How do I tell my boss I want to leave early?

To tell your boss you want to leave early, consider the following steps:

• Know why you want to leave work early. Before you approach your boss, you should have a good idea why you want to leave in the first place. This allows you build a strong case, prepare you for questions, and reflect on how it will affect your work, your professional relationships, and your career development.

• Consider company policy. Once you know your reason, you want to see how it fits within your company's policy. Hopefully you have a reason that is is explicity or implicity supported by your organization.

• Reflect on your work history. If you constantly ask to leave early, it won't look good to your supervisor. Additionally, your overall punctuality, ability to work producitively, and the affect your absence may have on others, need to be taken into account. If you are known for being an exceptional employee and team player, your chances may be better.

• Ask as soon as possible. The more time your boss can plan for your absence, the more likely they will approve your request. Conversely, a last minute request may get denied slimply because your boss doesn't have time to consider how your absence will affect your work.

• Be polite but direct. Your boss will appreciate a straightforward request with your reasoning. If you ramble or delay getting to the point, you may just end up confusing or annoying your boss.

• Give a legitimate reason. Make sure your reason for leaving work early falls in line with organizational expectations of professionalism. Your excuse to leave work early should be something that your boss can feel comfortable approving.

• Be prepared for your request to be denied. Sometimes circumstances will force your boss to deny your request, even if they may want to approve it. Be ready for this and consider how much it means to you to get this time off. You can either accept their response or prepare to argue your case further.

• Don't do it often, focus on work results. Your professional responsibilities need to take precedence. Make sure you are getting your work done and are not leaving your other coworkers out to dry.