A reader writes:
I currently have an offer for an internal transfer to a different division in my company — same level but new team and scope of work. I’m planning on negotiating the salary offered (using some of your advice from prior letters!) which I would obviously want in writing, but I’m wondering if some of my other asks (number of days in the office, specific hours in the office) should also be in writing?
Ultimately, with an at-will job in which case the employer can always change the scope/requirements whenever they want, is there even a point to getting certain flexibilities in writing? For an exempt, salaried position, I’ve never seen work arrangements specified, so would it be reasonable to ask for it to be written as part of the offer?
You should get it in writing.
That’s not because putting it in writing will make it legally binding. In most cases in the U.S., it won’t. As you noted, employers can still change the terms of your employment at any time (unless you have a contract, which most U.S. workers don’t).
But putting it in writing still significantly increases the likelihood that the terms of your employment will be what you agreed to.
First and foremost, it protects you against misunderstandings and miscommunications (like you think you’re agreeing to two WFH days a week, but they think it’s up to two WFH days per week, subject to manager approval) or even people just forgetting details down the road. It’s also useful to have a record of the agreement if there are personnel changes — like if a decision-maker promises you a salary review in six months but leaves the company after three months and no one else knows anything about that conversation. They still might not ultimately abide by it, but having documentation of what was agreed to makes it more likely.
Second, the act of writing this stuff down can bring misunderstandings to the surface before anything is finalized. For example, if you said X but they understood it as Y, putting it in writing is likely to make everyone realize that you’re not on the same page, thus giving you the opportunity to iron it out before it’s too late.
Third, getting it written down can sometimes signal to an employer, “Oh wait, we had better really think this through.” People shouldn’t make promises off the cuff without fully thinking them through, but sometimes they do — which is how you end up starting a job thinking they agreed you could bring your parrot in but then find out it’s a no-go once after they actually check with someone. Just the act of asking to put something in writing can nudge people to make sure they really have all the sign-off’s they’ll need.
Some companies are very rigid about what they will and won’t put in an offer letter and won’t budge from their normal boilerplate to add in additional details, even when they’re sincere about whatever they’re agreeing to. If you’re dealing with an employer like that, try simply summarizing the agreement in an email yourself — framing it as, “I wanted to summarize the details we’ve discussed. Would you look this over and confirm this looks right to you?” (And if they won’t even do that much, take that as a sign that the agreement may not be as firm as you thought.)
