Live The FIRE Lifestyle Even If You Still Have A Job – How To Negotiate For More Flexibility At Work

I’ve written before about the perks of the FIRE lifestyle, such as getting to do weekend activities in the middle of the week, beating the crowds and perhaps scoring some bargains.

However, you don’t need to wait till you’re financial independent and untethered from a traditional job to live the FIRE lifestyle. If you negotiate for more flexibility at work, you can stay at your job while enjoying the autonomy to schedule differently.

Here are six steps to negotiate for more flexibility at work:

1 – Define flexibility

Working from home or working from a regional office where your group isn’t based are examples of flexible location. You might instead want flexibility in time – to start earlier or late, to work five days’ worth of hours in four days or less.

Flexible work also includes job-sharing – two part-time employees fulfilling one full-time position.

Know what type of flexibility you want and ask for that specifically.

2 – Research what other companies are offering

Whatever way you define flexibility, look at other companies where flexible work has been accommodated successfully.

Collect articles featuring specific companies, or look at surveys, like  “The Human Face of Remote Working” survey by Polycom and Future Workplace, which share statistics on the positive benefits of remote working (e.g., increased productivity). The survey also points to better work/ life balance but that’s more a benefit to you.

When you’re negotiating, focus on the benefits to the other person (in this case, your employer) when gathering outside research.

3 – Be prepared to highlight your strong personal performance

You also want to gather evidence of strong performance on your part – e.g., strong results, your ability to work independently.

If you have already worked on successful projects with people based in other locations, share these as examples that you can already work flexibly and successfully.

4 – Anticipate and prepare for why your boss will disagree

Your boss may still have reservations. They might fear that granting you some flexibility will appear unfair to others on the team. They might be concerned about how you’ll keep in touch or be accessible to colleagues and/ or clients who need to reach you. They might not understand the logistics around how you’ll access the files and other in-office resources that you’ll need.

Be prepared to counter these objections.

This could include helping to outline how you’re going to announce (or whether to announce at all) the new arrangement. You could provide a contingency plan for how colleagues and clients can easily get in touch with you. Check with IT in advance to have a plan for accessing files remotely.

5 – Do a trial run

Your request for flexibility doesn’t have to be a yes or no proposition. If you continue to meet resistance even after you have answered common concerns, propose a trial run – a short enough period of time that your boss will feel comfortable agreeing to, but also long enough to prove that this could work. Then be prepared to get results during your trial run so you can attribute your productivity to the flexibility!

If you need an even smaller step, try working on a different floor than typical, so you can simulate the change in location without actually being gone – even the most paranoid boss should be OK with this, since you’re still at least in the building.

6 – Do a trial negotiation before you go to your boss

All of this planning will be for naught if you bungle the actual conversation with your boss when you ask for flexibility.

Ideally, role play with a mentor or other experienced manager who might have had to sign off on these requests before. They can give you a realistic simulation of what you’re up against.

Even if you practice the script in your head, the reality is that we don’t speak the way we think. You need to practice out loud. You also need to practice hearing the other person object and push back, and practice how to respond. Don’t assume it will be easy to stand your ground.

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As more and more companies grant flexible work arrangements, these requests should get easier. But it’s still not the norm. You probably will have to ask and not assume it will be offered to you. Run through these six steps to increase your chances of getting your flexibility request approved.