How to Pitch Work From Home to Your Boss

You’ve been working from home for weeks now and have a routine that works well.  Because your commute is now so short – just down the hall — you use this time to take your dog for a walk in the morning. After you both have a healthy breakfast, you amble to your office where your dog flops down on her bed for a snooze. As you type on your laptop, you see her running in her sleep, no doubt chasing a squirrel, and you smile.

During your lunch break, you and your pup go for another walk and it occurs to you how much more exercise you’re both getting – and it shows. It then occurs to you that you and your dog really have become best friends and that you love spending your day with her. So how can you convince your boss to let you work primarily from home with your dog as an officemate?

Start by doing your research. One of the most convincing arguments for any employer is productivity. While you’re still working from home, complete a 3- to 4-week test that compares your past performance at work with your present output at home. Ensure that you track all the comparables of your job: reports, sales generated, response time – whatever pertains to your expected job description. Also, ensure that you at least meet or preferably exceed expectations.

Once you’ve gathered your test results, pitch your boss. Set up a time to talk about working from home. During the call use your test to clearly demonstrate your equal or enhanced performance. After your call, follow up by emailing your boss a copy of test results and outlining how you’re prepared to work from home: what will your hours be, do you have everything you need to work from home? If not, how will you get what you need. Support your pitch with stats on remote work, including how Forbes and Stanford University have found remote work to result in cost savings for employers.

If however, your boss is not convinced, negotiate. Offer to work remotely 3 days a week and be prepared to alter that if necessary initially, knowing that there will likely be times when you’ll have to go into work, no matter what. Make sure you line up either a great dog daycare or a dog walker who will spend quality time with your pup on those days when you won’t be home.

And, absence does make the heart grow fonder, right?

Top photograph: hobo_018/ Getty Images

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