In a summer where gas prices are hovering around the $4-per-gallon mark, just about every working stiff agrees on the benefits of telecommuting. Except one: your boss.
Talking the office naysayer into allowing the occasional telecommute can require exhausting acts of persuasion, career counselors say. “It really is about convincing the boss,” warns Tory Johnson, co-author of “Will Work From Home.”
To accomplish that, she adds, you’ll have to come up with a well-prepared pitch. Keep the following tips in mind.
»Start with a short-term plan: Don’t approach your boss requesting a permanent change of scenery, Johnson cautions. “It’s a lot easier if you are initially focused on a trial period,” she says.
Plus, Careerbuilder.com career coach Alison Nawoj adds, that will afford you the opportunity to prove yourself.
“Your boss may have concerns that you don’t have good self-discipline,” she says. “This is a chance to convince [him or her] you’re a self-starter.”
»Ask not what it can do for you: “Whatever benefits you come up with should center on how this can help your employer, not how it can help you,” Nawoj says.
Those benefits abound, Johnson adds.
“For example, if you have a two-hour commute, be willing to give up half that commute time just to start working earlier,” she says.
»Show that you’ve thought it through: “Recognize that the onus, at least in the beginning, is really going to be on you,” Johnson says. “Do you have the right equipment? Do you have space in your home where you can make this work? Do some research first.”
