How to Pitch Flex Scheduling to Your Boss
It’s certainly nice that some employers offer maternity leave for new mothers (though America on the whole has a ways to go in this area), but what are you supposed to do when your maternity leave ends? Surely 12 weeks isn’t enough time to fully recover, to say nothing of the fact that you will likely want to spend your days with your new child – and not at the office. Well, one idea is to pitch flex scheduling to your boss. It might not be an easy sell, however, so to give yourself a better chance at success, lean on these five tips to level the playing field.
1. Provide Communication Solutions in Advance
One of the first objections likely to be raised by your boss is communication. How will you stay in touch with other employees and supervisors? How will you stay up-to-date on projects and responsibilities? If you can’t effectively communicate, how can you be expected to work effectively? Thankfully, there are ample tools at your disposal that provide solutions for these very problems. In fact, it’s possible that some of them are already in use at your office.
For project management, tools like Basecamp and Asana make it easy to receive task assignments, coordinate with cross-functional and multi-disciplinary teams on projects and goals, and download and upload any files or documents that might apply. And calendar functions make it easy to stay abreast of applicable milestones and deadlines. And when it comes to communication, private and public messaging apps like Slack allow you to stay in touch with an entire organization, so that you are never out of touch. If your company doesn’t use these tools, recommend them; they will be your lifeline when working from home.
2. Account for Remote Access Issues Up Front
Accessing work files remotely can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be, especially if your company makes use of a project management or asset approval application. So long as you have Wi-Fi, and files are easily accessible through a shared software platform, then working remotely shouldn’t be an issue. And with 5G technology set to become commonplace by 2020, soon a Wi-Fi connection won’t even be necessary for downloading and uploading large digital files. Technology gets better and better with each passing day. Nonetheless, your boss may raise this as a point of concern – don’t let it be. In 2017, working remotely is as easy as working in-house.
3. Assure On-Time Delivery and Deadline Adherence
Another area of concern is likely to be your ability to meet deadlines. Be forthright about how many hours of work you will be able to commit to, along with the workload you can realistically expect to take on. Once this is understood between you and your boss, assure him or her that you will hold yourself to the same standards as your co-workers; if you routinely miss deadlines or fail to deliver a project on time, you understand that you could be subject to disciplinary action or termination. Be upfront. Let your boss know that you are fully capable – and willing – of taking on the responsibility of working from home. Raise the issue so that they don’t have to.
4. Offer Your Availability for Meetings
Working from home shouldn’t mean that you never visit the office again. Make yourself available for meetings via video conferencing (Google Hangouts, Skype, and Zoom are all reliable platforms for this), as well as the occasional in-person meeting when circumstances call for it. Modern communication tools make it easier than ever to keep in touch and communicate in real time, but you still can’t beat a traditional face-to-face meeting. Let your boss know that you are happy to make regular visits to the office for updates, and that with advance notice, you can attend in-person meetings as well. This will no doubt help your boss feel more comfortable with your absence.
5. Play Up Work-from-Home Trends
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, one in four people completed some or all of their work from home in 2015 – up five percent from a decade ago. However, when you limit the sample to professional fields, including business, management, and finance, that number jumps to four in 10, or nearly half of all workers. Increasingly, employers are letting employees work from home. This is no doubt due in part to the many tools now available to consumers, as we’ve discussed above. Put simply, with smartphones, laptops, tablets, nearly ubiquitous Wi-Fi access, and wireless networks that span the globe now within reach of everyone, working from home is easier than ever. Play this aspect up!
Or You Can Simply Ask, Beg, and Plead!
There’s every chance that your boss is a parent too. It doesn’t hurt to emphasize the fact that while you appreciate and cherish your position with the company, you also want to spend valuable time raising your new son or daughter. If you do this and also address the practical concerns that your boss has about your flex schedule, you might just be surprised at the response you get. Good luck!
About the Author: Jennifer Thayer is a technology writer from Southern California. She is passionate about exploring new ways technology can be used to make day-to-day tasks easier. Follow her on Twitter.
