This is especially true at law firms and investment banks and high-profile corporations, and it’s one reason why some blue chip firms have been so slow to offer anything resembling a healthy work-life balance. “It’s a problem because many of the firms just don’t want to let the client know their attorney is work­ing less […]

Your boss may well be concerned that managing employees who come in nine-to-five is so much more simple than managing in­dividual work arrangements and that your flexible plan may well mean more work for him. That’s why some of the biggest flextime skeptics are the middle managers, who will have to handle a lot of […]

Workplace expert Tory Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire, says some in-person time is important to many employers. “I do think that there are benefits for all of our careers and for our personal growth and development to have access to meetings,” she explains. “You get a chance to demonstrate your skills and your knowledge […]

“What happens if I think Emily is great and I want to keep her so I give her the precious telecommute she asks for, but Anna isn’t so great, so I don’t want to accommodate her schedule?” is a similar boss concern. Valerie Jarrett says that’s exactly what she found when she was running Habitat. […]

We’ve told you your boss will want to know you will be as pro­ductive, if not more so. Therefore, when you work your own schedule it is even more important to be able to assess results. So reassure your boss by giving her concrete suggestions for measuring your performance, even when you are not in […]

• New managers need training and development. If you reduce your workload you can pass on a valuable opportunity to someone else. If you can sell this as a win-win you are almost guaranteed a positive reception. Kathleen Christensen has a useful mental tip here. When you’re negotiating your new deal, think of it in […]

Tell your boss why you want this change. Say how much you love your work but that you need more control over your time. Then provide evidence for how the new situation will not detract from your performance; indeed you believe the company will benefit because you will be less stressed and more committed to […]

Bosses are worriers. They can’t help it. Bear with them. When it comes to granting flexibility we’ve found most of their concerns boil down to that one simple question: How will I know you won’t just play with the kids and lounge around at home on the company’s payroll eating Doritos all day? We know, […]

Decide beforehand exactly what you want your work life to look like and write it down. We’ve given you quite a few examples in this book of different women working different ways. There are literally thousands of schedule permutations. Before you put draw up your ideal, here are a few lifestyle issues to think of. […]

That never is serious advice. We mean never. You cannot negoti­ate something as important as your whole work life in the heat of anger. But let’s face it, this is an issue that gets our hormones going and our emotions raised. Imagine you’ve had a really bad day, one of those days when you felt […]