Work life balance: How to negotiate working fewer hours

If you’re thinking of asking your boss to reduce your hours it’s important that you develop a plan that takes your employer’s needs into consideration. This will allow for a productive discussion and help you to achieve a mutually agreeable arrangement.

Open and honest discussion

Try and be as open and honest as you can about why you need to change your working hours. It’s OK if you don’t want to get into too much detail – you can explain that it’s for personal reasons if you like.

If it is something that you can discuss for example, you need the time to care for an a sick relative or to return to education etc., your boss may be more willing to help as they will have a clearer picture of your situation.

Put yourself in your employer's shoes

Consider the needs of your employer and develop a plan to compensate for the lost hours.

Remember that this could be the first time anyone has requested a flexible working arrangement at the company. Make sure that you find out what your employer's particular concerns are, and try to suggest solutions which suit both of you.

Important points to consider when putting your plan together:

• Will your company need to hire more staff or can tasks be distributed to other colleagues?

• Can you start earlier in the morning to compensate for the lost hours?

• Does the business have peak and off-peak times? Perhaps offering to work during peak hours/days will help your case

• Flexi-time: Could you work more days but less hours?

• Is there an option to work from home?

• Can you get your workload done in 30 hours instead of 40 hours?

• Does your employer think your work cannot be done part-time? If possible - make a case for why it can be done with reduced working hours

• Is this a temporary or permanent solution? Could you offer to work fewer hours for a trial period to prove that the new arrangement could work?

• What is your timeline? Giving your boss an adequate amount of time to organise the new arrangement will help facilitate your request

• What would your employer gain by agreeing to your request?

For example:

✅ A happier, less stressed employee

✅ A more productive team member

✅ Higher morale

✅ Retention of a skilled and experienced employee

Schedule a meeting

Schedule a meeting with your manager once you have an explanation and contingency plan in place. Beforehand, it’s a good idea to email your boss regarding the matter so he/she has time to prepare. Being caught off guard may put your boss under stress and could increase the probability of a negative response.

Be willing to negotiate with your boss to develop alternative solutions if he/she is unable to meet your initial request. A happy medium can be found through open and honest discussion.

If you can present a solid argument to the company why working reduced hours would be a benefit to yourself and the company, you're more likely to be successful with your request.

All the best with your master plan for a better work-life balance!