Interviews and career
How to ask your boss to work remotely
Come with a concrete proposal: how many days, starting when and what your availability will look like. Argue from how it affects your work, not just from convenience. Offer a trial period after which you review the results together.
How to handle this conversation
Be specific, not general
“I would like to work from home on Tuesdays and Thursdays, be on chat from nine to five and come in for every team meeting.”
Argue from results
The commute is your reason, but your boss will be convinced by what the company gains: “On days without the commute I can focus on the reports that need quiet.”
Answer concerns before they come up
Managers usually worry about losing contact and control. Offer a steady rhythm: a short summary on Fridays and quick replies during working hours.
Suggest a trial
“Let’s try it for two months. If you see something is not working, we can talk again.” It is easier to agree to something that can be reversed.
I am asking my boss to work remotely
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Duration
- 8-12 minutes
The situation
You work in the office five days a week and commute more than an hour each way. The company has no clear remote work policy, but in other teams some people work partly from home. You set up a meeting with your manager to ask for two remote days a week.
Who you talk to
Your manager
Used to having the team in the office and believes the best ideas come from the desk next door. He worries others will start asking too, and asks how he will know that working from home is working.
The counterpart also has private goals and information that are never shown upfront. You discover them only through the conversation, the same way you would in real life.
What makes it hard
- Your manager says that if he agrees for you, he has to agree for everyone.
- He argues that the team needs time together in the office.
- The conversation starts to be about trust rather than how work is organized.
Your goals
- Present a concrete proposal for remote work
- Address concerns about contact and results
- Agree on a trial period or a date to revisit the topic
What the report looks at
- Whether the proposal is specific: days, availability, ground rules
- Whether your arguments are about results, not just convenience
- How you respond to the precedent argument
- Whether the conversation ends with an agreement or a clear next step