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Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

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Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#31

Post by strikelaserclaw »

jerguismi wrote: post #16
strikelaserclaw wrote: post #11

I've pretty much gotten remote from my last two jobs. I was a full time employee for at least one year before i negotiated remote. I worked my ass off for the first year and proved that i was a valuable employee, negotiating for remote was made easy by that. I just asked my manager both times during our one on one meeting. No company likes letting valuable employees go, if you can prove that you can be just as produc…

Also I think it gos quite case by case. Some employees can be seen as more trustworthy than others, and with others remote work can work better than with others for other reasons.

i agree but the competition for true remote only jobs is really crazy. I've had much better luck getting an onsite job and transitioning into remote.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#32

Post by majewsky »

My boss is in a different office in a different city anyway, so it doesn't matter much to him whether I'm in the local office or at home or wherever, as long as work gets done.

It helps that my company, SAP, has a strong home-office culture: A lot of employees are consultants, who spend most of Friday doing time-recording and other administrative activities, so Friday is traditionally home-office day (for those who want it). Last year, a new company policy was adopted that requires managers to provide an objective reason for why mobile work (such as home office) should not be allowed for their team members.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#33

Post by foobarchu »

I accomplished it by showing first, although that's probably not very helpful for your particular situation. But for anyone else:

I started as an employee of a contracting firm whose offices are all in different parts of the country from my now-employer. As a contractor, companies can be much more willing to not have you on site, especially if you aren't independent. Demonstrate enough value, and you may get a full-time offer, in which case it's a lot easier to leverage the fact that you've already proved your ability to work remote effectively.

The biggest benefit in this case was that I was able to negotiate salary as if I lived where the company is headquartered, resulting in an almost 2x increase over what I could negotiate where I am physically located.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#35

Post by BerislavLopac »

Ensorceled wrote: post #20

For me, the number one indicator is what did you do on the last snow day. If you put in an incredibly productive day and wrapped up a bunch of bugs and stories, let’s talk.

Not very useful metric for people living in, say, the Mediterranean.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#36

Post by chosenbreed37 »

throwaway8728 wrote: post #17

I've been remote for 4 years and it all started at a company who didn't have a remote culture, but my boss wasn't too worried about me going remote. I was on a software team for 2 months before finding out I needed to move. I told my boss I had to move in 4 months, but I really wanted to keep my position and wanted to switch to working remotely. More than half of the engineering team at the time was offshore; however…

> There were other employees who inquired about going remote, but they were turned down - one even needed to move for their SO (same as my case), so they ended up leaving the company when they moved.

Do you know why they were turned down?

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#37

Post by billwear »

I just told my boss I was moving, and let them offer.

Working for HP in Atlanta, I'd already proved myself during the '96 Olympics, when even the 12 miles to work was impossible. In 2000, our rent went out of sight; we owned 7 rural acres -- about 800 miles away -- so we just decided to move. I figured my boss would let me telecommute, but I didn't ask for it: I just told him, very honestly, that I was moving, and why. He said, "That's fair. I support you in this move, if you understand that you won't have the same advancement opportunities as someone who's in the office." I agreed, and that was that. I worked another 15 years that way, until HP fell apart and I wanted to change jobs.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#38

Post by xtiansimon »

I lucked out to be employed at a company with a culture permitting remote work. I don't have the 'answer', but I can describe some factors which make it a no-brainer.

Our company is located in NYC a few blocks away from PENN Station, where Long Island commuters arrive in Manhattan. Several top peeps in the company live on LI, and commute to work. Sometimes the commute is terrible, and they work remotely. And, there are peeps in the company who have family obligations which necessitate a flexible schedule. The schedule gaps in their office attendance is filled by remote work.

It all just works. I believe my colleagues recognize this situation is not common, and therefore the flexibility engenders loyalty to the company.

Also, senior colleagues are not micro-managers, and my fellow colleagues don't need constant supervision and instruction.

Finally, there's one argument which comes up in this cultue that might be helpful. Some senior colleagues say they can't get a lot done at work with interruptions from junior colleagues and phone calls. If you're in this position, then remote work could increase your productivity and help you meet deadlines.

Good luck.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#39

Post by yaseer »

majewsky wrote: post #32

My boss is in a different office in a different city anyway, so it doesn't matter much to him whether I'm in the local office or at home or wherever, as long as work gets done. It helps that my company, SAP, has a strong home-office culture: A lot of employees are consultants, who spend most of Friday doing time-recording and other administrative activities, so Friday is traditionally home-office day (for those who w…

I spent 3 months in Germany regularly interacting with SAP.

I was impressed at just how well they treat their employees. Kinda reminded me of the Simpson's episode where the Germans take over the power plant.

Re: Ask HN: How Would You or Did Convince Your Boss That You Can Work Remote?

#40

Post by BerislavLopac »

bitexploder wrote: post #15
ratsbane wrote: post #7

Should you expect a pay cut if you transition from on-site to remote? Someone proposed something like that to me recently, arguing that if the cost of living in my home city is less than in the office city then I shouldn't be paid as much. I'm thinking pay should be based on productivity and value to the company instead of value to me.

Cost of living adjusted pay is a fact of life and you will struggle to find a firm that does not do it. GitLab the company has a cool salary calculator so you can at least see exactly how they do it. No one wants to be paid less for the same work, but if you take a small pay cut and are putting more money in the bank every month, is it a pay cut? :)

> Cost of living adjusted pay is a fact of life

So is most companies' unwillingness to allow full-time remote work. If it is possible to alter the mindset about the latter, it should certainly be so about the former.

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