5 email templates to ask your boss to work from home
Let’s be honest, the news cycle isn’t the greatest right now. We’re all dealing with stressful daily updates on the spread of the Coronavirus.
To mitigate, companies around the world are implementing work from home policies to help employees avoid catching or spreading illnesses. In fact, our recent study showed that 91% of US employees believe that working from home can help decrease the spread of illness, and 89% are willing to work from home to avoid getting sick.
But if you’re waiting to get the go-ahead to work from home, try these email templates to start the conversation with your manager or leadership team. We’ve provided a few variations to reflect your needs.
- “Request to work from home” [With an explanation]
- “Request to work from home” [With suggestions on technology for working from home]
- “Request to work from home as a 1-day test” [For companies skeptical about work from home]
- “Request to work from home for health reasons” [For the immunocompromised]
- “Request to work from home due to illness” [For when you or a family member is sick]
Need help understanding if remote work is right for your business? We created The Flock Guide to Building Great Remote Teams with leaders in mind.
“Request to work from home” [with an explanation]
Use this template to ask for the ability to work from home, backed by resources on why going remote is a good thing for your company.
[Greeting]
I’d like to request the ability to work from home while local officials assess the ongoing situation with Coronavirus. Given how quickly the virus is spreading, I believe going remote is the right thing to do to help the larger community.
Experts recommend social distancing to help stop the spread of the disease. As a result, companies like Google, Amazon, and Twitter have all asked employees to work from home. Since we have a communication and collaboration tool that helps us work together even when we’re apart, I believe our team will stay just as productive while at home.
Thanks for considering this request, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
“Request to work from home” [with suggestions on technology to implement]
Use this template if your company hasn’t invested in a communication and collaboration tool like Flock (i.e., a tool that enables instant messaging, videoconferencing, file sharing, and collaboration).
[Greeting]
I’d like to request the ability to work from home while local officials assess the ongoing situation with Coronavirus. Given how quickly the virus is spreading, I believe going remote is the right thing to do to help the larger community.
To keep our teams productive while working outside of the office, I’d suggest considering a tool like Flock or Slack. A communication and collaboration tool allows us to send direct messages, group messages, videoconference and screen share, share files, and status updates so that we can work together even when we’re apart. With one of these tools in place, I believe our team will stay productive while at home.
Thanks for considering this request, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
“Request to work from home as a 1-day test” [For companies skeptical about work from home]
Some companies have not really considered work from home options, so a long term telecommuting scenario may feel impossible. Use this template to ease them into the idea of working from home. Regardless of the news cycle, it’s always a good idea to stress test a business’ systems and processes.
[Greeting]
In light of recent news about how many companies are asking employees to work from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic, I’d like to suggest having our team test out working from home for a day.
I understand we’re not sure if we can sustain a long term work from home scenario, so this one-day experiment could help us stress test our systems just in case. I did some research and found a guide on how we could run the day, if it’s helpful.
Thanks for considering this request, and let me know if you have any questions or concerns.
“Request to work from home for health reasons” [For the immunocompromised]
Some people can’t risk waiting to get the green light to work from home. For those who are immunocompromised, or live with family members who are at greater risk, use this to request work from home status. Share as much or little as you want about your health–these templates are meant to be customized!
[Greeting]
I’d like to request the ability to work from home for personal health reasons. Given how quickly the Coronavirus is spreading and the potential risk it poses to immunocompromised people, I believe I / my family could be at greater risk for [X reasons].
Thanks for considering this request, and let me know if you have any concerns or if I should reach out to someone in HR.
“Request to work from home due to illness” [For when you’re feeling sick or have a sick family member]
Look, if you’re feeling sick, your manager should have no problem with you working from home! Use this template to request to work from home if you’re not feeling well or to care for a sick loved one.
[Greeting]
I’d like to request the ability to work from home because I’m not feeling well / I have a sick family member. I want to make sure I stay away from the rest of the team in case I’m contagious.
Thanks for considering this request, and let me know if you have any concerns or if I should reach out to someone in HR.
Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to work from home, but we hope these templates help you broach the topic with your manager.
If you’re looking for more resources to help your leadership team think strategically about their response to the Coronavirus pandemic, check out these resources.
- Coronavirus Employee Resource Template For Businesses. This is a thorough template for businesses outlining how we’re responding to the outbreak, guidance on how to prevent the spread of illness, official work from home and travel policies, and HR contacts for employees to reach out to.
- How to Test a Work From Home Day with Your Team: A Guide for Managers. This guide walks through a test work from home day to get your team prepared for the possibility of long term remote work.
- Set your remote team up for success by creating an effective remote work policy. This post outlines how to create a remote work policy for your business.
- How managers keep their remote teams productive. A guide for managers to promote productivity as their team works from home.
