She hastily made a request for a part-time schedule at her employer of 8 years, and was denied as quickly as she asked. Her mistake? Well, she made a few. First, she did not thoroughly consider what she wanted, and how her request would benefit the company. Instead, she just went to the human resources department (HR) and asked if she could get a part-time schedule.
Which leads to her second mistake, which was not to identify the right person to ask. She told me that she probably should have talked to her boss first. Instead, she went to HR who just said "no." And why wouldn't they say no. If they tell her yes, they will just have to deal with others who ask for part-time. Further, they are going to be stuck trying to hire someone to complete the work she can't do because she is part-time.
So what she should she do now?
First, she needs to think creatively about how part-time work could benefit her company. Is there someone else interested in a job share? How important is it for them to retain her?
Next, she needs to consider how her work would be completed if she was part-time. What could she transition to someone else? Who? What work could she streamline? Where could she become more efficient? Could she do some work from home?
Once she has considered these things, she needs to put together a written proposal that spells it all out. Essentially, she needs to put in writing why this is a good business decision. She also needs to do all of the work in figuring out the arrangement. How will her pay be affected? Her benefits? She is the one that wants the flexibility, so she should be the one to figure out how it will work.
She then needs to meet with her boss and discuss her proposal and convince him that it is a good business decision to grant her request. After eight years of solid work performance, she should be at least able to get them to meet her somewhere in-between. It will likely take some negotiaion, but with the right proposal, I do think she can get the work schedule she wants.
But first, she needs to read my book!
