You can't negotiate without options. You have to be willing to walk away, and the only way to do that is to gather options.
Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
51–60 of 290 posts
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#52My 5k+ person tech employer has basically said anyone who wants to work remote will be able to. The argument seems to be that it won't be possible to competitively hire/retain if remote is not an option.
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#53I've been having this conversation for the last 9 months with my employer. I set the tone early that I:
1. routinely and mostly work with people in other states. 2. continue to perform as good if not better at home. 3. my home-office setup is as good if not better than in-office.
I let him know I have zero interest in returning to commuting 30-40 minutes each way to call another state.
I'd start the conversation as soon as possible. highlight the benefits for the company. highlight that you've honored his/her trust and represented the team well.
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#54CTO at Markforged here. If you can't work it out with your employer hit us up. We're hiring remote software engineers. We'll ship you a printer so you can dev from home. Good luck! Like a lot of other commenters have posted - you have options.
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#55Key to a negotiation is understanding what the other party wants (and what you want, of course). WHY do they want you to work on premise? Wanting your presence is just a means to an end. There could be many reasons, like: * They think it's easier to control how much somebody works if it's on premise * it might be easier to manage * it might be inertia * they think it's more efficient * somebody is trying to exert con…
I think this is a significant part of the problem that has prompted the question.
It would be really helpful to have some insight into what is driving the move back to the office from people on HN.
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#56Don't negotiate. Dictate.
I'm not joking either. I tried negotiating this (pre-covid), only to get a "final offer" of a measly couple of remote days etc. Being on the spectrum, I took their word at face value, found another job that does 100% remote, and put in my resignation. Surprisingly that "absolutely final" position wasn't that final anymore, and they'd've rather had me remote than not at all. Had the new job not been a lot better substance-wise, the whole exercise would have been total waste of time.
Of course you'll want to dictate from a position where you can follow your ultimatum if need be.
The nearing end of Covid is where people like us can - indeed must - make a stand against the returning suffocating madness of boring commutes, noisy open plan offices, incessant context switches; against sacrificing one's creativity, flow and personal space to placate the emotional instincts and biases of the excessively social who rarely do the heavy lifting in our sector.
Stay determined and keep up the good work.
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#57CTO at Markforged here. If you can't work it out with your employer hit us up. We're hiring remote software engineers. We'll ship you a printer so you can dev from home. Good luck! Like a lot of other commenters have posted - you have options.
A printer?
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#58Don't think you need to negotiate at all. I have no plans to work remotely when my office reopens (I hate it, it's bad for my mental health), but without even looking for _any_ job, I get 3-5 emails a day about remote gigs all over the US just by being on LinkedIn and having a software dev job. If they say no, just leave, somebody will take you.
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#59Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Workplace life insurance generally covers you when you die on the job
Re: Ask HN: How to negotiate continuing to work remotely?
#60Playing 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?
Because clear communication is the #1 skill for 99% of employees. If they could have outsourced the role, they already would have.