1
00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:09,680
Speaker 1: Good morning, This is law. Welcome to the New Corner Office,

2
00:00:10,119 --> 00:00:12,840
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the

3
00:00:12,840 --> 00:00:16,160
Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more

4
00:00:16,160 --> 00:00:20,040
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is that it

5
00:00:20,079 --> 00:00:22,400
Speaker 1: doesn't hurt to ask for what you need from your

6
00:00:22,440 --> 00:00:25,440
Speaker 1: bosses and colleagues. They're more likely to say yes than

7
00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,640
Speaker 1: you think, and people generally aren't angry about reasonable requests.

8
00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:32,839
Speaker 1: In any job, there will be times when you'd like

9
00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:36,120
Speaker 1: to request something from your boss or co workers. Perhaps

10
00:00:36,120 --> 00:00:39,000
Speaker 1: a project is taking you longer than you anticipated and

11
00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:41,720
Speaker 1: you'd like to move your deadline, or maybe you'd like

12
00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,680
Speaker 1: to shift your work hours so that you and your

13
00:00:43,720 --> 00:00:47,440
Speaker 1: spouse can balance your work from home schedules. Making these

14
00:00:47,440 --> 00:00:51,479
Speaker 1: requests can be nerve racking. Many of us fear asking

15
00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:56,440
Speaker 1: too much, offending someone, demonstrating a lack of commitment, or

16
00:00:56,480 --> 00:00:59,760
Speaker 1: even putting our jobs in jeopardy. This fear can be

17
00:00:59,800 --> 00:01:02,440
Speaker 1: enough to prevent us from asking in the first place,

18
00:01:03,400 --> 00:01:06,360
Speaker 1: and this is too bad, because research suggests that we

19
00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,240
Speaker 1: actually don't need to worry so much about asking for

20
00:01:09,280 --> 00:01:13,600
Speaker 1: what we want. People tend to overestimate the costs and

21
00:01:13,840 --> 00:01:18,160
Speaker 1: underestimate the benefits of doing so. One study published in

22
00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:21,440
Speaker 1: twenty nine found that people tend to avoid asking for

23
00:01:21,480 --> 00:01:25,480
Speaker 1: extensions on project deadlines because they're afraid that asking will

24
00:01:25,480 --> 00:01:30,200
Speaker 1: make their supervisors view them as incompetent. So instead of

25
00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:33,840
Speaker 1: asking for extra time, people submit less than ideal work

26
00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,360
Speaker 1: that's done in a rush. Guess what's likely to make

27
00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,920
Speaker 1: you look incompetent, right, So this is incredibly shortsighted because

28
00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:45,080
Speaker 1: the same study found that when people asked for extensions,

29
00:01:45,600 --> 00:01:50,680
Speaker 1: they were granted of the time, and supervisors actually viewed

30
00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:55,120
Speaker 1: the employees who asked for extensions as more motivated. They

31
00:01:55,200 --> 00:01:58,520
Speaker 1: seemed like capable communicators who are on top of their

32
00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:01,960
Speaker 1: workflow and who didn't want to turn in shoddy work.

33
00:02:03,160 --> 00:02:06,640
Speaker 1: This suggests that failing to ask means subjecting ourselves to

34
00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:12,160
Speaker 1: unnecessary stress. Another study, which examined how supervisors from fortune

35
00:02:12,760 --> 00:02:16,440
Speaker 1: companies responded to employees work life balance requests, found that

36
00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:19,800
Speaker 1: the employee's requests were accommodated fifty percent of the time.

37
00:02:20,600 --> 00:02:24,800
Speaker 1: Not bad. Of course, some requests feel more significant than others.

38
00:02:25,280 --> 00:02:27,960
Speaker 1: I know that asking to work reduced hours, for instance,

39
00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:33,040
Speaker 1: can be a particularly fraught conversation. However, research suggests that

40
00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:35,800
Speaker 1: a few key variables affect how likely employers are to

41
00:02:35,840 --> 00:02:39,400
Speaker 1: respond favorably to this type of request. Employers may be

42
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:42,440
Speaker 1: more likely to approve part time requests from employees who

43
00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:45,280
Speaker 1: perform at a high level, who would be tough to replace,

44
00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:49,160
Speaker 1: who have a strong network of professional connections, and who

45
00:02:49,240 --> 00:02:52,200
Speaker 1: imply that they would leave if the request is denied.

46
00:02:53,080 --> 00:02:56,119
Speaker 1: As with much in life, the more career capital you have,

47
00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,320
Speaker 1: the better off you are. In any case, is if

48
00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,280
Speaker 1: you're worried about making a request, it might help to

49
00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:07,200
Speaker 1: imagine the situation reversed if a colleague asked for something

50
00:03:07,280 --> 00:03:11,760
Speaker 1: reasonable and specific, you do what you could right. As

51
00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:16,040
Speaker 1: for your supervisor, just know this, hiring and training employees

52
00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:21,239
Speaker 1: is incredibly time consuming and stressful. If you're a high performer,

53
00:03:21,760 --> 00:03:25,000
Speaker 1: your boss is utterly terrified that you're going to be

54
00:03:25,080 --> 00:03:29,240
Speaker 1: unhappy and leave. You have way more leverage than you think.

55
00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,280
Speaker 1: Right now, the working world is undergoing a significant amount

56
00:03:33,320 --> 00:03:37,200
Speaker 1: of upheaval. Your supervisor or colleagues maybe even more open

57
00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:41,120
Speaker 1: to granting requests for unusual hours or nontraditional setups than before.

58
00:03:42,080 --> 00:03:44,320
Speaker 1: So next time you're waffling on whether to ask for

59
00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:47,240
Speaker 1: a change you've been dreaming about, go ahead and try.

60
00:03:48,000 --> 00:03:51,960
Speaker 1: You're highly likely to get what you want. In the meantime,

61
00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:56,080
Speaker 1: this is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding

62
00:03:56,440 --> 00:04:03,160
Speaker 1: in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office is

63
00:04:03,160 --> 00:04:06,720
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit

64
00:04:06,760 --> 00:04:09,880
Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you

65
00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:12,280
Speaker 1: get your favorite shows. H