7 Unique Ways to Convince Your Boss to Let You Work Remotely - FlexJobs (2024)

Trying to convince your boss to let you work remotely? The many benefits of remote work may be perfectly clear to you, but that doesn’t necessarily mean your manager is going to share your point of view.

If you’ve stopped by his office to ask for some work-from-home opportunities, but your request was denied, that doesn’t mean you should hang your head and give up. Maybe you just need to be a bit more creative.

Here are seven suggestions to help you convince your boss the next time you make your case to work remotely:

1. Arm yourself with data.

Especially if your manager is a numbers person, this may be the best place to start. It’s not hard to find studies and surveys that show the productivity benefits people find when they work at home in an environment free of distractions. Prepare a presentation heavy on statistics, and prove the business benefits that can come from virtual work.

2. Suggest a test.

Maybe your manager’s concerns are based primarily on his unfamiliarity with remote work plans and how they operate. To ease his mind, suggest that you start small, with a test run. Set up a plan that would allow you to work from home one or two days a week for a month. Closely track your tasks and productivity on those days, and then talk to your boss about the results of the test. This may help him see the return on his investment in virtual work.

3. Present a plan.

Sometimes the sticking point for your manager is the lack of a policy to support your desire for remote work. If your test goes well, take the next step and present him with some sample policies from other companies and organizations. Make it easy for him to see how other businesses are making these plans work.

4. Take a working sick day.

If your boss won’t agree to a test, you may need to get even more creative. An article from Fast Company suggests that you call in sick, but say you’d like to get some work done from home. “That day, prove you’re more efficient at home,” the article says. “Focus on getting more work done on the day you’re home than if you had been in the office. When you return to work, tell your boss how much you got done—and have something to show for it—and explain why it benefited both you and the company. Give specific examples. … Then, pitch a short trial run of using your new home office, just once or a couple of times a week, to see how it goes.”

5. Offer options.

Some managers are OK with the concept of remote work, but they can’t imagine getting along without you in the office. If you go in with an all-or-nothing request, they’re likely to opt for nothing. To avoid this problem, an article from Parents suggests that you scale back. “For example, you might work three days in the office and two full-time days at home to start,” the article says. “Once your boss sees that you’re productive—and accessible—working from home, you just might be on the way to working from home, full-time.”

6. Ramp up your productivity.

If you want to convince your manager that you deserve more flexibility, consider taking on new responsibilities and then exceeding expectations. A blog post from creativeLIVE says this will show that you’re “willing to give a little to get a little. To boot, you’re arguing that by removing yourself from the office, you’ll find yourself less distracted and more efficient. Nothing makes you look better than if you’re able to hit a major milestone after a few months at home, proving that adding workplace flexibility was a great move on your manager’s part.”

7. Be patient.

You may need to try several of these suggestions—and then be willing to wait. If your manager is the kind of person who needs lots of time to process something new, be sensitive to that reality. Keep working toward your goal, but always show patience and be respectful. The increased flexibility of remote work is worth the wait.

For employers and employees alike, remote and flexible work offers many benefits. Discover a better way to recruit remote talent!

Learn More