By Susan Seitel, president of Work & Family Connection

As a manager, you may have employees come to you with flexible-work-arrangement proposals. When they do, it's generally in your company's best interests to consider business needs, to ask how the work will be done — and to be flexible and ready to compromise.

As you approach these employee proposals, keep in mind the many myths about flexible work arrangements.

Here are some of these myths.

Myth: If I allow one employee to reduce his or her hours, everyone will want the same arrangement.

Fact: A reduction in the number of hours worked means lower earnings, and most employees cannot afford to reduce their hours. According to Fortune magazine's list "100 Best Companies to Work For 2000," only 2% of professional employees of companies in the list were part-timers. Only 10% of hourly or administrative workers were part-timers.

Myth: An employee who's not working a traditional schedule is not productive.

Fact: A 1997 study by Catalyst, a leading research and advisory organization focusing on women in the workplace, looked at 24 women, focusing on voluntary part-time professionals (85% of whom were in middle to upper management) at four representative organizations: a Fortune 100 pharmaceutical company, a Fortune 100 technology company, a leading law firm, and a leading consulting firm. Each woman had reduced her workload 11 years earlier and now held a mid-level or senior-level position. Half the women had gone back to work full-time, and half were still working part-time. The study also found that part-timers were nearly as productive (in absolute terms — that is, in volume of work completed) as their full-time colleagues.

Furthermore, study after study has found that part-time employees are as committed as or more committed than full-time employees to the company. Company loyalty is usually enhanced because the company went out of its way for the part-time employee.

If an employee is working under a flexible arrangement, make sure that the work being done is measurable, and focus on results to determine whether an employee is productive. If not, alter or end the arrangement.

Myth: A team cannot be a team unless team members work in the same place at the same time.

Fact: With the advent of technology and global companies, global work forces, and the Internet, team members can — and often do — reside and work anywhere in the world. They can be in many time zones. Communications can be face-to-face, on the phone, by voice mail, by fax, or by e-mail. Although teamwork may be more difficult, it can succeed with careful planning and good communication.

Myth: If I let employees work when I'm not there, I will have no way to know whether they are working.

Fact: How do you know they're working now? Just because someone looks like they're working hard doesn't mean it's on company business. An employee could be studying the odds in preparation for placing a bet or planning a vacation.

Those who manage flexible work arrangements say that it makes them better managers, because it requires them to make jobs measurable and to learn to focus on results and outcomes.

Set up a pilot program to test flexible work arrangements

If you're not sure how well flexible work arrangements would work in your company, consider trying a pilot arrangement. With those who participate, discuss how their jobs are getting done. How might they be done more efficiently? What tasks are being duplicated? What could be eliminated? Set goals, asking what success would look like for each stakeholder. Determine how that success will be measured.

Establish a trial period (for three to six months). Create a communications plan that addresses how and when participants will communicate, particularly if team members are working different hours. Use all the technology available to maintain contact.

The pilot may fail, and people might be disillusioned. Address that up-front. If it happens, will it keep you from trying again? Or will you just learn from your mistakes and try again?

Finally, put it all in writing, so everyone knows what to expect.

If you don't feel you have enough time to set up a pilot, consider this: With the potential for reduced overhead, less employee time spent commuting, and higher morale, flexible work arrangements may, in the long run, save you time — and money.

About the author   Susan Seitel, president of Work & Family Connection, is one of the nation's leading pioneers in the field of work/life balance. A founding board member of the Alliance for Work-Life Progress, she has been helping companies, organizations, and governments transform their culture since 1984. She writes the publications Work and Family Newsbrief, the Trend Report, and the Manager's Quarterly, and has written several special reports and publications. Susan most recently published The Eleven Essential Steps to Designing a Successful Work-Life Program.