How to ask your boss for more work

Make a list of reasons you should receive more work. First, list why you think you can handle a larger workload. You should seek to create a document, email, or presentation containing your reasons and all the information we'll discuss. For your reasons, you might include items like:

• You finish your current tasks too quickly, leaving you with nothing to do

• You think you could contribute to other areas outside of your job description

• You are a top performer on your team or in your department

Try to keep your list of reasons concise. A good idea is to create a numbered or bullet-point list. You might order this list in terms of priority.

Identify your skills, talents, and expertise that backs up this claim. Next, you should list your demonstrable skills, talents, and expertise.

This list will vary depending on what type of work you do and the extra workload you are asking for from your boss. However, you should tailor your demonstrable skills to the requested extra work.

Give your boss evidence that backs up your reasoning. You should try to provide your boss with evidence or data that supports your argument. This might include data gleaned from similar completed projects, feedback from coworkers who have had similar assignments, or research you have done.

You should also point to relevant documents like past performance reviews or evaluations.

Schedule a meeting with your boss. Schedule a meeting with your boss to give them this presentation or review your document if possible. An in-person approach will likely have a better chance of granting your request.

After you meet with your boss, if you still don't have a firm answer, you should email them the document so they can review it again.

Be specific about the type of work you want to take on. During the meeting with your boss, you must be as specific as possible regarding the extra work you want to do.

Again, try to align this with your skills and interests. You should point to specific company projects or objectives to which you think you would bring much value.

Ask for guidance. You should also try to ask for guidance from your boss concerning this matter. If you present your case professionally, you might be instrumental in helping find more appropriate tasks to take on.