HELP! I want to ask my boss to let me work from home.

I'd ask for Mondays or Fridays - why the MIDDLE of the week? Doesn't make sense.

Just tell your boss the truth. Be honest. Ask his advice on this issue, rather than "telling him".

You weren't to know how much the long commute would affect you - so don't consider it "one strike against" you.

Reconsider. The minute you make the request, even if they grant you just Wednesday? They'll be looking for your replacement.

So while you're off on those Wednesdays, they'll be holding interviews for someone who lives closer and whom they can pay less.

Also, you trying to bargain with them and say the time not commuting can be spent working.... isn't really an incentive to them. Your commute is your problem, not theirs.

I told my boss that by working from home , all the mom's could leave on time as I would pick up slack until 6pm due to not having to commute. I would just have them give me unfinished business. call backs ,etc. So it worked great. I worked from home last 3 years of my career. I actually got a Dr.s excuse due to perfume allergies , The fraus were literally killing me with all their product!

Two hours each way? Wow. I feel for you. The boss in your small office doesn’t recognize this would be a major drain on anyone, and offer you work from home a couple days a week, at least?

Nearly everyone I know does at least a few days work from home. It's so common that your boss won't even flinch.

Asking for 1-2 days per week is a great way to start. Once your boss is comfortable with that, more days may be offered.

Life for every other request, just make your case. Show how you could start earlier because you don't have to commute and that you're always available via phone or email. You'll come in on those days where there are important office meetings and such

R4 I wasn't going even going to interview for the job when the recruiter first told me where it was, but after I learned more about the company and the salary, I reconsidered. And apparently it's illegal (?) for employers to ask where you live or about the commute during an interview, I thought that was odd (my recruiter told me not to mention it).

My boss is nice and i think he'd understand, but I'm certain he'll worry that if he grants me this privilege, the others will want it too. Granted, they all live a short subway ride away, but still.

[quote]And apparently it's illegal (?) for employers to ask where you live or about the commute during an interview, I thought that was odd (my recruiter told me not to mention it).

Yes, that is true. They aren't supposed to ask you anything about where you live. They really aren't supposed to ask you anything that is personal.

You live in Boston, right? I do too and my commute is 2 hours on a good day. Boston commutes are worse than any in the country: ny, chicago, LA... None of them compare to this nightmare.

So i tried that too: can i please just work from home one day? Please?

No. Everyone is in commuting hell. Unlike me, they also have small children and would like to be with them at home. If they do it for me, they have to do it for everyone. Sorry, no can do.

Good luck. Come back and tell us the outcome.

No, I think employers have the right to ask for your home address.

No, they don't R9. Only after you've been hired.

OP, how long have you been with the company?

Before making a formal request, can you ask to work the odd day at home for a while to help make your case?

I've been with the company one year. I told myself I'd tough it out to the 1 year mark and re-evaluate. Honestly if I didn't like the company/product so much I'd probably start looking for something else, closer to home. But I also can't imagine doing this commute for the rest of my career.

R10, what is your source for that? I find it hard to believe that employers would accept a resume or application without an address.

R14... What didn't you understand about, "They can't ask you during the interview?"

My company still makes applicants fill out an application, which asks for address. It must be different in your state.

R15, I’m saying it doesn’t matter whether they ask in the interview or not. They already know where you live by that point.

OP, have you considered moving closer to your job? If you do like it and plan on staying with the company, why not find an apartment near work for a year and see how that goes?

R14 When I was looking for work, I was told by several HR people not to include my address on the resume BECAUSE of this. I live in a commuting suburb 20 miles north of NYC.

Of course you have to put your address on an application but they are not allowed to ask about your commute and question how you'll get to work. I'm currently job hunting and online forms always ask address, you can't skip it. However, I don't put my address on my resume. I just have my name, number and email at the top. Some recruiters only look at resume and don't check your profile till later.

Yes, R17, but that's not the argument. They are technically not supposed to ask you any personal information in an interview because it can been as discriminatory. For instance, even if they already know your address, based on your application or resume, they cannot ask you, "so you live an hour away, is that going to be a problem?"

They can't bring it up.

Be careful what you wish for. I started working from home 5 years ago, and everyone feels they can call or email me anytime they want.

I'm in CA, but the calls start East Coast time- "Oh, it's 5 there? Sorry". Yes, you dumb cunt- it's the same 3 hour difference every fucking day!

Great working in pj bottoms though, and my dry cleaning bill went to nothing.

Good luck, OP and keep us updated.

My office has a great wfh policy. It’s nice that I don’t have to be a parent or give a reason to wfh. It’s automatically allowed, one day a week. Since the whole staff is used to it, there aren’t any issues with you not being on site. I’m very conscientious on the wfh days. I Make sure I answer emails promptly so that I am not accused of slacking off.

