UPDATED in 1st post....How would you approach your boss about this?

I finally asked my boss this morning about this. I've been meaning to ask every day since I started this post but I keep getting too nervous to do it. I had a few days where I was going to step into his office and talk to him and then I chickened out. I tend to get nervous and emotional when talking to employers about some things. But I just finally walked down and asked him if he had time this morning to meet with me about something and he said Sure, that he had time today or we could meet now. So I shut his office door and sat down and laid it out for him. I said I was wondering about the possibility of working a reduced schedule and that I really wanted to be home with my kids when they get out of school. And the whole time he was looking receptive and said "yeah", like he understood. So I told him how in order to do that I would need to leave by 2:30 but that I would come in earlier at 7:30, and that I could even come in at 7:00 if I absolutely needed to.

He said he was completely fine with that and he knows we have (in other departments) people who work similar hours. He just needs to talk to the HR person about what # of hours they consider to be "full time". So it sounds like it will defintely happen for me. I just need to figure out what would happen to my pay and to my benefits. Yay! I wish I hadnt been so nervous about asking. I've kind of been worrying myself sick about it.

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I want to ask my boss about dropping my hours. It would be a 20% drop in my hours. 7.5 hours less a week. I propose that I will come in 30 minutes earlier each day (M-F) and leave 2 hours earlier than I do right now.

My job is pretty relaxed and honestly I dont have enough work to do most of the time. I dont think it would be a big deal to work less hours. I feel I could easily get my job done in 30 vs 37.5 hours each week. I would expect a 20% pay cut and I'd probably lose my benefits (health, dental, life insurance). And I would expect to earn 20% less in vacation time each year. This wouldnt matter to me since I currently get my health care/dental thru DH's work anyways. The reason I want to cut hours is so that I can be home for the school bus when my kids get home from school. I could quit paying for after-school care.

I very rarely have meetings and I dont see why things couldnt be scheduled from the hours of 8am - 2:30pm so that I could attend.

So how would you ask your boss about doing this? I feel funny bringing it up and just talking about how it would be great for my kids. But really, that IS why I want to do it.

We are having alot of changes lately around here and our director has left, our VP is retiring, we ended a big project and they arent going to rehire for this positions since the president is also retiring next year and they want to let new president hire the director & VP of our department. So it might be a great time to try working less hours since the work load this coming year will be less.

Also, I can do alot of my work from home so if something came up between my new proposed leave time (2:30pm) and the time I leave now (4:30pm) I could potentially work on something from home. But I've had this job for 3+ years and I've never had to do work after-hours. So the chance of needing to do that is slim to none.

So how would you bring this up with your boss? My boss is a really nice guy. I cant imagine him saying no. But I know he will have to OK it with HR and higher ups.

I think I would come to the meeting prepared with a clear proposal and what you are willing to accept (or have cut back) as a result. Even though you can finish your job in x hours, that will not be the point (even though we know it should be!), but that you are asking to reduce hours working at this job. I think the offer for paycut etc shows you are willing to make sacrifices and that makes it a something they are more likely to consider (also if you are a strong employee,etc.).

Every firm is different though, and some places don't like to set precedents. I dont really know your field and alot of times bosses seem laid back but when it comes to something like this they can do a 180! So be prepared that they might say no. I would therefore be firm and professional in your proposal but also be clear you will understand if it is not doable. However if this is a real deal breaker for you (or you will quit) then you can take a step further and do all of the above but be more firm/persistent. I don't recommend injecting emotion if you can help it though (need more time with my kids, that kind of thing) but that's just my opinon. Good luck, I've thought about doing this myself someday!

No advice but I am following. I am in a similar situation and cannot decide what to do for this coming school year. I think my manager and boss will say yes but I am still nervous to ask and don't even know if it is what I really want. Hoping other people have some good advice!

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Originally Posted by khalloc

I want to ask my boss about dropping my hours. It would be a 20% drop in my hours. 7.5 hours less a week. I propose that I will come in 30 minutes earlier each day (M-F) and leave 2 hours earlier than I do right now.

My job is pretty relaxed and honestly I dont have enough work to do most of the time. I dont think it would be a big deal to work less hours. I feel I could easily get my job done in 30 vs 37.5 hours each week. I would expect a 20% pay cut and I'd probably lose my benefits (health, dental, life insurance). And I would expect to earn 20% less in vacation time each year. This wouldnt matter to me since I currently get my health care/dental thru DH's work anyways. The reason I want to cut hours is so that I can be home for the school bus when my kids get home from school. I could quit paying for after-school care.

I very rarely have meetings and I dont see why things couldnt be scheduled from the hours of 8am - 2:30pm so that I could attend.

So how would you ask your boss about doing this? I feel funny bringing it up and just talking about how it would be great for my kids. But really, that IS why I want to do it.

We are having alot of changes lately around here and our director has left, our VP is retiring, we ended a big project and they arent going to rehire for this positions since the president is also retiring next year and they want to let new president hire the director & VP of our department. So it might be a great time to try working less hours since the work load this coming year will be less.

