How can I convince my boss to let me work from home?

weird

I was thinking a good angle would be this whole swine flu outbreak.

I work at "managed services" basically I support a financial services application. My days basically consist of password resets, changing static data, and monitoring the application and it's environment. I spend allot of time surfing the web needless to say. The rest of my coworkers work in London and I have never met any of them besides my boss.

I have laptop, when I go into the office I immediately connect to the London network using VPN. My office line is already diverted to my blackberry and even at that I get about 3 calls a week. So technically speaking working from home is the same as working from the office.

When I got sick a few weeks ago, I worked from home all week. My boss even said he had forgotten I was working from home that week!

So I ask you, after hours forum, how can I best convince my boss to let me work from home?

Silverfish

Start doing really nasty farts?

Podge2k7

Bribe him

My name is URL

Slowly fake more and more attraction to him and over time show him some ankle

he'll think you're a twink and be afraid to fire you because of those equality thingamajigs

he'll probably end up building you an office at home

Jay P

Do a Homer Simpson on it and become obese.

brummytom

Just ask?

Whosbetter?

Just live up to your Username OP. :pac:

weird

Silverfish wrote: »

Start doing really nasty farts?

They'd have to be really bad for him to smell them in London

Quazzie

Develop an irregular and inconsistent bladder that sporadically erupts.

After you've wet yourself about 5 times you'll be fine getting permission working from home

weird

My name is URL wrote: »

Slowly fake more and more attraction to him and over time show him some ankle

he'll think you're a twink and be afraid to fire you because of those equality thingamajigs

he'll probably end up building you an office at home

Again, he's in London so I'd have to employ a webcam for that to work and he'd have to be willing to watch.

Don't its hard enough to get a job don't loose yours.

Super_Johnson

Depends on how extreme you wanna go with it..... you could make up some excuse about how your allergic to the ceilings in the office or something?

But ild have to go with just ask but if that doesnt work say that the journey to work is to much and you dont get home til late

weird

to clarify, basically, I am the only one from my department in the Dublin office. All my coworkers are in London.

I need a valid reason that will let me consistently work from home long term... I provide that and I'm sorted.

Armin_Tamzarian

brummytom wrote: »

Just ask?

I was going to suggest some ridiculously complicated scheme involving a life size version of 'Mousetrap', fake passports and a phoney kidnapping.
Then I read your post.

Aodan83

weird wrote: »

When I got sick a few weeks ago, I worked from home all week. My boss even said he had forgotten I was working from home that week!

Could you not just start working from home and not tell him? I somehow doubt he's gonna notice. :pac:

Maddison

Dont wash yourself,change your clothes or underwear for a few weeks, chances are he/she wont want you anywhere near the office/building....and cant sack you for fear of unfair dismissal:pac:

weird

Super_Johnson wrote: »

Depends on how extreme you wanna go with it..... you could make up some excuse about how your allergic to the ceilings in the office or something?

But ild have to go with just ask but if that doesnt work say that the journey to work is to much and you dont get home til late

Considered the journey excuse but it's not that long.

brummytom

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

I was going to suggest some ridiculously complicated scheme involving a life size version of 'Mousetrap', fake passports and a phoney kidnapping.
Then I read your post.

No, I've always wanted to kidnap someone.. lets go with your one

weird

Maddison wrote: »

Dont wash yourself,change your clothes or underwear for a few weeks, chances are he/she wont want you anywhere near the office/building....and cant sack you for fear of unfair dismissal:pac:

Ugh, read the thread please! Like I said my boss and the rest of my coworkers work in London!

Silverfish

weird wrote: »

They'd have to be really bad for him to smell them in London

They could make you feel so ill you have to stay home.

Or presumably you don't have the whole building to yourself, so they'd affect someone surely. Fake a letter from someone else in the building saying 'Weird smells really really bad. Can he just not come here any more please?'

Maddison

weird wrote: »

Ugh, read the thread please! Like I said my boss and the rest of my coworkers work in London!

Aahahahahahahahhahahahahahhahahah...did you want REAL answers...wrong forum mate.:P

bug

From a more logical and not funny approach...

...put the reasons why you should work at home together and present them to him.

Ask him for reasons why you shouldn't and debunk each one.

weird

Deleted User wrote: »

Don't its hard enough to get a job don't loose yours.

It would be very very hard for me to loose my job. I'd have to be antisocial on an epic level. I can't go into that much detail but I've got amazing job security.

Saibh

weird wrote: »

Ugh, read the thread please! Like I said my boss and the rest of my coworkers work in London!

Move to London and work with them :pac:

Happynappy

Just work from home and not tell him

weird

bug wrote: »

From a more logical and not funny approach...

