5 Convincing Ways To Get Your Boss To Let You Work From Home

5 Convincing Ways To Get Your Boss To Let You Work From Home When most people think about working from home, they probably imagine rolling out of bed, pouring themselves a cup of coffee, and spending the first half of the day working leisurely in their pajamas. Maybe they picture themselves squeezing in a midday workout, meeting a friend for lunch, or having time to cook a healthy dinner for their family, too. Doesnt that all sound great? The only problem is, if youre reading this article, you probably dont need any convincing about how wonderful a remote job could be youre already pretty confident that youd love working from home. Its your employer that needs some convincing. Flexible schedules and remote opportunities are undeniably on the rise, but there are totenstill plenty of nervous employers who arent quite ready to take the plunge. Some companies may worry that their staff will take advantage of their newfound freedom or that innovation may suffer if the team isnt in the sa me workspace all day long. Whatever your employers objections may be, we have five compelling reasons that might just convince them to give some serious consideration to letting you work from home.1 Youll Use Less Sick DaysWorking from home can decrease stress by as much as 25%, and as many as 73% of remote employees find it . Reduced stress, a healthier diet and less exposure to other peoples germs (no more suffering through a packed subway ride to work or getting stuck sitting next to a sniffling co-worker at the morning meeting) should help you to stay healthy, which will, in turn, decrease the amount of unexpected sick days youll have to take. And on the rare occasion that you do get sick, you can always work from bed for a day.2 Itll Save Your Company Money Your company has to pay rent on your workspace, keep your electricity running, pick up the tab for your arbeitszimmer supplies, and may even choose to provide you with some tasty snacks (or an unlimited supply of coffee) and all of those expenses add up quickly. Allowing employees to work from home will not only cut down on fixed costs like rent but variable costs like food and electricity. Its estimated that when an employee works remotely, the company saves a whopping $2,000 every month3 Productivity Will IncreaseWorking in an office can be distracting. On any given day, your concentration is likely to be interrupted by meetings, birthday celebrations, overly loud conversations, and impromptu visits from co-workers and that can seriously affect your productivity. Working from home can virtually eliminate all of those disruptions and allow you to concentrate in an environment where youre truly comfortable. Youll also be able to start work earlier (no commute) and may be able to work for longer periods of time. All of this is great news for your employer one study found that working from home increased employee productivity by 13%4 And So Will RetentionThis one is a no-brainer happy employees dont q uit their jobs. If you love what you do and have the option to work from home, you probably wont have a compelling reason to explore other opportunities. Working remotely also allows you to grow with your employer through every phase of life itll give you the option of working crazy hours when youre feeling particularly driven, provide you with a new level of flexibility when youre trying to juggle your kids busy schedules, and enable you to work more comfortably as you get older and crazy commutes become increasingly less manageable. In return, your company wont have to spend countless hours recruiting and training replacements every few years. And that kind of turnover can get expensive losing an employee can cost anywhere between $15,000 and $250,000 depending on the persons role within the organization.5 Its Good for the Environment (and Traffic)If you happen to work for an environmentally conscious company or have a boss who loathes commute traffic, this argument should bestat tungs their attention. Aside from having one less car on the road during rush hour, ditching your daily commute can reduce your household emissions by at least 6% and save nearly a pound of pollution for every mile not driven.Convincing your employer to allow you to work from home can be a hard sell, depending on the company culture and precedent (or lack thereof), but there are tons of compelling reasons that might just sway the odds into your favor. What employer doesnt want happy, healthy, loyal, productive, and environmentally-conscious employees who will not just earn but save them money? Its a total win-win for everyone.--Jaclyn Westlake is a career advice columnist, creator of the Job Hoppers Job Search Strategy Guide and founder of The Job Hop. With more than ten years of experience in the recruiting and human resources space, she is passionate about empowering job seekers to achieve their career goals. Shes also particularly fond of coffee, every dog in the world, and the c ity of San Francisco.Fairygodboss is committed to improving the workplace and lives of women.Join us by reviewing your employer