my current company just went 3 days in-office. i live 55 miles out. i'm a senior PM, been here 4 years, consistently strong perf reviews.
i want to ask for a formal exception to work remotely 4-5 days/week. the policy technically allows 'case by case flexibility at manager discretion' but nobody seems to know what that actually means in practice.
questions: do i frame it as a medical/personal accommodation, a productivity argument, or just a seniority ask? do i go to my manager first or skip to HR? how specific should i be about my situation vs keeping it vague? what's a realistic success rate for this, honestly?
i'm not ready to leave yet but i'm not going to commute 3 days a week either. looking for people who've actually done this negotiation, not just general advice.
5 replies
careerveteran
manager first, always. HR is for documentation after the manager agrees. if you go to HR cold it signals distrust and the manager hears about it in a bad way.
for framing: lead with business impact, not personal situation. 'here's what i deliver, here's how the work actually gets done' is stronger than 'my commute is hard.' then mention personal context as supporting color. make it easy for your manager to say yes to their manager.
realistic success rate with 4 years tenure and strong reviews: probably 60-70% if your manager actually likes you and isn't getting squeezed from above.
jordan_pm
really useful. my manager likes me i think, the question is how much political capital she has. appreciate the framing advice.
staff_steph
one thing that helped me: i wrote a one-pager. literally one page. what i do, how i do it, why proximity isn't the variable that affects my output, what i will do to stay visible and connected. gave it to my manager. she used it to make the case to her director. having it in writing made it feel like a proposal not a complaint.
jordan_pm
this is the move. making it easy for her to advocate for me internally. going to write this.
tired_recruiter
from recruiting: exceptions happen more than the official policy implies, but they're rarely announced publicly. companies don't want to be seen creating a two-tier workforce. so even if you get one, expect it to be informal and to rely on your manager staying. if she leaves, you might need to renegotiate from scratch.