Speaker 1: Good morning, This is law. Welcome to the New Corner Office,
Speaker 1: the podcast where we share strategies for thriving in the
Speaker 1: new world of work, where location and hours are more
Speaker 1: flexible than in the past. Today's tip is that it
Speaker 1: doesn't hurt to ask for what you need from your
Speaker 1: bosses and colleagues. They're more likely to say yes than
Speaker 1: you think, and people generally aren't angry about reasonable requests.
Speaker 1: In any job, there will be times when you'd like
Speaker 1: to request something from your boss or co workers. Perhaps
Speaker 1: a project is taking you longer than you anticipated and
Speaker 1: you'd like to move your deadline, or maybe you'd like
Speaker 1: to shift your work hours so that you and your
Speaker 1: spouse can balance your work from home schedules. Making these
Speaker 1: requests can be nerve racking. Many of us fear asking
Speaker 1: too much, offending someone, demonstrating a lack of commitment, or
Speaker 1: even putting our jobs in jeopardy. This fear can be
Speaker 1: enough to prevent us from asking in the first place,
Speaker 1: and this is too bad, because research suggests that we
Speaker 1: actually don't need to worry so much about asking for
Speaker 1: what we want. People tend to overestimate the costs and
Speaker 1: underestimate the benefits of doing so. One study published in
Speaker 1: twenty nine found that people tend to avoid asking for
Speaker 1: extensions on project deadlines because they're afraid that asking will
Speaker 1: make their supervisors view them as incompetent. So instead of
Speaker 1: asking for extra time, people submit less than ideal work
Speaker 1: that's done in a rush. Guess what's likely to make
Speaker 1: you look incompetent, right, So this is incredibly shortsighted because
Speaker 1: the same study found that when people asked for extensions,
Speaker 1: they were granted of the time, and supervisors actually viewed
Speaker 1: the employees who asked for extensions as more motivated. They
Speaker 1: seemed like capable communicators who are on top of their
Speaker 1: workflow and who didn't want to turn in shoddy work.
Speaker 1: This suggests that failing to ask means subjecting ourselves to
Speaker 1: unnecessary stress. Another study, which examined how supervisors from fortune
Speaker 1: companies responded to employees work life balance requests, found that
Speaker 1: the employee's requests were accommodated fifty percent of the time.
Speaker 1: Not bad. Of course, some requests feel more significant than others.
Speaker 1: I know that asking to work reduced hours, for instance,
Speaker 1: can be a particularly fraught conversation. However, research suggests that
Speaker 1: a few key variables affect how likely employers are to
Speaker 1: respond favorably to this type of request. Employers may be
Speaker 1: more likely to approve part time requests from employees who
Speaker 1: perform at a high level, who would be tough to replace,
Speaker 1: who have a strong network of professional connections, and who
Speaker 1: imply that they would leave if the request is denied.
Speaker 1: As with much in life, the more career capital you have,
Speaker 1: the better off you are. In any case, is if
Speaker 1: you're worried about making a request, it might help to
Speaker 1: imagine the situation reversed if a colleague asked for something
Speaker 1: reasonable and specific, you do what you could right. As
Speaker 1: for your supervisor, just know this, hiring and training employees
Speaker 1: is incredibly time consuming and stressful. If you're a high performer,
Speaker 1: your boss is utterly terrified that you're going to be
Speaker 1: unhappy and leave. You have way more leverage than you think.
Speaker 1: Right now, the working world is undergoing a significant amount
Speaker 1: of upheaval. Your supervisor or colleagues maybe even more open
Speaker 1: to granting requests for unusual hours or nontraditional setups than before.
Speaker 1: So next time you're waffling on whether to ask for
Speaker 1: a change you've been dreaming about, go ahead and try.
Speaker 1: You're highly likely to get what you want. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: this is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's the succeeding
Speaker 1: in the New Corner Office. The New Corner Office is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts, visit
Speaker 1: the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
Speaker 1: get your favorite shows. H