Good luck op.

Another question OP... are you exempt or do you have set work hours? If it's the latter, does your company offer a 4/40 or 9/80 or any combination of those?

R25 We are all salaried ,so no clock-punching or anything, but expected work hours are 9-5. And there's only four of us in this office (the main office is in Europe).

My boss is a reasonable guy, so I'm leaning towards him letting me do it. I'm just worried that if he does say no, then I look like a slacker for asking. It may also send me the message that he doesn't care if I stay or go; accommodating my request would show he's willing to make me happy in order to stay.

We have our weekly 1-on-1 meeting on Friday, at the end of which he asks if I have anything else to discuss. I figure I'll bring it up then.

Op how about living closer to this job as someone suggested?

R27 We own our house and like it where we live. If my commute was simply to Manhattan, it wouldn't be as bad (1 hour). But my job is in the outer boroughs so it takes me almost an hour from Grand Central to get there. Driving would take the same amount of time, on a good day, but at least taking the train I can read, nap, etc.

OP, you’ve been there a year. You know your boss and office culture and corporate values more than any one here.

If you see that no one is working from home, even if they have been there for many years, it’s probably not something that is done.

Read your employment manual, it may already outline the company’s policy regarding working from home.

If you ask, have data to back up your arguments, and outline how you will meet and/or exceed certain expectations directly correlated to working from home.

Don’t argue that you will get more work done, because that is already expected from you regardless of commute.

There has to be something about working from home that will add value to the company. If you cannot outline that in writing, and provide projections to back that up, don’t bother.

I also strongly suggest that you start looking for employment where you can work from home.

I just googled “convincing your employer to allow you to telecommute “. Tons of articles on this. I’m pretty sure they all say pretty much what I advised.

Good luck!

I would stick with asking for Wednesday, not Monday or Friday. If you ask for Monday or Friday they will just assume you want to get started on an early weekend.

If OP is a competent and productive employee, not necessarily, r30. Though I see your point.

Another concern is security. Not sure what OP does for a living, but lots of companies say no to working from home due to IT security and protocols.

What does your boss look like?

More than likely you'll be replaced if you request to work from home since this option was not offered from the get go. Unless you are EXTREMELY valuable to the company, you'll be replaced by someone who works a hop and a skip away. I personally experienced this but it was a little different in the sense that the company was originally located 20 minutes from me and 2 years in the fucking owner decided to move my dept. to bumfuck Glen Cove. On a nice sunny day it would take me 1hr and 40 minutes and then i'd walk for 20 minutes (no shade of tree or anything) when it snowed it was horrendous since only people with cars lived there they didn't care about cleaning the sidewalks. I endured this for 2 years until I told my boss I was it was affecting my health and taking its toll on my mental, he was very understanding but a few weeks later some new broad showed up that he had hired, she lived a mere 5 minutes away and drove to and from her fucking house. All she did was complain and literally fucked one of the guys who worked there a week into her employment and complained about his weak cock and dirty pillows lol. I quit that place an never turned back and I am so much happier now, the commute can literally kill you and wear you down until you can no longer have the energy to do things you had always enjoyed.

I heard companies are really moving against this. They know employees develop bad habits. If there are some traffic policies or something like this look into those. are there others in your office/company working from home? If you are out of the loop, it is also bad for your career and job safety.

You know more about the work you do, office politics/policy and such.

Hope it all works out for you!

Good luck OP. I'm not sure someone who describes their performance as less than optimum should be asking for any favors.

I think your instinct is correct. Start small, ask him to allow it one day or two a week. It will be a nice break for you and a compromise. Demonstrate you can be as productive from home as from the office.

[quote]My commute is almost two hours each way, a fact I knew going into it, so there's one strike against me.

Was the issue of your commute ever raised during the interview process? Did your boss ever ask whether the commute would be a problem for you? If it was ever raised, then asking to work from home now is not a good idea.

[quote] I will say that the time I save not commuting can be spent working and being productive.

You may as well announce you're half-assing your job now. Suggesting that the existing commute that you do right now is making you less productive is not a good idea. The commute is your problem, not your bosses.

So what happened?

FWIW, I don't agree with the opinions that you are obligated in perpetuity to the original terms of your employment agreement. Obviously a fundamental basis of free market capitalism is agreements can be renegotiated. If your company was losing money they wouldn't be shy about telling you they are cutting your benefits, regardless what you were promised when you were hired.

