It's a family affair
If you're working an eight-hour day with a round-trip commute of an hour plus, odds on you'll be yearning for more you-time. And if you have kids that may mean you're missing out on bedtime stories and goodnight kisses. Thanks to new employment law your employer is obliged to consider flexible working hours for parents with children under six. But here's the rub. Your employer won't offer it, you have to ask for it. And that means doing your research and presenting a persuasive argument.

The hard sell
Smart employers know it makes good business sense to provide flexible working opportunities, but if yours hasn't seen the light you'll need to do a convincing job. Highlight the advantages of retaining skilled staff, reducing recruitment costs, raising staff morale and reducing absenteeism and stress levels. If there is a valid business reason that flexible working will not suit, your employer is entitled to decline.

Options...
Six-month sabbatical anyone? Fancy a four day week? The good news is that there are heaps of ways to flex your working hours and employers are increasingly obliging. Take Boots for example. When they introduced their job-sharing scheme the number of women returning from maternity leave jumped from 7% to 77%.

Shifting core hours courtesy of flexi-time is another boon for the employee, with increasing numbers taking control of their hours to suit their lifestyles. Alternatives are compressing full-time hours into longer working days, such as an 8-6 shift four days a week; working term-time only or school hours working.

Working from home can be a godsend for some. Cutting out the commute and going to work in your PJs is indeed a restful way to start your working day, and with email and the internet we're seeing virtual offices pinging up everywhere. But if you thrive on social interaction, working from home can feel like solitary confinement. Think carefully before you go down this route.