What you need to do to convince your job for more hours!

In today's competitive and fast-paced work environment, many employees wish for more hours in their schedules, especially with rising prices. Nothing is as cheap as it used to be, and this is causing a struggle in our environment. The need for new hours has increased drastically. This desire could stem from financial needs, career advancement, financial goals, or even the desire to complete one's day with more productivity than at home. While asking for more hours might feel intimidating, an effective approach can make this conversation more effective. This article highlights essential strategies you can use when requesting your hours most respectfully and efficiently.

Recognize your value

Before approaching your scheduling manager, reflect on your contributions to the workplace. Understand your position and worth. Figure out if you need to improve your ability to advocate confidently and reasonably for more hours. Consider your skills and attributes, such as how often you show up early for work or how commonly you are endorsed for your actions. If you note this importance and are as honest as possible, you will improve your chances of getting more hours.

According to Hrcloud (https://www.hrcloud.com/blog/20-employee-engagement-statistics-you-need-to-know), there is an 81% decrease in absences with more employee engagement. By giving you more hours, they can worry less about callouts and have a more reliable employee who will be there when they need it. Suppose you argue that your presence improves the workplace mood for the rest of your coworkers. In that case, you can make it convincing that your presence will prevent absences from others, improving your chances. Using your value and performance to your advantage will allow you to move up in your job and gain more hours.

Show Respect and Professionalism

Respect and professionalism are crucial when discussing your needs. Scheduling conversations about hours can be sensitive. From personal experience, the best approach for more

hours is to build a relationship with the scheduling manager first. Talk to your manager as if they are a peer (but with respect). Ask that manager about their day, how they feel about work, what they need help with concerning work, give positive feedback on their performance, and be active in social activities with them. After you build a relationship with them, approach them professionally, explaining your situation and why you need more hours.

Your request should come from a tone of gratefulness and openness, not entitlement. They are not required to give you more hours; chances are, by giving you more hours, they are taking from someone else. You must come toward them with your best and humbled self. Actively listen to your manager's response. Be receptive, show that you respect their authority, and take their reasons for whatever response they give to the fullest, because you may need to use the knowledge for the future to gain more hours if you weren't successful the first time or to maintain hours if you were successful.

Build Your Confidence

Confidence is essential in everything, especially when asking for something from authority. Speak clearly and assertively, not aggressively. Practice and visualize the situation as much as you need to. Take an open stance when talking to them, make eye contact, and carry your voice with clarity. Remember that you can make a difference if you execute the conversation correctly.

Not me, just a business woman used to represent confidence (:

For example, when I asked my manager for more hours, I approached her with a positive mood and had common conversations with her. Instead of requesting hours in person, I asked for more hours by letter since I could review and control my tone in writing more than in speech. In the letter, I maintain a confident tone, illustrating my reliability and performance, declaring I am beneficial to the team and more hours will benefit the workplace and myself. At previous jobs, I took a similar approach in person and received more hours. The fact you asked for more hours in the first place shows confidence and will put you on the map, at least. Therefore, you will be called in more, if not scheduled, hours, and even though it is not ideal, you can use those call-ins as a strong point in a future conversation for scheduling. Make the best out of your situation, no matter where you stand.

Demonstrate Performance Improvement

Separate yourself from the rest, actively show that you are putting in effort, and get things done fast. Work is a competition, unfortunate as it sounds, and you need to show that you are more valuable than someone else on the clock. That means keeping your productivity high, maintaining a positive and upbeat attitude, keeping stations clean, and being satisfied in all areas of your work.

One of the best ways you can improve performance is by acting as a leader. That doesn't mean walking into work and pretending to be a manager or in a higher position than everyone. It means that you should communicate with your coworkers, guide those struggling, and work in a way that helps the entire workplace. It is highly noticeable to others when one can see you doing your job and carrying others. This change will be crucial to your argument for more hours in the future.

Build Good Relationships with Coworkers

While work is work, building relationships with your coworkers is important. Help them out when needed and treat them with the utmost respect. Treat them like how you want to be treated. Suppose you build a good relationship with your coworkers. In that case, this opens the possibility of others putting in a good word for you or even offering you their shifts first when they need to find cover. Once again, it's not as ideal as being scheduled in advance, but you can use it to your advantage. Plus, you need the money, right?

Offer Flexibility

Looks cool! right?!

Updating your availability to be more flexible can increase your chances of getting more hours. You don't need to do it as extreme as I, who worked holidays and overnight shifts. However, putting a wide range of your days available to your manager gives them more room to work with when giving you more hours. If you don't mind taking opening or closing shifts, make sure to openly tell your manager, as those are the shifts that people tend not to prefer. Providing your availability for the weekends can also go to your advantage since others prefer to have the weekends off. Overall, the more available you are, the better your chances are.

Follow Up

Follow up with your manager if nothing changes. Don't be afraid to constantly share your need for more hours. You don't want to be annoying, so you may not be outside their house holding a sign that says, "Please, give me more hours," but be as vocal as you need to get your desired hours. You must speak up to get what you need.

It may feel like this!

Have multiple conversations with your manager and show your dedication and improvements at each one. Sooner or later, if you have been actively improving and communicating, your manager will award you more hours. If not...

You can keep doing what I do until they do. Whenever I was in need of hours and couldn't quite wait, I would go out and text coworkers themselves, asking if I could cover their shifts. You are surprised how many people want a day off occasionally. I once went from 8 hours to 40 hours in a week from purely covering coworkers and did it consistently. I did it so much that managers added me to the schedule cause they assumed I was going to show up anyway.

When you need money, you need to be willing to go above and beyond to get it. That means following up with conversations, taking the initiative, and doing the extras. It will pay you back over time; trust me, it has done so for me numerous times.

Conclusion: How to convince your job for more hours

Asking for more hours may appear scary, but when you need money, putting those fears aside and working on gaining more hours is most beneficial. When you are in a position of financial insecurity or need money for a specific thing in a short time, you need to be willing to put your all in to get those hours. Many may say that work is work and that you shouldn't put a lot into it for work-life balance.

However, I'll tell you a secret. When you dominate work and take the best out of it, it will lead to a better life, creating a better balance. If you half-effort to do your job, you won't get the hours you need, and less money will cause you to struggle outside of work. If you exceed at your job, you will get the hours you deserve; this will allow you to afford more things outside of work and may even aid you in things such as building credit or obtaining loans. (income can be used for some loans like auto loans if the credit score is not ideal.)

So remember, the first step is asking for more hours. Once you ask, you are on the map, and they know you are interested in more work. While you wait, preferably before you even ask, increase your effort and show higher performance. Over time, follow up until you have the hours you desire. Be respectful, always. Cover coworkers if needed and keep trying. If all fails, it is time for a second job. I have been there, and there are benefits to it. Don't be afraid of that route. However, let's hope I don't get there.

So, next time you think about asking for additional hours, remember these strategies. They are your guide to more hours and a bigger paycheck. This is how you convince your job for more hours!

Weird Calendar.

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