...put the reasons why you should work at home together and present them to him.

Ask him for reasons why you shouldn't and debunk each one.

All my reasons are self serving. I need a reason why it's good for the company... or a health related reason, a reason with meat on the bones. Catching swine flu is a real risk because I have to use public transportation to get to work... but even that's not excuse enough really... is it?

weird

Happynappy wrote: »

Just work from home and not tell him

I nearly could! Eventually though someone nosey fecker in the Dublin office, who isn't even on my team, would be like "we haven't seen weird for like 8 months... is he dead?"

Happynappy

Say you need to reduce your carbon footprint

brummytom

weird wrote: »

All my reasons are self serving. I need a reason why it's good for the company... or a health related reason, a reason with meat on the bones. Catching swine flu is a real risk because I have to use public transportation to get to work... but even that's not excuse enough really... is it?

Tell him you've googled the bloke who sits a few seats down and he's an escaped murderer

Maddison

Youve developed a fear of people brought on by the swine flu virus?

Armin_Tamzarian

weird wrote: »

Ugh, read the thread please! Like I said my boss and the rest of my coworkers work in London!

Wait a minute.
You're looking at this all wrong OP.
Why not move all your stuff into the office.
That way you'd be living in the office and saving a fortune on rent.
Correct me if I'm wrong but you would then be working from home, problem solved.

Aodan83

weird wrote: »

All my reasons are self serving. I need a reason why it's good for the company... or a health related reason, a reason with meat on the bones. Catching swine flu is a real risk because I have to use public transportation to get to work... but even that's not excuse enough really... is it?

Only one in the office? If you're not in the office, office isn't needed, therefore they save on rent. Tada. Win win.
If he still disagrees, burn down the office and tell him it isn't worth getting a new Dublin office, just let you work from home. Play up the recession angle.

pebbles21

Burn the place down

Sorted !

bug

weird wrote: »

All my reasons are self serving. I need a reason why it's good for the company... or a health related reason, a reason with meat on the bones. Catching swine flu is a real risk because I have to use public transportation to get to work... but even that's not excuse enough really... is it?

do they pay for any of your expenses? Travel etc?

if they are in London then they obviously pay for an office where you are and overheads for same?

if you give a little you get a little...

i.e. tell them you'll pay for your own broadband or something...

weird

Aodan83 wrote: »

Only one in the office? If you're not in the office, office isn't needed, therefore they save on rent. Tada. Win win.
If he still disagrees, burn down the office and tell him it isn't worth getting a new Dublin office, just let you work from home. Play up the recession angle.

I am then only one from my department in the office. other people who work in other departments that are completely unrelated work there on a daily basis. I'm not the only one in the office, just the only one that's in my department.

There are plenty of spare desks because of all the people these other departments had to let go.

ButcherOfNog

You'll take a pay cut to work from home.

Quazzie

pebbles21 wrote: »

Burn the place down

Sorted !

I have yet to find a problem in life that is not sorted by this exact solution

Armin_Tamzarian

Quazzie wrote: »

I have yet to find a problem in life that is sorted by this exact solution

I have yet to find a problem in life that isn't sorted by this exact solution

weird

bug wrote: »

do they pay for any of your expenses? Travel etc?

if they are in London then they obviously pay for an office where you are and overheads for same?

if you give a little you get a little...

i.e. tell them you'll pay for your own broadband or something...

Nope, they don't pay for travel expenses. All the traveling I do is on Dublin bus.

I already pay for my home broadband... funny thing is my home bandwidth is many times greater than the broadband in the office!

weird

ButcherOfNog wrote: »

You'll take a pay cut to work from home.

Hmmm, combined with all the other points that may work... but I'd rather not make less money... However my boss could like like he was saving the company money!

How much of a pay cut do you think i should suggest?

Quazzie

Armin_Tamzarian wrote: »

I have yet to find a problem in life that isn't sorted by this exact solution

Thats what I said. Please stop changing my quotes when you quote me.

Thats right, Your quoting skills are no match for my ninja editting skills. :cool:

Saibh

weird wrote: »

Hmmm, combined with all the other points that may work... but I'd rather not make less money... However my boss could like like he was saving the company money!

How much of a pay cut do you think i should suggest?

If he is thinking of saving company money, he might just say sorry but we don't really need you to work for us any more.

bug

weird wrote: »

Nope, they don't pay for travel expenses. All the traveling I do is on Dublin bus.

I already pay for my home broadband... funny thing is my home bandwidth is many times greater than the broadband in the office!

You can still use it as a tool, you are putting together a presentation for them, selling an idea to them yourself to make it look favourable to them.

Spin whatever you can.

