What flexible work arrangement would help you balance your work and family obligations? Or,are you starting your own business and trying to carve out a few more hours to work on the new venture? What would you like to do with your current role? Set some goals. Do some research. If you want to go part time, how will that impact your take home pay? Remember, there are variables other than paid hours that you need to consider. Will your dry cleaning bill go down? What will happen to your transportation costs? We have a great tool on our site that we have developed to help you determine what your current “Real” take home pay is and what it would be working an alternative work arrangement. Go to the Wage Comparisons tool to calculate some before and after wages. You may be pleasantly surprised!
Once you know what you are looking for, start putting together a presentation and formal written proposal (if you think you will need it).
Start by anticipating what the issues will be for your boss. Make a list and address each item in writing prior to the meeting. Be very specific. These items will become your proposal. I would not reference having children at home in the proposal. You can, however, talk about your desire to balance your rewarding career with your outside responsibilities.
Here are some topics to keep in mind when thinking about potential issues.
Purpose: retention, increased productivity, decreased burn-out, increased effectiveness
Schedule: Outline the days you plan to work from home and what hours and/or what your total schedule will be (full or part time). If job sharing, who will work what hours?
Communication: How will your co-workers and customers contact you while you are working from home? How will you communicate the change? Will your regular e-mail be available to you from home, phone, fax, cell phone. If you will work part time, will you be available for emergencies? Or, if you will job share, how will you and your partner communicate to provide seamless full time work?
Physical Set-up: What will your home office set up be? Will you have a separate room away from home and family distractions? Do you have a computer, fax, printer, etc. available? Do you have a separate phone line? What kind of access do you have to the internet if applicable, how will you access digital work files...can you dial in?
Evaluation: Set a timeframe during which you and your boss can re-evaluate whether or not the new schedule is working. 3-6 months with time scheduled for interim evaluation with opportunity to discuss any problems and resolve them. Indicate that either party can terminate the arrangement at the end of the trial period.
Job Duties: Make a list of the job duties that can be performed seamlessly from home. Provide details of how it will be transparent to customers where applicable. Or, if you will go part time or job share, how will work be redistributed?
Conclusion: List examples of any departments in your organization who already allow telecommuting, part time, job share, flex time. Indicate that you feel that you have the same work ethic, etc...and are committed to making this a success. Discuss that many organizations are now using this kind of work arrangement for recruitment and retention of high quality employees. Discuss the decreased stress and added productivity that will result from working from home (think of examples of distractions at work that will not be present at home)
How to Ask for a Flexible Work Arrangement - To learn more about this author, visit Kirsten Ross's Website.
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Leanne Hoagland Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales success or one of the many who have failed to change? So what are you doing to change those results? Let’s be honest, with companies moving globally and at lightening speeds, the traditional business solutions are outdated and dead. My approach moves your business out of its comfort zone and secures your competitive advantage now. If you are seeking to increase sales, build customer loyalty, create a culture of great attitudes or just achieve some sleep filled nights, then we should talk because my clients have experienced exactly those types of results. Learn more about customer loyalty at http://www.processspecialist.com/customer-loyalty.htm Give me a call at 219.759.5601 for a free strategy session. P.S. If you are seeking a motivational speaker, sales trainer or small business expert that will leave your audience smiling and remembering, please feel free to contact me at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland Smith's Website |
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Kirsten Ross
(Visit Kirsten's Website)
Kirsten Ross has been interviewed as an
expert of flexible work and life balance
on NBC Nightly News, Fox 2 News, National
Public Radio and for publications such as
Working Mother Magazine, Going Back to
Work; A Survival Guide for Comeback Moms,
The Entrepreneurial Parent, and more than
200 others. She has a Masters degree in
Human Resource Management, is a Certified
Senior HR Professional and is a Leadership
and Life Coach. She founded her company,
Womans-Work, LLC in 1999. She has helped
countless professionals achieve work-life
balance and is on a mission to help
organizations improve their
family-friendly status.
As a leadership coach and owner of Focus
Forward Coaching she takes her work to the
next level helping leaders and
entrepreneurs remove the thought patterns,
fears, behaviors and beliefs that stand as
barriers to achieving the life and work
that they desire. Creating a life of
conscious choice and rocking relationships
are keys to living a balanced and
fulfilling life. Visit Kirsten’s coaching
site:
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