I assume that there is a major problem with moving closer to work, otherwise you would have done so by now.
I would have a formal meeting with your chief of staff/head of HR and point out the value add in remote work. Cite the body of research on the subject, and make sure to stress the value in employee retention with a subtle (or no so subtle) implication that you're one of those retention cases.
Make sure you address management style changes for remote work. It will be a training opportunity for many managers. Make sure you account for the costs of training.
Once those points are out there, security becomes the primary concern. Do your research and give them real costs.
Sell them on the value and productivity increases that happen because of the remote option. There are costs involved, however, there are benefits that easily create an ROI. Give the benefits in hard financial numbers, including the reduction in turnover costs, employee acquisition costs, and better indicators than clock-in/clock-out for productivity measurements. Give examples from other parts of the business than just IT. (Remember that many people take sick leave who wouldn't need to if there is a remote option.)
Your objective is to get Staffing on your side. That will go a long way to prevailing upon the rest of upper management.
With the right political maneuvering, you are showing that you are ready for a seat at the table. By both convincing upper management that the benefits of a remote friendly workplace outweigh the costs to maintain and executing on such a large culture shifting project, you are showing your value in greater strategic planning.
Once the project starts showing a positive return, propose an IT dept structural re-org. Separate Dev from Ops, with a small slice of DevOps to go between. Add a Sec focused group to protect the company's assets. With the new layer of management, they will need a C-suite to report to, which naturally should be you.
When you're at the top, expand the base to grow. When you have pain points, chances are you're not alone. Politics may not be your strongest suit, but you have a valuable, strong working relationship with these people. Use your influence to alleviate your pain points.
To make sure that you keep your hand in the technical, start side projects in all that free time you'll have as a remote leader.
Yeah, even 'close' to work still has a bad commute, and the prices skyrocket.
I do intend to bring the situation up with my superiors at work. Due to my position, I don't know if merely handing in a 2-weeks notice would be fair to them. I'm also considering negotiating a severance of a few months' salary in return for a few months' notice of leave.
You're right that even though I don't think they'd go for a telework deal, there's no harm in asking, and better to leave no stone unturned.
One part that I haven't figured out yet though, is how to replace my professional career growth. I really feel that my immediate boss doesn't have much to offer me in this capacity... and he's the source of all my work-related stress. He can be pretty hard to deal with. For more backstory- roughly 30% of the department under him has quit since he's been assigned in charge.
I would have a formal meeting with your chief of staff/head of HR and point out the value add in remote work. Cite the body of research on the subject, and make sure to stress the value in employee retention with a subtle (or no so subtle) implication that you're one of those retention cases.
Make sure you address management style changes for remote work. It will be a training opportunity for many managers. Make sure you account for the costs of training.
Once those points are out there, security becomes the primary concern. Do your research and give them real costs.
Sell them on the value and productivity increases that happen because of the remote option. There are costs involved, however, there are benefits that easily create an ROI. Give the benefits in hard financial numbers, including the reduction in turnover costs, employee acquisition costs, and better indicators than clock-in/clock-out for productivity measurements. Give examples from other parts of the business than just IT. (Remember that many people take sick leave who wouldn't need to if there is a remote option.)
Your objective is to get Staffing on your side. That will go a long way to prevailing upon the rest of upper management.
With the right political maneuvering, you are showing that you are ready for a seat at the table. By both convincing upper management that the benefits of a remote friendly workplace outweigh the costs to maintain and executing on such a large culture shifting project, you are showing your value in greater strategic planning.
Once the project starts showing a positive return, propose an IT dept structural re-org. Separate Dev from Ops, with a small slice of DevOps to go between. Add a Sec focused group to protect the company's assets. With the new layer of management, they will need a C-suite to report to, which naturally should be you.
When you're at the top, expand the base to grow. When you have pain points, chances are you're not alone. Politics may not be your strongest suit, but you have a valuable, strong working relationship with these people. Use your influence to alleviate your pain points.
To make sure that you keep your hand in the technical, start side projects in all that free time you'll have as a remote leader.