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

Aodan83 · 31-07-2009 12:01am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:03am

Burn the place down

Sorted !

bug · 31-07-2009 12:03am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:05am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:05am

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

Quazzie · 31-07-2009 12:08am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:10am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:10am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:13am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:15am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:16am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:17am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:18am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:19am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:20am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:25am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:30am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:30am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:31am

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 · 31-07-2009 12:34am

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

giggsy664 · 31-07-2009 12:47am

Tell him it would make you more productive

ie. You wouldn't have to wake yourself up an hour before you work to shower, dress etc. Also tell him your broadband speeds are better, and that you won't have to be insured by them for injury, although that may not be true. And say you could do 2 hours unpaid on 1 day a week as well of something

Are you the only person working on the 2 servers?

Daragh101 · 31-07-2009 12:55am

tell everyone in dublin that your leaving the job.......but just work at home instead..!;)sorted!

matrim · 31-07-2009 12:56am

Ask them for a trial run. For all of that trial run get up at your normal time and log onto your server \ email and make sure your boss knows that you are online and working for the extra time. He will then see that he gets extra working time from you if you work from home.

After the trial period is finished start sleeping in and get up only when you are supposed to work.

Keogg · 31-07-2009 12:58am

Jay P wrote: »

Do a Homer Simpson on it and become obese.

damn you beat me to it!:P

Daragh101 · 31-07-2009 12:59am

either that ...or.... you could tell your boss to let you work at home for a month or somthing..and if it is working well then keep working from home!...a trial!

WeeBushy · 31-07-2009 1:12am

Well if you've got such great job security threaten him by saying you'll only stop emailing him pictures of your willy if you can work from home. Of course you'll have to send a couple, but it would be worth it in the long run.

oppenheimer1 · 31-07-2009 3:59am

Try suggesting a months trial or working from home three days a week. Tell them it will improve your productivity by being happier, better rested and have better tools/services for the job in your home than the office.

Three day week work from home would be best I guess. Full time at home could mean you'd never leave the house!

DamoDLK · 31-07-2009 4:54am

weird wrote: »

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

So basically this is the real reason - you want to shag the missus, thats a completely different ball game!! fair play!
Tell your boss that you'd like to do 2 days a week working from home due to new parking charges in the area, and that its working out too expensive to park 5 days a week.. and clamping has become prevalent and the clampers are targeting your car for no apparent reason!

brendansmith · 31-07-2009 5:07am

Blowjob.

Gummy Panda · 31-07-2009 7:21am

Burn the office down!!

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

Comments