How to Ask Your Employer About Working from Home

Do you love your job, but just not the people in which you work with or the workplace setting in general?  If your answer is yes, you may want to think about asking your employer if you can work from home.  Even if working from home is an idea that you do not feel your employer will support, you may still want to give it a try.  After all, inquiring shouldn’t cause any harm

Before outlining how you can go about asking your supervisor if you can work from home, it is important to make sure that it would even be possible for you to do so.  This requires examining a number of different points. First, you will want to examine if it is even possible for you to work from home.  Can you complete all of your tasks and duties from home?  You will want to make sure that your job is something that you can even do from home. For instance, if you are a company greeter and your job involves greeting and directing all clients to the right department, you will likely be unable to perform your required tasks at home.

Secondly, you will want to examine if you have the equipment needed to work from home.  The equipment that you will need to work from home will all depend on your company, as well as your job tasks.  Although there will be some variances, you will likely need to have a business phone, business phone service, a copy machine, fax machine, a computer, and possibly even high speed internet.  If you do not already have these items in your possession, you will need to examine the cost of purchasing them.

Thirdly, you will want to examine your ability to work from home. As nice as it is to be able to work from home, you should know that working from home isn’t right for everyone.  You will want to make sure that you are able to stay focused and stay on task without supervision from your boss.  If you cannot do so or if you are unsure if you will have a problem, you may want to reconsider working from home.  Saying that you are more than capable of working from home, when you are actually not, can have dire consequences.  You may end up putting your job, as well as your good name in jeopardy.

If, after considering the above mentioned points, you think that you would be a good work at home candidate, you will want to work on your approach.  You will not want to ask your supervisor about working from home on an impulse.  You will want to carefully plan out your approach.  You want to so in a professional matter.  You should ask about working from home in a formal meeting that you have set up. Try and avoid asking your supervisor over the phone or in an email.

Before your scheduled meeting is to take place, you will want to make sure that you have “all of your bases covered.”  You will want to create a pros and cons list that you can use to outline both the advantages and disadvantages of working from home.  You should also have a good reason as to why you, in particular, want to work from home, as your employer will likely ask.  

When asking your supervisor about the possibility of working from home, you will want and need to sell yourself.  That is why it is advised that you create a pros and cons list.  You will also want to prepare for this meeting with practice.  See if any of your friends or family members would like to play the role of your boss in mock meeting.  Practicing your approach may help to ease any nervousness that you may have.
