Here’s How To Negotiate Flexible Work For Good

Are you dreading how you will negotiate flexible work with your manager?

Even for an occasional work-from-home day or leaving the office early?

There are many reasons why your manager says NO to your flexibility request, such as resistance to change, fear of plunging productivity, and impact on the team or clients.

This thorough guide on how to negotiate flexible work is a proven 4-step method to handle any of these objections.

1. Clarify what work flexibility you are asking for.

Different jobs allow for different flexibility. If you’re crystal clear about what flexible work arrangements you want, you’re better able to prepare counter-arguments to potential objections by your manager.

Find where the flexibility lies by answering these questions:

1. Which deliverables are time-critical?
2. Which deliverables are location-critical?
3. What is your personal preference for managing the work-life interface – integration or separation?
   • Work-life integration means work and outside-of-work tasks create a synergy, alternating throughout your day. It doesn’t mean you’re doing both at the same time, multitasking, though.
   • Work-life separation means you prefer a clean boundary between work and life.
4. How do you spend the majority of your time:
   • Teamwork – is your work highly dependent on your team? Best to negotiate work flexibility as a team so that there’s always coverage and everyone’s needs are met.
   • Supervisory and day-to-day guidance – consider delegation or job sharing. Much supervisory work is done remotely anyway (e.g. global roles). So the case for working from home is strong.
   • Processes – flexibility could be tailored to the business cycle. Tasks can benefit from the free of interruptions home environment.
   • Projects – long-term deadlines and less dependency on a team allow for remote working and management of own time.

2. Pick the right flexible work negotiation tactic.

Think about the reasons your manager may say ‘No’ to your request. This will help you pick the right negotiation tactic and prepare a counter-argument. Here are the most common ones:

Once you’ve figured out the most likely reason for objection, prepare a smart flexibility negotiation tactic to achieve a compromise.

9 negotiation tactics for work flexibility

1. Maintain a positive focus. Ask them to presume that it will work rather than that it won’t. People are risk-averse and don’t like changes.
2. Anchor your request around solutions. What problems is you working flexibly solving (e.g. fewer distractions) VS what problems your request may create (e.g. lack of oversight).
3. Minimise personal risk. Offer to send daily updates or have daily end-of-day chats.
4. Ask for a trial period. If it doesn’t work, they can revert to your former working arrangements. But both of you will know you tried.
5. Stay flexible if possible. Compromise on flexibility from both sides. You can agree to stay flexible if given enough notice should something happen. Like a critical meeting taking place on your work-from-home day, for example.
6. Talk up your proven track record. Highlight the times you’ve done a great job and the value you bring to the company. That might convince them that your productivity won’t take a hit. It also reinforces the message they can’t afford to lose you.
7. Think about your manager’s perspective. They may want to accommodate your request. But they also have responsibility for the team. Would there be a negative impact on the team or clients? Can you do all your work from home? If your colleagues may end up doing additional work, then regular flexibility probably won’t work. Alternatively, can you do some of their work so that things even out?
8. Suggest reasonable adjustments yourself. This demonstrates that you’ve thought the impact through. And reduces the work of your manager which they would be grateful for.
9. Sell it as an opportunity. Highlight the benefits of your working flexibly:
   • 9 in 10 employees want to work flexibly. If you show it is possible, your department will be able to attract and retain employees, and therefore skills and experience.
   • If working from home, you can save time and the stress from the commute, and as a result, be more productive.
   • Finding and training a replacement will result in considerable costs in the tens of thousands.
   • Flexibility improves productivity, satisfaction, commitment and reduces turnover by reducing stress, boosting morale, and improving wellbeing and work/life balance.

3. Prepare for the meeting

Now that you’ve thought this through, here are some preparations to do ahead of the conversation:

• Set up an in-person meeting with your manager. Don’t be tempted to ask over email to avoid the in-person discussion! Pick a time when your boss is under less pressure – avoid days around deadlines and/or month-end.
• Script the conversation. Going into the meeting with “I want to work from home 3 days a week cause I don’t like coming into the office” certainly won’t give you the work flexibility you’re hoping for.
• Practice in front of the mirror or, even better, with someone else. Make sure you don’t lose eye contact, cover your mouth when speaking or giggle nervously.

Here are some lines to avoid:

4. At the time of the meeting

The time has come. You’re meeting with your boss in 10 minutes. You’re nervous. This is not something you ask for every day. Follow these best practices to ensure the conversation remains professional and increases your chances of success.

Your work flexibility request got rejected? Here are some options.

• Don’t take it personally or get discouraged.
• Understand the reason. Understanding the reason behind the No will dictate what you do next.
  • Is there an additional impact which you haven’t considered before? Discuss potential solutions further.
  • Is the company unsupportive of flexible working? If you really value flexibility, it’s probably time to look elsewhere.
  • Is your boss not willing to support you without apparent reason? See if other departments are hiring. Or have a chat with HR using the above negotiation tactics.
• Explore opportunities outside of your company. Organisations such as ‘The Times top 50 Employers for Women’ or ‘Top 30 family-friendly companies’ are recognised for their flexible working policies. So they’re a good starting point.
  • Pro Tip 1: Flexibility clearly is a priority for you. So bring it up at the interview. Highlight the immense value you would bring to the company, even when working flexibly.
  • Pro Tip 2: Check the company reviews on flexibility on Glassdoor or Quora (search for ‘[Company] flexibility’)
  • Pro Tip 3: When you come across jobs you like, make sure you add these powerful things to your CV so that you don’t end up in the rejection pile. And apply for the jobs even you don’t meet all criteria. Here are some top tips on how to nail your interview even if you’re not fully qualified.

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Conclusion

Now knowing how to negotiate flexible work can be stressful and unpleasant. But you also shouldn’t put this conversation off. If you really value flexibility, this will cause you more stress in the long run.

But if you (1) clarify where the flexibility lies, (2) pick the right negotiation tactic, (3) prepare for the conversation and (4) use the right tactics at the time of the conversation you’re in a great position to negotiate the flexible work you want.

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