Also, I can do alot of my work from home so if something came up between my new proposed leave time (2:30pm) and the time I leave now (4:30pm) I could potentially work on something from home. But I've had this job for 3+ years and I've never had to do work after-hours. So the chance of needing to do that is slim to none.

So how would you bring this up with your boss? My boss is a really nice guy. I cant imagine him saying no. But I know he will have to OK it with HR and higher ups.

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There is no easy way to have these conversations; I twice asked for changes to my schedule (first to telework one day a week, and then to go to a 60 percent schedule) and was initially given an irritated look and I'll look into it reaction, but ultimately got what I wanted both times. It sounds like you are asking to go to an eighty percent schedule and are willing to accept a corresponding change in compensation. That sounds reasonable, and I would highlight that you think you can handle your current workload in these hours, and would work from home to finish your work if that was not the case. You might want to suggest a trial period (maybe six months?) to make it more palatable.

I agree with all the suggestions given. I wouldn't lead with "I want to meet the school bus, so....." I'd stick to what you want (not necessarily why you want it) and how you're prepared to make it work.

I've successfully reduced my hours and added 1 day/wk telework to my schedule by asking. However, I did not get as few hours as I wanted (wanted 30, only got down to 35). I ask periodically for my manager to look into it to see if it is feasible. I now have absolutely no fear about asking! LOL.

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Originally Posted by rprav8r

I agree with all the suggestions given. I wouldn't lead with "I want to meet the school bus, so....." I'd stick to what you want (not necessarily why you want it) and how you're prepared to make it work.

I've successfully reduced my hours and added 1 day/wk telework to my schedule by asking. However, I did not get as few hours as I wanted (wanted 30, only got down to 35). I ask periodically for my manager to look into it to see if it is feasible. I now have absolutely no fear about asking! LOL.

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Did you have to take a paycut or reduction in benefits as a result? I wonder what the cut off is for that (ie how many hrs ='s part time and therefore no benefits,etc.). I negotiated a day at home but eventually I'd like to go p/t, but it has never been done in my dept.

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Originally Posted by janine

Did you have to take a paycut or reduction in benefits as a result? I wonder what the cut off is for that (ie how many hrs ='s part time and therefore no benefits,etc.). I negotiated a day at home but eventually I'd like to go p/t, but it has never been done in my dept.

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Not the PP, but it can vary by company, I think. At my DH's job, part-timers who work less than 30 hours are not eligible for benefits. Between 30 and 37.4 or whatever, you are considered part-time and benefits eligible. But even though that was on the books, over the last few years, no one was allowed that schedule.

My old company was really strict about cutting back hours. Honestly, if you had gone to the head of our office and said you could cut back on your hours and still get your work done, they would have been glad to offer you more work. Flexibility was not their strong suit.

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Originally Posted by janine

Did you have to take a paycut or reduction in benefits as a result? I wonder what the cut off is for that (ie how many hrs ='s part time and therefore no benefits,etc.). I negotiated a day at home but eventually I'd like to go p/t, but it has never been done in my dept.

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My company offers benefits to anyone who works 30 or more hours/week. I carry the benefits for our family, which is why I wanted to stay at/above 30 hours. I work in a relatively small office, but we're part of a huge multinational corporation, so these policies are easily accessible and clearly spelled out.

ETA: Some benefits are available to part time employees of 20 or more hours, but they're more limited. All employees accrue vacation based on base hours per week. So, I earn 1.67 days/vacation/mo. A 40 hour workweek is 8 hrs/day, so 8*1.67=12.36 hours; at 35 hours, that's 7 hours/day, so I earn 11.7 hours per month. Either way, it works out to 20 days (at whatever your daily hours are) per year. Your company may vary, of course.

I actually would not not talk about you having less work for the current number of hours. It does not go well with supervisors an management in general. I would just approach it from your end without emotional expression. Devoting more time to family st some point is an understandable and legitimate reason for people to make work based decisions, not let it interfere with work but to envision a different way to work. Going in with a proposal sounds good. However, it's important I think about what you would do if this was denied. You certainly should not sound threatening ("I am going to quit!" Type of declarations are not good at least not when you are dealing with a reasonable set of people) but just for yourself you need to be clear. Then you will know whether or not their counter proposals would be ok with you, and maybe they'll negotiate a 10% cut. Of course you will think about it and not respond right away. I also think it is important to NOT point out that their benefits are not really useful to you. While health benefits may be obviously one thing that you don't care about since you did not sign up you must appear to value their benefits which in different circumstances you would.

So if you're confident you can get 37.5 hours of work done in 30, I don't see why you need to ask about reducing your hours (and thus your pay, etc)...would it be an option to simply ask if you can telecommute for 7.5 hours/week? So come into office 30 min earlier, leave 2 hours earlier and "work" the rest of the time at home. I mean, I just would hate for you to take a pay cut/benefits cut when you already can do 37.5 hours of work in 30 hours. Especially since you say it's possible to do the work from home!

So I'd seriously consider trying that first - don't ask about reducing hours. Ask about additional flexibility in terms of telecommuting. That way you can frame it as "my productivity will not change at all".