How to pursue your company to work remote?

It’s no surprise that working remotely has become more common these days. In fact, according to a recent study, almost 70% of professionals, around the globe, at least work one day remotely. Some people even work remotely full time.

The biggest advantage of working remotely is the work flexibility that comes with it. Whether you’re out of town or having a family gathering, you can simply complete your work task whenever it is convenient for you throughout the day.

The most tricky part is to find an organization that is remote-friendly. Whereas the hardest part would be to convince your current employer to promote remote work.

This way you might not have to leave your job behind. And this is where we come in. We have a few tips and tricks up our sleeves to help you convince your boss to let you work remotely –from anywhere on the planet full time.

1. It’s Better When You Are On The Top

It is easier for people to trust you once you have proved to them how serious you are about your work. It is easier for them to hang on to you, considering the hassle of recruiting new employees and training them.

However, if your boss doesn’t trust you while you’re under his watch, he surely won’t trust you with the remote work. In short, before asking about it, go through these questions:

• How your work performance has been lately?
• Have you ever disappointed the employer regarding any task? If yes, then how did you bounce back?
• What other positive pointers have been thrown your way?
• How is your relationship with your co-workers and clients?

Once you have considered all the above questions, you will, for sure, know whether you are the absolute best employee you can be. Jolt down the points that might come in handy once you put forth the idea.

2. Work Out The Logistics Beforehand

Before proposing, make sure that you have worked out the details. It will help you to anticipate any questions or concerns by your employers, which also shows that you have put a lot of thought into it. This would even show that you didn’t think about what you want, but also how it would impact your colleagues and employer.

Some of the potential concerns will include productivity and communication. When it comes to productivity, it is doubtful that how someone will get something done while enjoying on Miami Beach or skiing off in Switzerland. Moreover, it is not uncommon that people tend to work better when they’re surrounded by hardworking individuals.

As far as communication goes, we rely heavily on Skype and Slack to communicate with the team. While you’re working from home, uninterrupted, you can get a lot of solo work done but it is the collaboration aspect that suffers. However, some of the communication issues can be resolved by:

• Getting everyone the same technologies.
• Planning in-person meetings when they are needed.
• Exploring new technologies to improve communication.
• Arm Yourself With Proper Research And Data.

3. Create A Plan

Put yourself in your employer’s shoes. If one of your employees comes and proposes a plan which will make their life awesome but won’t give any benefit to you or your company, how will you react?

They will be resistant to putting efforts into changing the arrangement just to benefit one single employee. This is why you need to focus more on the benefits to the company. Let’s ponder over it.

Statement 1: Focusing On Your Benefits

“If I started working remotely, I will be able to spend a lot more time with my family and friends, avoid the transportation cost, and will have fewer distractions.”

Statement 2: The One Which Focuses On The Employer Benefits

“If I work remotely, the company will benefit $10,000 each year. Moreover, studies have shown a 13.5% increase in productivity when working remotely, and remote workers take their tasks more seriously.”

With that being said, which of the above two statements will grasp your boss’s attention the most? The first will make you sound selfish and self-centered while the second one will make you look like a team player looking out for the company.

4. Start With A Trial Run

If you’ve never worked remotely before, we suggest to start will small trial runs. You can’t propose that you don’t come in anymore. Propose something small, like a day per week and increase it gradually. It goes without saying that you should ensure that your telecommunicating day should be by far the most productive.

Make sure to create a clear plan for what you are going to work on. Once you have established a reputation of being a reliable remote employee, try to increase the number of your telecommunicating days, but gradually.

5. Work Up Your Productivity

To score higher, it goes unsaid that you need to make sure that your remote days are more productive than office days. If you want your manager to agree that you deserve flexibility, you need to take on new tasks and exceed their expectations.

This shows that you’re giving a little to get a little. Nothing will make you look better than scoring a few milestones while working from home, proving your employer that adding flexibility was a win-win situation for both of you.

6. Be Patient About It

If you have been a traditional 9-5 employee, convincing your boss to opt for remote work will be an uphill battle for you. Throughout the journey, you just need to remind yourself that bugger things take time and often there will be strong resistance to the idea because it might be new and uncomfortable to the employer.

Just keep these points in your mind while having the conversation:

• Have your research prepared to back you up on how working remotely will benefit the company as much it will benefit you.
• Focus on how it will benefit your employer in terms of productivity and motivation. Focus on how good it will make the boss look.
• Don’t go out of the door with full independence. Try out with a small trial run. It will show to your boss that you can be trusted with it and willing to work for him.
• If you can’t convince your boss, you can always start with sick days and then ask for forgiveness than permission.

And of course, if all fails than you can look for other ways to become location independent.

7. What To Do Next

Offices can be loud, for people trying to solve complex problems. One person might be on the phone doing their job while disturbing someone who is trying to focus. Remote workers have the benefit of an uninterrupted schedule and don’t need the time to refocus on what they were doing.

If you’re someone who has a dream of traveling permanently, working remotely will be your dream come true. After suggesting the fact, you may need to wait. If your manager is someone who needs time to process changes, don’t be a pushover and be sensitive about the subject.

Remote work is a target for much criticism based on falsehood. If you are someone in favor of remote work, make sure that your claims are driven by facts rather than opinions.