Questions for Employees to Consider When Requesting Remote Work

What to Consider Before Asking for Remote Work

  • If you are interested in requesting a change to your current work arrangement, think about how the change might affect you personally, your ability to do your job, and the impact it might have on your others.
  • Determine if your personal productivity may improve if you could alter your current work arrangement or if your request might create additional challenges.
  • If you decide to pursue this possibility, it’s important to write a thoughtful, concise proposal or business case for remote work.
  • Check with your Human Resource (HR) department to see what the policy is in your unit or school regarding flexible scheduling and remote work.  Keep your HR representative in the loop as you develop your request.
  • Put yourself in your manager’s shoes, and think through the business reasons and ramifications of your request. Consider talking withyour co-workers. If they have concerns, think about how you may be able to address them.
  • Include suggestions about how you might be flexible to cover peak-time coverage, meeting times, special events,, etc.
  • Identify if any additional changes may be needed in order for you to meet your job expectations.
  • Remember that managers' ability to offer remote work options varies by department and employee job role, and limitations may be needed to meet your department's business needs.

Additional Questions to Ask Yourself as you Plan to Make a Request

  • What type of flexibility would I like?
  • What type of flexibility might work in my position?
  • Could this change affect my pay and benefits?
  • Could my requested remote work option affect others (students, co-workers, customers)??
  • How will my remote work option affect my manager?
  • How will others have to change to accommodate my schedule?
  • How can I make this easy for them?
  • How might this affect members of my household?

For a Remote Workplace

  • Do I have an appropriate space to work at home?
  • Will I miss the camaraderie of the office?
  • Do I want to do this all the time or some of the time?
  • Will I be able to devote my full attention to work when physically at home?

For Compressed Workweek

  • Will my energy be sapped by long days?
  • Do I have enough workflow to fill ten-hour days?
  • How do I handle weeks with a holiday?

If you come to an agreement on a remote arrangement, you must comply with the university guidelines and complete the appropriate Remote Work Agreement form.