A flexible work schedule can benefit both you and your boss.

Leaving your job a few hours each day to parent your kids (or even pamper yourself) may sound unrealistic. It’s not, because flexible schedules can actually benefit your boss. Yes, economic theory supports the idea of you leaving early or arriving late, proving companies can get more for their money when their employees work creative hours.

Just remember, no one hands you these perks on a silver platter. You’ll have to negotiate your way and here’s what you need to know.

1) The men do it too. Millions of people work flexible schedules and when we say “people” we mean “men.” More males, in fact, work flexible hours then females, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The last time the labor department checked, over 15 million men worked flexible hours compared to 11 million women. Where? Well, for starters, both the publishing and insurance industries had more flexible men than women. So if the fear of being viewed as overly female is preventing you from stepping up, put it aside and move forward.

2) Leaner is meaner. If company business is down, your flex-schedule can help keep it alive. In fact, after the tech bust in the beginning of 2000, the only industries managing to increase productivity did so by reducing hours – not by increasing employee output, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

3) Pick a project. If business is booming, projects must be everywhere. Whether it’s winning over a client or reorganizing the stock room or creating a new distribution system, you can find a project to make your own. Tip, find one that’s low profile and not particularly desirable. It will make you a star, here’s why. First, you’re a relief to the boss who was worried about it’s assignment. Second, because you’re going to throw enough enthusiasm into the work and yourself consider it critical. After some time, everyone else will see things your way. And the final product will have been completed from almost anywhere – home, at night, during lunch – without anyone paying much attention.

4) Overworked employees are expensive. In white collar jobs, some studies have shown that performance can decrease by 25 percent when workers put in more than 60 hours a week for prolonged periods, write Alex Kerin, Ph.D. who wrote the Circadian report, Overtime in Extended Hours Operations: Benefits, Costs, Risks and Liabilities.

“It’s well known that when workers in many cases working long hours are not as productive,” said one government economist who didn’t want to be named but noted that blue collar people physically put in the most energy the first 5 hours of work. “They don’t have as much energy to push as efficiently if they worked shorter hours.”

That means that even employees working on commission are more expensive in those late, overtime hours. And with the adrenaline rush you get from a departure deadline – you’re heart races, you’re more alert – you’re be sure to get lots done when you’re at the office.

5) You won’t be alone. Flexible work schedules are everywhere. The chart below shows who has them by industry and by gender. Take a look and show your boss.

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