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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?

#3
Less context switching, less disruption, home as a quieter environment. When remote I feel I have to prove I've worked and tend to work more because of that. I've personally experienced a x2 gap in remote, compared to a noisy office. It's a bit like a code retreat.

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

#4

Remote has to be baked into the company culture, otherwise you'll forever be the outsider, and be the first to be let go when the company hits tough times. Find a job that already offers remote.

This has been my experience thus far as well. It hasn't really mattered how well I could frame productivity or measurable improvements in my quality of life to an immediate manager or team - ultimately if the senior leadership dislikes the idea of remote work, each level beneath them will hesitate to fully embrace it.

I've found that companies that promote work-life balance as one of their strengths are the best places to ask or test the waters.

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

#5
The easiest way I think is to quit and work as a contractor/freelancer. You can offer your services to your ex-employer and if you actually deliver value there shouldn't be problems to have remote work as a term in the contract. Otherwise you can look out for other customers who accept remote work.

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

#6

Remote has to be baked into the company culture, otherwise you'll forever be the outsider, and be the first to be let go when the company hits tough times. Find a job that already offers remote.

Yeah, I was going to say the same thing. Find a company that hires only remote and you're golden. Plenty of them out there. In my experience they're a good mixture of casual and results-oriented.

You can't really fake anything with a remote company. You don't get any points for showing up. At the same time, the amount of time-wasting activities created by people who are searching for 'participation rewards' is small or none.

Or, put another way, if you wanted to be treated like an adult, find a company that hires adults.

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

#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.

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

#10
post #4

Remote has to be baked into the company culture, otherwise you'll forever be the outsider, and be the first to be let go when the company hits tough times. Find a job that already offers remote.

This has been my experience thus far as well. It hasn't really mattered how well I could frame productivity or measurable improvements in my quality of life to an immediate manager or team - ultimately if the senior leadership dislikes the idea of remote work, each level beneath them will hesitate to fully embrace it. I've found that companies that promote work-life balance as one of their strengths are the best plac…

"It hasn't really mattered how well I could frame productivity or measurable improvements in my quality of life"

First, your quality of life isn't really a selling point from employers point of view. To raise your odds at negotiations you should focus solely on the employers problems. The same applies when selling something - you should not focus on the benefits that you as a seller get (like money), but on the problems that get solved from the employer.

Secondly, focusing on raw productivity on alone seems to be quite a common thing on these discussions. I think it is quite limited viewpoint, since a ton of other things matter as well in addition to productivity. Communication with others, spreading your knowledge, trust issues, where to focus, etc.

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