I will pay my own costs sounds good to any company currently I would imagine.

Without knowing the in's and out's of what you do, where you work, how it's managed, costs etc, morale impact, I can't really put more together.

But I'm sure you could

weird

Saibh wrote: »

If he is thinking of saving company money, he might just say sorry but we don't really need you to work for us any more.

Like I said, that isn't going to happen. I can't go into the reasons why but I have better job security than popular dictator.

I risk nothing by asking, but when I do ask I want some really good reasons that aren't completely self serving.

Saibh

weird wrote: »

Like I said, that isn't going to happen. I can't go into the reasons why but I have better job security than popular dictator.

The person who you should really ask then is Biggins - he knows all the trade secrets

rightso

Agree to some extra "responsibilities" which you know won't take up much of you time but would be of interest to himi.e Win him Kudos, act more interested so believes that you can work unsupervised.

I have worked in the same area and if he is the same he prob has a birds eye view/understanding of what you actually do (in other words - very little knowledge) - make the most of that and he will agree to it. Worked for me

pebbles21

Would you not suggest to your boss that during these recessionary times you could save the company money by working from home because they wouldnt have to pay for rent,rates,electricity,security,insurance etc etc

vibe666

i'm in a similar situation to yourself and i managed to wangle it, at least some fo the time.

i support about 200 servers all over the world and only two of them are actually in the office i work in and there are other people there who can look after those two if there are actually any problems. my boss is in the UK too. I've been working for him for 2 years and i've actually never even met him face to face yet, likewise the half a dozen other people who are on my 'team' in the US and India.

anyway, i started by working longer hours in the office (they won't pay overtime unless it's approved, so it was off my own back) and I worked a few bank holidays from home as my local office wasn't open then anyway. crunch time came when i got given my notice (I'm a contractor) and I asked if i could work from home 1 day a week as a sorry for screwing you bonus and they agreed.

as it turned out, after a week of enforced holiday after my notice period was up, someone managed to pull some strings and i got my job back and when i asked if i could keep my 1 day a week working from home they agreed and i've been doing it ever since.

i know you don't want to almost get fired to pull it off like i did, but if you make a point of giving them more of your time than you are supposed to and make an effort to show that you'll keep working hard at your job no matter where you are, it might pay off.

oh, and you'll have to ask him.

weird

bug wrote: »

You can still use it as a tool, you are putting together a presentation for them, selling an idea to them yourself to make it look favourable to them.

Spin whatever you can.

I will pay my own costs sounds good to any company currently I would imagine.

Without knowing the in's and out's of what you do, where you work, how it's managed, costs etc, morale impact, I can't really put more together.

But I'm sure you could

Not allot to work with there I am afraid other than the morale thing... and that'd be my own morale I'm speaking of. I don't do presentations. I monitor a financial application that sits on servers in the U.K.

I love working from home. I don't have to get dressed, I can wear my pajamas, I get to sleep more, I save money, I don't get rained on, I don't have to deal with people... it's great.

When I do work from home my girlfriend pops by and we mess around. I get to watch films... it's ace.

Like I said when i am in the office I do very little anyway because I am basically an insurance policy and baby sitter for a financial application.

weird

pebbles21 wrote: »

Would you not suggest to your boss that during these recessionary times you could save the company money by working from home because they wouldnt have to pay for rent,rates,electricity,security,insurance etc etc

No, they'd still be paying as other people use the office like I explained.

weird

vibe666 wrote: »

i'm in a similar situation to yourself and i managed to wangle it, at least some fo the time.

i support about 200 servers all over the world and only two of them are actually in the office i work in and there are other people there who can look after those two if there are actually any problems. my boss is in the UK too. I've been working for him for 2 years and i've actually never even met him face to face yet, likewise the half a dozen other people who are on my 'team' in the US and India.

anyway, i started by working longer hours in the office (they won't pay overtime unless it's approved, so it was off my own back) and I worked a few bank holidays from home as my local office wasn't open then anyway. crunch time came when i got given my notice (I'm a contractor) and I asked if i could work from home 1 day a week as a sorry for screwing you bonus and they agreed.

as it turned out, after a week of enforced holiday after my notice period was up, someone managed to pull some strings and i got my job back and when i asked if i could keep my 1 day a week working from home they agreed and i've been doing it ever since.

i know you don't want to almost get fired to pull it off like i did, but if you make a point of giving them more of your time than you are supposed to and make an effort to show that you'll keep working hard at your job no matter where you are, it might pay off.

oh, and you'll have to ask him.

yeah, I don't work that hard. In fact, I only support two servers. So i can't use that angle...

However I do work from home on bank holidays... for time in lieu