[quote] Be careful what you wish for. I started working from home 5 years ago, and everyone feels they can call or email me anytime they want. I'm in CA, but the calls start East Coast time- "Oh, it's 5 there? Sorry". Yes, you dumb cunt- it's the same 3 hour difference every fucking day!

Why don't you turn your ringer off, dummy?

R38 Well... I was prepared to ask him at the end of our weekly 1-on-1 meeting, but before I could he surprised me with an offer of a promotion, which I gladly accepted, so it either would have been perfect timing to ask to work from home or horrible timing. However, since this new role involves more content writing and creation, I could reason that I need less distractions at the office and would perform better from home, which I think he'd understand more. I will wait another month, after i've proven myself in this new role, to request this.

[quote]I could reason that I need less distractions at the office and would perform better from home

No offense OP / R41 but looking at your previous threads... sounds like you have too many distractions at home too!

R42 my biggest distraction anywhere is the DL! I'm hopelessly addicted.

OP you definitely need to have the courage to follow through and make the request, since you can't consider moving closer. This is no way to live, spending 1/2 as long as the workday itself travelling. How do you have any energy remaining in the evening to have a life? Perhaps you can pull this off now because you are young, but I don't think this is sustainable into your "mature" years.

I sort of think promotion was a great time. "OK. Since you're happy, let me propose a way you could get more productive hours out of me..."

Congrats on the promotion.

If you work creating content that sounds doable as a work from home type of role. I’m still floored at a two hour each way commute. If you’re young, own a home and partnered I guess that makes it a little more tolerable.

Mazel Mazel on your promo OP!

I worked from home for a long time. For myself, I found it hard to stay focused, and hated how solitary my life became. In my current job I have the option to occasionally WFH, and enjoy the best of both worlds.

My company encourages work from home/remote work for employees who can do so. They've also hired more people who are totally remote so I guess they saw the benefit. My only problem is my current manager only allows 2 days a week and they have to be between Tues and Thurs; no Mon or Fri remote work schedule. With my last manager, the whole team was assigned 2 Mondays and 2 Fridays remotely plus another day during the week. I sometimes went in a remote day because it was easier to get somethings done.

It worked out great when I had my washer and dryer delivered. Rather than sit home and do nothing for 1/2 or the entire day, I was able to have them installed while I was working.

In fact, I've had the same experience, deliveries, home repairs, vet appointments, rather than disrupt a half-day or more of productivity and use up personal time or call in sick, I just WFH and put in more time than I would have otherwise.

Some of these commenters act like OP is asking for the moon when WFM is becoming very common, even recommended HR policy. There are reasons smart employers are embracing it.

R49 here. I feel your pain, OP. I bought a condo in northern NJ in 1999 and less than a year later, found myself working downtown NYC by Wall Street. Drove to the train station, took the train to Hoboken, then NY Waterway ferry, and finally thefree shuttle bus to the front door of my building. I was commuting 2 hours each way as well. I fondly remember craving a hot dog cooked on a grill. 8 pm, there I am one night, lighting the grill and making myself a hot dog!

After the Twin Towers went down, it was Hoboken to the NY Waterway ferry and a short walk to the office. Did that commute for 4 years. I'd finally had enough of having no life. Saved about $15k, received my final bonus, and gave notice. There was no way I could interview with a commute like that. An 8 am dentist appt put me in the office around 11.

Thanks all. FYI I'm not exactly young anymore, in my 40s. The only positive thing I can say about the commute from hell is that my husband and I can ride the train together, and have that time to talk or just hold hands and watch the scenery. It's definitely better than driving, which we've tried but was horrible. His commute is shorter because his office is right by the terminal, whereas I have to take two subways and a walk to get to mine.

Well, kind of cool you share the ride like that, get a seat and can be cozy & romantic, but still sounds like it sucks TBH! My fave commute was close enough I could walk, a bit under 45 min..... Sometimes I biked in good weather. Very short bus ride. Did that for a few years. It's what I look for now "little village feel". (Even though I'm in Chicago) Currently self-employed requiring some travel, but if I work for someone else again, it has to be close.

It's very doubtful you'll be able to do this without pissing off your coworkers. People aren't reasonable. Your reasoning will mean NOTHING to them.

R55 Ha. Actually, since we're such a small team and have gotten to know each other well, my coworkers have been encouraging me to ask about working from home. They know my commute sucks balls.

OP: Give it a try! If they like your work enough, they may let you do it. I work from home (IT - I have everything I need to do my job remotely). I had a work history with them when they asked me to come back to the company (large publishing company in NYC). I made telecommuting, along with split hours, a requirement for acceptance. Previous employers complained and I stopped working for them. Granted, I am a freelancer, so I have more flexibility. I doubt they would comply if I was FT.