Loving the flexibility of working from home? Here's how to convince your boss to let you stay home permanently

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Millions of employees have been working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of them like the previous arrangement.

But what happens when the pandemic is over?

Human resources experts said many of those workers plan to ask their employers to allow them to permanently work from home.

"It gives them more flexibility, they lose the commute, and most people can be as productive as they were in the office," Buck Rogers told ABC11.

Rogers, a human resources expert with Keystone Partners in the Triangle, said employers now realize that working remotely can not only be good for employees but for the company too.

"Companies do appreciate their employees. They are seeing good production at home, good attitudes and healthy people that enjoy their work. And they are considering more variables now than they ever have," he said.

So, if you are ready to make the leap, Rogers said these are some things you should think about and do before going to your boss:

• Send your boss an email and ask for a meeting to talk about your schedule.

"As you approach boss and you're asking for an alternative work situation, I think you have to lay it out pretty smartly. From a professional situation, you have to show that you're able to do it today."

• Arm yourself with data about your productivity and your ability to communicate with and provide support to clients.
• Don't forget that you can now turn your commute time into work time.

"Most people are using it for work because they're in that mode already. They leave the house at a certain time every day to go to work, and now it's turned into I'm at my desk or in front of my computer and online working at that time," Rogers said.

• You can also point out how working from home means you've used fewer sick days.

When you don't have to come to the office it's often easier to manage mild illnesses, including those of your kids, and you can continue to work.

"You can say, 'Remember I was sick but I was still operating and still kept communicating with our customers and providing support while I was here.' That allows you to show that you can sustain that and be productive at the same time," Rogers said adding that there really is no time like the present to approach management about working remotely.