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Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

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Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#41

Post by gwbas1c »

I transitioned to remote a few years ago when I moved. It helped that my employer really liked me, and considered me indispensable.

In my case, I started the conversation very early, almost a year in advance. "I just married someone who might make me move." Even though we didn't dwell on the discussion, the fact that I brought it up regularly made sure that it wasn't a surprise when I announced that, "I am moving and will need to work remotely."

If you've already discussed how much you like working remotely with your manager, then it shouldn't come as a surprise that you're asking to remain remote.

In your case, maybe consider stating that you will be in the office day a week? Then, when "life happens," just don't show up for 2-3 weeks and see what happens.

When I moved, my employer set up an office for me with a group that I was physically close to. I showed up once a week, then due to a bad winter, I just didn't go in for 6 weeks. No one noticed. (Heck, no one noticed when I was there.) Then, the office situation changed and I asked to be remote full time.

If you get a firm "no," then everything depends on how much leverage you have. If there is some major project due in the near future, point out that the job market is very healthy for remote employees and imply that you might quit without finishing your project. See if you can get some kind of severance package or retention bonus if you stay through the project as a remote employee. Otherwise, just quit when you have a new job.

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#42

Post by vb6sp6 »

rizpanjwani wrote: post #25

Playing devil's advocate: as a business/employer why would I continue to pay you your current first-world salary rather than find someone top-notch for 1/3 your salary in India, or any other English speaking country with a lower cost of living?

I'd tell them that if people were fungible, my non-first world counterpart makes as much money as I do :)

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#43

Post by milenafagandini »

IMO employers have an irrational fear that people that work from home don't work at all and say its "the office culture" and being a team. If their opinion is already set on this, try negotiating half the week at the office and the other half from home. So both of you get the best of both worlds.

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#44

Post by o-__-o »

WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #23
chrisseaton wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> will the company be paying a 5 million dollar life insurance policy for my family as beneficiaries? Isn't life insurance a standard part of employment benefits? So, yes, they will be.

Usually, but that's usually a 2x current yearly pay rate and it's usually capped at 100k. A 5 million dollar life insurance is a "key person" policy... if it's some important to the business that I be on site during a health emergency, they can keep half of the max 10 million and my family can get the rest.

A 10 mil life insurance policy would require underwriting and, assuming you are healthy, will run between $60k and $120k a year. As a faceless corporate board member, why not just let you flounder while instructing management to find an engineer that is not as expensive?

I think inflation is gonna bite a lotta people in the near future

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#45

Post by the_gipsy »

I'm about to move out before vaccination levels are high enough to enforce returning to the office. I have enough savings-cushion, I'd collect unemployment, and there are plenty of remote offers.

I'm very stubborn on it, because to me it's very easy. Home vs Office is a very hot and polarized topic. It's easy enough to please both type of workers, at least in IT. If C-level management is incapable of compromising on this, then that's not my problem, fortunately.

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#46

Post by closeparen »

nzmsv wrote: post #37
rizpanjwani wrote: post #25

Playing devil's advocate: as a business/employer why would I continue to pay you your current first-world salary rather than find someone top-notch for 1/3 your salary in India, or any other English speaking country with a lower cost of living?

To play devil's advocate to your devil's advocate: why haven't you been doing this already for the past 5 years?

Presumably because they feel it’s not worth the downsides of working remotely.

Put another way: if they won’t do a remote workforce for a 66% discount, why would they go for it at a smaller discount?

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#47

Post by randomopining »

Here's what I'm thinking.

1. Have value - the market is hot, you have 1-2 years+ at your job and know the codebase. Replacing you would cost them a good amount, they'd have to train a new person, etc.

2. Have respect - they know you get the job done and stick to your word.

3. Truly don't give a f*k - have savings and know that you could get another job in a few months if you needed to.

If you have those, I seriously don't know how you can fail. Unless it's like a 300k+/year hedge fund job where they want everybody there for the culture etc.

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#48

Post by chrisseaton »

o-__-o wrote: post #44
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually, but that's usually a 2x current yearly pay rate and it's usually capped at 100k. A 5 million dollar life insurance is a "key person" policy... if it's some important to the business that I be on site during a health emergency, they can keep half of the max 10 million and my family can get the rest.

A 10 mil life insurance policy would require underwriting and, assuming you are healthy, will run between $60k and $120k a year. As a faceless corporate board member, why not just let you flounder while instructing management to find an engineer that is not as expensive? I think inflation is gonna bite a lotta people in the near future

> A 10 mil life insurance policy would require underwriting and, assuming you are healthy, will run between $60k and $120k a year.

That's bonkers - a £10 million policy was quoted to me at £4.5k a year.

Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?

#50

Post by erik_seaberg »

o-__-o wrote: post #39
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #6

"Since we're not requiring vaccinations, will the company be paying a 5 million dollar life insurance policy for my family as beneficiaries? I'm fine dying but I like to put a price on my own life" This is what I would say if I worked at a place which actually wanted people to come back to the office.

Good luck proving you caught sars in the office and not going to the super market or in your own home.

Wouldn’t life insurance cover disease no matter where you caught it? I thought they only exclude suicide, war, committing crimes, and maybe dangerous sports.
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