Do these sound like things only other people can do?Is the freedom to change how, when, why, and where you work something that a lucky few have achieved,rather than something within your grasp? In Work+Life,Call Williams Yost shows how you can do it too. Over the last ten years, she’s worked with thousands of employ- ees and managers, helping facilitate arrangements like these. She has consulted to Fortune 500 companies, as well as coached individuals, and from this experience has developed the comprehensive 3 Step Work+Life process.

Even though they had never seen anyone else do it,they asked. Two women bond traders on Wall Street now share one job. A young attorney works nights from home so that he can take a day off each week to drive his mother to the doctor’s; the evening bill- able hours keep him on the partner track. An office man- ager goes to work a half-hour early each morning so that he can coach his daughter’s soccer team on Thursday afternoons. It’s a small change that makes a big difference.

Do these sound like things only other people can do?Is the freedom to change how, when, why, and where you work something that a lucky few have achieved,rather than something within your grasp? In Work+Life,Call Williams Yost shows how you can do it too. Over the last ten years, she’s worked with thousands of employ- ees and managers, helping facilitate arrangements like these. She has consulted to Fortune 500 companies, as well as coached individuals, and from this experience has developed the comprehensive 3 Step Work+Life process.

 Step 1 helps you get rid of such misconceptions as "1 can only ask for the kind of flexibility that’s listed in my company’s work/life brochure," or "Flexible schedules are just for working mothers."

 Step 2 shows you how you can get past the com mon roadblocks. Maybe you want to slow down to semi retirement, but can’t imagine reporting to someone who used to work for you. Yost will help you redefine success. Maybe your manager is worried that if she lets you work from home on Mondays, everyone will want to do it. Yost will help you address her resistance. Maybe you’re afraid of stepping off the fast track, or simply afraid to ask for what you want. Yost will help you face those fears and overcome them.

 Step 3 guides you through the Work+Life road map to figure out what you really want, and how to get it. You’ll analyze your personal realities and the specific demands of your job in order to create a Work+Life plan that takes your needs and goals into account, and makes business sense for your company. Yost, an MBA who strongly believes that flexibility is good for business, will show you how to build the business case to back up your plan. She will coach you all the way from writing a formal proposal to present to your manager, to effectively negotiating that proposal, to managing coworkers’expectations, to preparing for a six-month review of your new flexible arrangement.

Work doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing. There are countless creative ways to fit work into your life that make good business sense. Dozens of inspiring success stories demonstrate how effective the 3 Steps have been, again and again. If you’re thinking, "I’m afraid," "1 can’t afford it," or "1 have too much work," don’t worry, you are just like everyone else. All you need to do is open this book. The promise is no less than the freedom to live your life the way you want to live it.

  Foreword

  Introduction: How Do You Find a Better Way

    to Fit Work into Your Life?

  What Is Work+Life Fit?

    Step 1 The Work+Life Fit Fundamentals

 1 Taking the Initiative

 2 Seeing the Possibilities

 3 Asking and Getting to Yes

 4 Believing You Add Value

 5 Making the Business Case

 6 Knowing That Your Reason Is a Good Reason

 7 Being Flexible

8 Being Patient and Persistent

     Step 2 The Work+Life Fit Roadblocks

9 The Success Roadblock

10 The Fear Roadblock

11 The Resistance Roadblock

12 The In-the-Box-Thinking Roadblock

      Step 3 The Work+Life Fit Roadmap

13 Creating a Vision

14 The Tools You Need

15 Putting It All Together

16 Making Your Vision a Reality

17 Company Work/Life Policies

18 Job Tasks, Workload, and Scheduling

19 Corporate Culture

20 Work Style

21 Personal Finances

22 Career and Personal Expectations

23 Child Care and Elder Care

24 Your Partner’s Reality and Expectations

25 Building Your Business Case

26 Proposing Your Work+Life Fit

27 Negotiating Your Work+Life Fit

28 Implementing Your Work+Life Fit

 Work+Life Fit "Quick Fix" Checklist

 Resource Section

 Working Mother Magazine’s Top 100

    Companies for Working Mothers 2003

 Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies

    to Work For 2003

 Notes