So your Boss Wants You Back in the Office — And You Don’t. Now What?
I am one of the world’s biggest fans of “working from anywhere” if your work is primarily done on a computer. I have spent hours and hours of my life climbing up on my soapbox and expounding about how simple and logical this is to anyone who (perhaps to their regret) has broached the topic with me.
I truly, madly, deeply LOVE efficiency and practicality — and as someone who has been forced to make a torturous commute just so I could sit alone in an office and work exclusively with people in a different state or country, I ran out of patience for arbitrary requirements about “where work has to happen” a loonnnngg time ago.
It’s the mindset that “work happens in the office” that drives me crazy. As an extrovert, I’d actually like to work in an office with colleagues 2 or 3 days a week. But work should be about getting the job done and about getting results. Not about where you do it. (Let alone about “when” it gets done, but that will have to wait for a different article!)
So to me, it’s a disgrace that it took a global pandemic to force employers to make remote work a common reality. The good news is that, according to Gartner, 48% of employees will keep working remotely, at least some of the time. And 1 in 5 will work remotely full time.
But what if you aren’t one of those people? What if your employer wants you back in the office full time . . . and you don’t want to do that?
Here’s are some practical steps to see if you can change that.
1. Thoughtfully Pitch Your Employer.
It might sound simple, but for a start, don’t just accept the company line. So very often, employees feel like they have no power and can’t ask for what they want or need. But — and remember this, if nothing else — you have every right to make a case to get those things!
I recommend starting off by approaching your manager with the mindset that you’re on the same team, not adversaries. Remember, employers want to hang on to valuable employees! Be a little vulnerable and begin your case by explaining why working remotely, full or part time, is important to you.
Here are some questions to spark some thoughts about what’s important for you about remotely working:
- Have you been able to be more productive at home?
- Has it been significantly easier for you find balance in your life — or perhaps that will happen once child care becomes easier?
- Has it increased your satisfaction with your work and with the company?
- Are you more engaged and present at the start and end of the workday because you aren’t dealing with a crazy commute or watching the clock to make sure you pick up your kids from day care on time?
There are two reasons it’s effective to start off with a little vulnerability and camaraderie. First, your manager is a human being, and most people have a “compassion instinct,” meaning they have an automatic impulse to help others. And second, this attitude keeps your boss from immediately feeling defensive and digging in their heels on their work from home position. After all, if you’re going to have the conversation, let’s set it up to give you the best chance possible.
2. Put yourself in Your Manager’s Shoes
Of course, you can’t think solely about what you want. You also need to think about what your company’s or manager’s reservations might be and how to proactively address those.
For example, does your company leadership or manager still believe that people are more productive in the office? Try addressing the concerns underlying that: they’re worried about profitability and (unfortunately) they perhaps don’t trust employees to work hard if they aren’t in the office. But, for example, if you’ve kept up with your work during the pandemic, you have some pretty solid evidence that you don’t drop the ball when you aren’t in the office. And even if your productivity did drop (perhaps because of child care issues? Or the trauma of a global pandemic?), think about what changes would mean that is no longer an issue. If they still won’t budge, try asking them what kind of transparency would improve their confidence that the work is getting done.
Also, investigate if your company’s competitors are allowing remote work — if your employer starts losing their people, that’s also going to have a really negative impact on profits! If that isn’t the case, you can certainly bring up the (lengthy!) list of companies that have announced they will continue to allow remote work. But you’ll make the best case if you can find examples of companies in the same field.
But maybe your boss has a different concern. Are they instead worried about losing team collaboration and communication? Or even beyond that, about personally being out of the loop and sounding like an incompetent amateur when their boss calls? Try proposing plans for regular team communication, such as having a weekly team meeting — and make sure you always prioritize being there and that the meeting doesn’t get canceled! Also, ask your boss what kind of communication would feel good to them. Would they like a phone call every day? A weekly email updating them on what you’ve been working on? Just as-needed status updates on big projects?
If your company leadership or manager brings up something completely different and unexpected, really listen to their concerns. Then, think through those concerns thoroughly and what you can do about them. You might even want to tell your boss you’d like to take some time to ensure you can address those worries. Or, if you get along well, invite your boss to work with you to create a win-win solution.
Finally, if your boss isn’t really giving you reasons, but just keeps saying no, I’m a big fan of the straight-up ask: “What’s your concern?” If you make them put it into words, it makes them have to think through what their actual concern is. That helps you know how to address it. And there’s a bonus! If their concern isn’t really logical or valid, having to verbalize it might help them see that.
3. Be Flexible and Persistent
Every company has been trying to figure out what the new normal will be — and has been trying to figure it out in real time. Even Google announced that employees would need to be in the office 3 days a week, and then quickly backtracked to allow employees to be fully remote permanently if their roles allow it.
What does this mean for you? Mostly, that you may not be able to get an answer in your initial conversation — and that you shouldn’t give up if that’s the case. And, that it will be helpful have some alternate ideas prepared in case your employer isn’t ready to green light the remote option yet.
For example, is your employer really stressed about how to manage the transition away from fully remote work? Consider offering to be back in the office full-time for a few weeks during that transition. But also set the expectation that you will revisit the remote work conversation as that change happens, perhaps after a month.
Or perhaps suggest a trial run of you continuing to work remotely, with a plan that you and your manager will meet at the trial’s end to evaluate what the impact was on your work, your team, and the business. Be prepared for that meeting, listen to any concerns, and be ready to suggest adjustments that could be made.
4. What if they Still Say No?
No matter how persuasive a case you make, it’s still possible that your employer will insist on a full-time return to the office. That means, it’s now up to you to decide if the opportunity to work remotely is a dealbreaker.
Take some time and really think about what is truly important to you now, after this year-plus of working remotely. How important is the opportunity to continue to work remotely? Does it need to be remote full time? Would a hybrid approach meet your needs? How do you feel about your job otherwise? Do you get to use your energizing strengths and skills in your work? Are you growing those skills? How is your relationship with the rest of your team? Do you value that? What about with your manager? How aligned you feel with your company’s mission? Is your employer providing other lifestyle benefits that you really value? Do some head to head comparisons. Is what you’re getting more or less valuable to you than being able to work remotely?
If you decide it is a dealbreaker, your job is to take action. Knowledge alone isn’t enough. Keep a clear list of your priorities and start looking for a new job — or career — that meets them. It may take some time to find the right situation, but if this is a must-have have for you, you deserve a job that provides it.
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Kelley Shields is a career change coach, helping unfulfilled professionals find work they find meaningful, enjoyable and profitable. Feeling stuck? Don’t know what you want, but know your current job isn’t it? We should talk. Find me at www.kelleyshields.com
