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Asking his boss earned a 50% raise
Why he wanted out
His job was in D.C., but his friends, including his best friend, were all in New York. He could have emailed his two weeks' notice, and he was scared of the conversation, but he booked time with his boss instead.
The conversation
He told his boss he liked the job and the people, that he was unhappy in D.C., and that being happy mattered enough to him that he had to move. Then he asked what would be best for the company: working remotely, or staying a couple of months to train his replacement before leaving for New York.
How it ended
They ended up with Charlie working remotely, the first person in his position to do it. Because he switched from employee to contractor, he also got a 50% raise.
Why do contractors cost companies more per hour?
Employers usually pay payroll taxes and benefits costs for employees, and those costs mostly disappear when the same person is hired as a contractor. A contractor's rate therefore tends to be higher to cover what the employer no longer provides, such as insurance and retirement contributions. Contractors also pay self-employment taxes themselves, which is part of why their hourly rates are set higher. The gap between the two arrangements is built into how each is taxed and regulated.
Why would a company agree to remote work?
Replacing an employee is expensive. Gallup has estimated that the cost of replacing a worker ranges from about half to two times that person's annual salary, counting recruiting, training, and lost productivity. Keeping an experienced person who works from another city can cost less than finding and training someone new. That arithmetic is one reason managers accept arrangements they would not have offered up front.
Why does asking beat announcing a resignation?
The 1981 book Getting to Yes, by Roger Fisher and William Ury of the Harvard Negotiation Project, argued that negotiators do better when they focus on each side's interests instead of fixed positions. A question like how to make something work for both sides invites the other person to solve a problem alongside you. An announcement leaves them only the choice of accepting or objecting. The book became one of the most widely used references in negotiation training.
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