remote Work

Do you want to ask to continue working remotely if your employer has reopened or plans to reopen offices? Examine how the scenario outlined by your employer affects your preference to request remote work from home.

Employees are adjusting well to their remote work environments

As employers gradually reopen their physical work locations, some might even discover that their employees are more at ease with their remote work-from-home arrangements and are less eager to return to the office.

Some employees may have pre-existing health issues that the coronavirus could exacerbate. Meanwhile, other employees are enjoying and succeeding while functioning alone in their home offices and have become meeting professionals, accomplishing some work-life balance and boosting their productivity.

According to Perceptyx, an employee survey and people-analytics platform, only 4% of employees want to return to work full-time.

This significantly decreased from the 33% who wished to return to the office in early April 2020. (The responses came from over 750,00 employees from over 100 companies worldwide, representing every major industry.)

Over the same time period, the percentage of positive responses to "My remote workplace environment encourages me to work productively" increased from 86% to nearly 100%.

Employees with families have already had over a year to fine-tune the details of how to work effectively despite the distractions with kids and a significant other could bring. In essence, they are not eager to shift their new working style.

Can My Boss Oblige Me to Return to Work?

Employers have control over the direction environment and work environment they provide for their employees. They can inform employees that the office will reopen for business on a specific date. If an employer has the authority to fire or, at the very least, not pay an employee who neglects to return to work in person.

There may be times when you are not considered necessary to return to work, particularly if your job can be performed remotely. The agreements between employers allow protected employees to request work-from-home accommodation if they can still do their job reasonably.

Reasons to Work From Home

You don't want to jeopardise your opportunities when you approach your leader with your suggestion, so having a plan in place is essential. Consider what you wish to start negotiating. You should also ask yourself the following questions:

• Do you prefer to work at the office a few days a week, during core business hours, or remotely?

• Do you have genuine concerns about your wellness for any reason?

• Do you have a medical condition that renders you more prone to illness?

• Do you have any vulnerable people in your home, such as elderly parents?

Describe how working remotely will benefit your company.

Once you've decided what you want to start negotiating, consider how tolerating your desires will benefit your employer.

Tell your employer how you've improved your work-life balance by having more space to effectively manage workflow schedules and business matters while accommodating home and family responsibilities, which is crucial during a public health crisis.

Please provide specific examples

For example, suppose you've been working remotely for three months, improving your productive output, quality, and sales. If you haven't been monitoring your productivity, start collecting data.

Explain that eliminating the need to get ready and travel to the workplace will allow you to work on your job objectives for an additional two hours per day.

Finally, inform your employer that you will not require office space, allowing them to accommodate the safety needs of other employees.

Accumulate this information, take notes, and prepare to present your case.

Negotiate With Your Boss

Schedule a meeting with your leader assuming you've developed a workable plan that ultimately benefits you and your employer. Remember that your manager is responsible for enforcing existing company policies and ensuring consistency and fairness throughout his or her department and other departments of the company.

Oppose Remote Work Arrangements

You might also discuss the specifics with your leader if you are entitled to work remotely. You might want to talk about:

• How long and how many times per week are you permitted to work remotely?

• Communication standards; goal-achievement evaluation; performance-evaluation markers; success assessment; teamwork with colleagues; and methods to evaluate continual improvement with your leader, customers, and coworkers

• How your manager's concerns can be resolved promptly. In your workplace, your manager must be able to defend and encourage your remote work schedule. You must ensure that your employer believes you are working in his or her best interests. Check that you can measure the quality of your output even if you work from home.

• You must ensure that your interaction with colleagues and clients is as effective as before you started working from home. Maintain contact with your work colleagues and attend all meetings.

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