Opinion: On the Campaign Couch ... with JB.

Q: I'm really keen to go part-time or at least to negotiate some kind of flexible working hours but I am worried that my bosses will see it as a sign that I'm not serious about my career. How should I go about getting the work-life balance I need without compromising my position in the company?

A: Whenever this question gets raised, bosses come out badly. I don't suppose they mind that much; and anyway, bosses - assuming they deserve to be bosses - should be more than capable of looking after themselves. But it troubles me that the lowly employees seem to get all the sympathy.

The perfect work-life balance is not an impossible dream. It can be achieved quite easily by following these guidelines. First, obtain a position in a company, which is not in the competitive service sector and offers no exhilarating highs or melancholic lows. Then ensure that your own contribution to this company is so negligible that it doesn't matter a fig if you turn up or not. You'll never feel guilty about being at home when you should be at work, or about being at work when you should be at home. That's because nobody notices.

If, on the other hand, you're lucky enough to work in advertising or marketing, and if you're also lucky enough to be talented enough to be of clear personal value to your company, then you can't expect a pain-free work-life balance to be part of your terms of employment.

Your boss is given ten days to come up with a new creative strategy by your most profitable client. Its loss would mean a payroll cull. Your boss believes your planning skills could make a critical contribution to the weekend meeting he's wisely decided to call. And you remind him that you've already served the number of days you're contractually committed to for that month. I know you promised to take the kids to see their grandparents; but even so, I have to say, and not without some anguish, that my sympathies are with your boss.

In our type of trade, achieving a tolerable work-life balance can never be achieved by treaty. It demands daily juggling, compromise, treats, compensations, wit, the occasional prevarication - and a high degree of understanding from both ends of the seesaw.

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