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In my company there is a CEO and several VPs.

The CEO works from home 1 - 2 days a week. Some of the other VPs work from home at least once a week. Other departments have people who work remotely either full time or part time as well.

We have been told as software developer that this is not an option for us. It is only possible for emergencies and must be approved before hand.

I soon will be negotiating for another year at my current company. How can I say something like "Is it possible I could work from home 1 day a week? Other seem to do it, why can't I?"

How can I ask for a new "soft" benefit that I don't currently don't enjoy but others do?

DETAILS

Some of the reasons given for not being able to : 1) They pay for our offices, it would be a waste to have them empty(ironically our CEO has the biggest office, but it is the one that is empty the most often) 2) They want continuous collaboration between developers(I think between video chats, and IM this is mitigated. I don't even talk to other developers that much when I am here).

As for my performance, I know I have earned the trust of my employer. Also it is worth noting that the policy may cause several of the developers(including myself) to leave soon. I don't want to throw out ultimatums, I just want the same benefits others in the company have.

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    "How do you ask for same benefits that management gets?" - you shouldn't expect to get the same benefits as management.
    – WorkerDrone
    Commented Oct 10, 2016 at 15:07
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    If you negotiate softly, you might be able to pull it off. Don't use the negative counter-arguments from your post though; find a positive argument for working from home (where the company benefits) and use that as your starting point. If they say no, I wouldn't push back.
    – JohnHC
    Commented Oct 10, 2016 at 15:28
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    "It is only possible for emergencies and must be approved before hand." So they require that you plan your emergencies? Interesting concept.
    – Arielle Lewis
    Commented Oct 10, 2016 at 15:51

2 Answers 2

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Simple Answer:

Don't think "I want what management gets".

Think "I want to be able to work from home one day a week" and negotiate on that basis. If there is an explicit policy against it, I wouldn't get your hopes up (and this might be a hopeless battle you don't want to pick). But otherwise, negotiate for it the same way you'd negotiate for anything else. On the basis of how this will be a net benefit to your employer.

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Let's make this simple.

You're asking for the same benefits that executives get. You don't get executive benefits unless you're an executive. That's pretty standard across the board.

You've obviously inquired about remote work and they've given you a set of specific answers as to why you can't. Now you're asking how you get them anyway.

You don't.

  1. You're not an executive.
  2. You've given no extraordinary, compelling reason why you should be allowed them.
  3. Company already has a policy.
  4. Giving you those benefits would set a precedent that they won't want.
  5. Giving you that benefit will alienate you from the other engineers.

I'd suggest you start looking for a job that allows remote instead of trying to coerce the company to make a special exception for you through negotiation.

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    "Other departments have people who work remotely either full time or part time as well" - OP's asking for benefits that some in other departments get, not just executives. "the policy may cause several of the developers(including myself) to leave soon" - This could be a compelling reason why they should be allowed to work from home. "I don't even talk to other developers that much when I am here" - Seems like the OP might already be alienated. I'm not saying your answer isn't good, just that the OP addressed these issues.
    – Hobbes
    Commented Oct 10, 2016 at 16:34
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    Whether you are the "boot to the slaves. PRODUCE!" or "whoah, watch your turnover, dudes!" kind of person, you have to admit. These are perks that are used in other companies to attract and attempt to retain talent - not because of "executive benefit" allure but because everyone else is doing the same. OP could frame it this way as well, that company is missing out on a trend that could potentially help with hiring/retention. Also on side note - working from home seems pretty lousy executive benefit, got that and much more working as lowly analyst for local government in UK at some point :)
    – Cthulhubutt
    Commented Oct 11, 2016 at 16:19
  • @Hobbes do you think that kind of change would be organisation-wide affair rather than "alienating OP from other engineers"? I can't rationalise this in my head, as giving it to one employee is simply preferential treatment/potentially budding cronyism, it would have to be a base benefit.
    – Cthulhubutt
    Commented Oct 11, 2016 at 16:21

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