Get What You Want at Work

There comes a point when every employee thinks to himself or herself: “I sure wish I had a (fill in the blank).”

Get your Employer to Buy What you Want

Nearly everyone is on a budget these days. That includes your organization. Whether there is a decrease or an increase in sales volume or dollars, sticking to a budget is a necessary part of conducting business. A budget keeps an organization from spending too much in one area and not spending appropriately in other areas. How is an individual, like you, supposed to get what you want to make your 40-plus-hour-a-week work life as endurable as possible?

Ultimately, you want to Save the Organization Money

Simply put, the purpose of any for-profit business is to make money, and a goal of a non-profit is to use its resources frugally. Anything that will cut costs is a good thing. Prove that what you want could reasonably eliminate or reduce expenditures in other areas, and you will present a win-win situation for you and your employer.

Let us examine what could happen if you, someone who works on the computer all day long, wanted a seventy-dollar, ergonomic, computer mouse. A positive discussion about the research you have collected reveals that the mouse you want will naturally coordinate hand and wrist movements in a less physically stressful manner. Less stress will result in fewer complaints about your aching wrists, complaints which will result in unscheduled visits to the doctor during working hours.

On the one hand, your employer is faced with finding coverage for you and your unscheduled hours, duly paying you under the time-off policy (assuming you have time remaining to use as paid time off), and possible restrictions on your productivity after your visit to the doctor for an undetermined amount of time. On the other hand, there is a seventy-dollar mouse with your name on it.

Ultimately, you Want to Save the Organization Time

Remember the adage: time is money. Therefore, any positive discussion about saving time will enhance a discussion for saving money. Prove that what you want could reasonably make a process more efficient or less time consuming, and you will present another win-win situation.

Continuing with the ergonomic mouse example, your studies may reveal that design features were proven to extend average time used. For you, it could mean the possibility of producing more work for your employer.

Yes, you can Research

Research is less scary than it sounds. In the case of the ergonomic mouse, the research could be as simple as reading the back of the mouse’s packaging or asking questions at your local computer retailer. Research could entail entering a few key words on your internet’s search engine. You could even ask questions of your physician to see what he or she may recommend for wrist problems. Research is merely used for gaining back up for your position.

There are plenty of things that we will request and not get this fiscal year. However, if you can show how what you want will save your organization time or money (or both), you will be more successful than you can imagine at getting what you want.