Applying for flexible working - any tips on making a successful application?

[changingstages]

So we've gone from WFH to back to the office 3 days a week/WFH 2 days a week. I was headhunted during the period we were WFH and the new job, had I taken it, was offering 4 days a month in the office, to be taken when needed, the rest WFH. I didn't accept the role in the end but it did make me think hard about the kind of working pattern I'd like in the future.

At the moment we are expected to be in the office Mon/Tue and then choose another day to come in. Monday is fine as we have a lot of meetings that day, always have, and it's useful to be around people again. My colleagues all work in a teams where it's sometimes handy to be in and around people, and sometimes really good to be at home so this system is going to work quite well for most. I'm in a slightly unusual position where I work mostly on my own, and sometimes with one or two other people (one of whom is part time). This doesn't really apply to anyone else in the department.

This is not a customer facing business. I do sometimes have to attend events for work, and I used to travel quite a lot (and probably will again at some point). We're quite a small business. It's always been reasonably open to home working but quite inflexible in that they are a bit paranoid about upsetting people by being seen to favour certain departments. The department I work in is extremely suited to WFH, one of the other departments is not quite so much.

Anyway: I'd like to request flexible working so I work from home more. I'm considering asking for 4-8 days in the office a month, so always a Monday and then the rest of the days to be taken when it makes business sense. I know I have to build a case as to why it's good for the business - I can show that I've worked very effectively at home for the last 18 months and how I can use my time effectively. Of course, my reasons for asking for this are personal ones - I have a very long commute, I want to spend more time with my family (my child has mental health issues which they didn't have pre-pandemic) and I just think I work better MOST of the time at home (I do still want to be with colleagues sometimes as there are occasions when being together is more useful). But I understand they're not going to care about those reasons - well, not that they wouldn't care, but they need the business reasons as to why it's a good idea.

Does anyone have any tips for making an application? Have you made a successful one or do you deal with them at work? I'm keen to consider potential obstacles and problems to see how I could explain how I'd deal with them.

A hopeful bump for the afternoon MNers

I’ve always gone really honest. Explained why I want it, what I’ll put in place to protect work and what it will bring them.

1. You want it to reduce your commute and spend more time at home
2. You will ensure you aren’t interrupted by children, or visitors. Always available on the phone (I am more available when home because I worry someone will ring while I make a cuppa). You will be flexible and come in on days they need you to attend meeting etc
3. You can save the commute time to train/focus on quiet tasks etc.

I expect the biggest obstacle will be that It’s
Not common practice. But I would push a bit that it was fine during lockdown so what is different now.

Depending on how badly you want it, I would say you had seen other roles offering similar contracts!!!

I put in a (successful) case for flexible working recently and all they wanted to know was the impact it would have on my work/wider team and what I would do to mitigate that impact.

Would it benefit the company that you could work more flexible hours i.e. not working strictly 9-5 because of the commute but available outside those hours if needed?

I was surprised how little information the company wanted, and it was granted immediately.

@Di11y

Would it benefit the company that you could work more flexible hours i.e. not working strictly 9-5 because of the commute but available outside those hours if needed?

This is a slippery slope and I would not recommend saying you'd be available outside normal office hours. It is open to exploitation and could give a demanding manager carte blanche to treat you as being 'on-call' when that isn't the aim of your FW request. If your aim is to spend quality time with your child then it wouldn't be sustainable over the longer term.

Focus on aspects such as your proven track record over the last 18 months with 1-2 specific examples of how you've exploited your remote working pattern to get the job done effectively. I would specify the days of the week when you'll definitely be in, Eg I will always be in the office on Mon and Wed rather than being open ended about it. They are more likely to approve it if they have a firm commitment. What you can do over time is show flexibility but you've always got that firm agreement in place.

iow - Get it in the bag and then be willing to swap a day out from time to time according to business need.

thanks so much - I forgot to check back! All of this is really helpful. I'm going to make the application tonight... gulp.

I would suggest not detailing why you want the request, but more around how the change of hours/days will not negatively affect your individual performance or wider team/stakeholders (and if possible how it may actually benefit the workplace).

I've had two successful FWA in a company that was very very reluctant to go off piste, but has in recent times become more flexible.

The company don't care why you want a FWA, they just want to know how it will impact them.

The changes I have had approved always related to a genuine need not a want if you know what I mean. So I had a childcare issue that I could resolve with the change to my working hours. I was careful to state why I needed the change linking it to the particular issue and also stating that it would not interfere with the role I did and days I was needed for set meetings etc.
A lot of people prefer wfh but unless there is a specific reason linked to health or childcare etc many companies won’t grant that.
A decent employer might do if they want to accommodate you but it’s less likely in my opinion.
A colleague requested similar due to travel costs etc and general well-being wfh but that was rejected otherwise everyone would be at home.

thank you both - I've actually just made the request and was very careful to let them know how I'd mitigate any impact (which will genuinely be very minimal - in fact, I don't think it will make any difference). I did outline the reasons I wanted it, not in huge detail but factually.

I feel very, very nervous. They're a small company, and generally pretty good and I think will consider it properly but this would make an immeasurable difference to my life.

🤞 good luck- hope it gets approved.

I would start with a request for four days a month in the office i.e. the Mondays with other days to be as agreed as needed to meet business needs. So you would be happy to come in on days where you needed to in addition to your Mondays but contractually you are in one day a week. That way you have a fallback position of two days a week rather than starting out with that request