Anna Millar and Meghan Gosk have advice for anyone looking for more flexibility at work: Know what you want, and don't be afraid to ask for it.

That's what they did three years ago, submitting a proposal to share the demanding full-time job of associate director of the MBA program at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill.

It paid off. The school approved the arrangement, and since then, they have more family time and are still able to nurture their careers.

"We talk about our job share with our students," said Gosk, who, with Millar, is lobbying the state to expand benefits for part-time workers. "We are educating future business leaders."

Job-sharing is not as common as other flexibility choices, such as part-time work, working from home or compressed weeks. However, some employers are seeing the benefit of offering options that help employees fit work more comfortably into their lives.

That's because flexible work schedules are in demand and relatively inexpensive to offer, said Maryanne Perrin, a partner in Balancing Professionals, a Cary company that places workers in part-time positions.

Hiring part timers can save companies money, because health and retirement benefits are typically offered only to full-time employees.

Perrin's firm helped conduct a survey for Carolina Parent in conjunction with the magazine's annual list of 40 family-friendly companies in the state, released in September.

Of 1,016 people surveyed, 93.5 percent said the option of a flexible schedule is a "must have" for a family-friendly workplace. Many ranked the importance of flexibility above child-care programs and 401(k) retirement savings plans.

"Glaringly, at the top of the list was flexibility," Perrin said. "Some of those higher-cost benefits, like on-site day care, ended up coming in lower."

Typically, small- to medium-size businesses are more willing to embrace alternative work schedules, Perrin said. They typically have fewer layers of management, and flex time can be a painless way to build loyalty and job satisfaction.

'Keeps people here'

Most of the 300 employees at Chapel Hill contract research firm Rho Inc. can set their own work schedules, said Asila Calhoun, director of human resources.

"People are happier to have that flexibility, and it's one of the factors that keeps people here instead of going to competitors," she said. "It eliminates a lot of stress."

That's how the management of SciQuest sees it. Though the Cary company offers health benefits, disability coverage and perks such as tuition and health-club reimbursement, it relies on flexibility to help keep its 132 employees smiling.

SciQuest, which handles purchasing for universities and life-science companies, offers telecommuting and part-time and flex-time schedules based on the demands of each position and needs of the employee .

Big companies can solve problems by spending money on amenities such as on-site child care, said Steve Wiehe, SciQuest's president and chief executive officer. That's not reasonable for many small companies.

"I can't afford that," Wiehe said. "We solve the problem of employee satisfaction with our strengths: by being flexible."

SciQuest holds quarterly family-friendly parties, and Wiehe periodically invites the staff to his house for pizza and playtime, making his collection of vintage pinball machines available.

"It's a philosophy of respect," he said, that measures results, instead of time spent behind a desk.

Renny Johnson can vouch for that. The SciQuest project manager began working from home early this year when his wife, Karen, was battling terminal cancer. During his wife's final months, SciQuest paid Johnson's salary and offered benefits while he cared for her full time. His colleagues stepped in to handle his clients.

"It was a huge weight that was lifted," said Johnson, who continues to use job flexibility as he raises his 12-year-old daughter on his own. "It allowed us to survive, would be the way I would put it."

It stands to reason that employers breed loyalty by helping workers handle family concerns while still getting their jobs done.

Frances Gravely, founder and vice president of Vietri in Hillsborough, says her company's focus on family keeps turnover low -- 75 percent of Vietri's 54 employees have been with the company for more than five years.

The importer of handcrafted Italian products employs a husband-and-wife team who share a job, a handful of employees who work four-day weeks and others who work part time.

Vietri also offers hardship loans and cross-training so that colleagues can fill in for anyone, anywhere, if need be.

"It's just all part of the way we live as a family," said Gravely, who founded the company with her mother and sister. "We talk about the Vietri family."

Better fit with life

The philosophy is similar at Capitol Broadcasting in Raleigh, owner of WRAL, several radio stations, the Durham Bulls and other properties.

"We try to be flexible, and that is really hard to do for a broadcasting company," said Jan Sharp, vice president of human resources. "We respect the commitment our employees make to us, and our job is to return that favor."

That means encouraging Capitol's 500 employees to use the company's health and wellness program, Sharp said. Other employees work from home or adjust their hours to better fit their lives, if the job allows.

It's been valuable to Sandy Ceppos, an information-systems administrator who has multiple sclerosis and works more productively earlier in the day. His 5:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. workday allows him to hit the gym in the afternoon, which helps him maintain mobility.

The schedule also gave Ceppos time during the day, several years ago, to home-school his youngest daughter, who has a learning disability and was struggling in her first year of high school.

"It inspires me to be more productive as an employee when there are issues at home, and they are accommodating," Ceppos said. "It makes me want to give back that extra effort."

Bumps in the road

A 2005 study by the Families and Work Institute in New York suggests that small businesses are driving change in the structure of work.

The nonprofit research group found that small employers -- defined by the study as organizations with 50 to 99 employees -- are significantly more likely to offer flexibility to all or most employees than smaller or larger companies.

That's not surprising to Nancy Collamer, a Connecticut career consultant who runs www.jobs-andmoms.com, which aims to help professional women blend work and family.

"My experience has been that for people who are looking for [flexibility in] new jobs, small business is a much better place to look," said Collamer, who received a bachelor's degree in psychology from UNC-Chapel Hill. "For people already inside a corporation, [I say] explore opportunities for flexibility at your current workplace."

Not every job lends itself to sharing or even to alternative hours. But well-thought-out flexible schedules can work, even at larger employers such as the UNC system.

Michael Stepanek, director of the MBA program at Kenan-Flagler, said Millar and Gosk have made their job-sharing arrangement work by being organized and productive. Both work at least 21 hours a week -- two eight-hour days and one five-hour day.

"Ultimately, we were able to keep two really good people that we want to keep at the business school," he said. UNC saves money because it doesn't pay for benefits for the pair; employees must work at least 30 hours a week to get health coverage.

Millar and Gosk and their children are insured through their husbands' employers. However, the two are working with the university system's lobbyist to make a case at the state level for providing coverage to people who work fewer than 30 hours.

"We want this to be available to more women," Millar said. "We care about the generations that follow."

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