Work-life expert Sylvia Ann Hewlett said if companies work to de-stigmatize flex-time for men and women, it could be a way to retain jobs and help cut costs. Writing in the New York Times Hewlett said:

“In January, the accounting giant KPMG, looking for a way to save payroll costs without losing valued employees, introduced an initiative called Flexible Futures. This new program offered the 11,000 professionals in KPMG’s British operations the following options: They could go to a four-day workweek and take a 20 percent pay cut; they could opt for a mini-sabbatical at 30 percent base pay; they could opt for both of the above; or they could stick with their current arrangement.

The program was hugely successful. Over 80 percent of KPMG’s professional employees (men and women) volunteered to take one of the flexible options. This allowed KPMG to achieve its goal of retaining jobs while cutting costs.”

Saying that working mothers have sometimes been perceived negatively for taking flex-time, Hewlett maintained that making such an option a reasonable, viable, non-career-killing option for everyone is “a big deal for women.” (December 2009)