A response I often get from my employer is that, "If I allow you this kind of flexibility of change in the standard workday, then everybody will be asking for the same thing," Well as I've planned and kind of managed my careers over the years, I've had various responses from both my employer and my coworkers. My employer is mostly concerned is that I'm engaged and committed to the work that gets done. Frequently, as I've tried to negotiate various work schedules with them, a number of bosses have said, "If I allow this for you, I'll have to allow it for all worker who come to me," and my response to them is you try to focus on the benefits to the company first of all which is, I say, "How many people do you know are going to walk in here and ask for a reduction in pay in exchange for time off or reduction in benefits as well?" They have to admit that that's not a common scenario that they would expect. On the other hand, they want to make sure that I'm not a clock-puncher. They don't want somebody who's going to come in, work off their to-do list and then move on. They want somebody who's engaged and committed, is dedicated to this companies success for the role that they're paying me to accomplish. Coworkers on the other hand often don't notice that I'm not around. My job is to minimize my absence as much as possible. My job is to meet deadlines. My job is to not dump work on them when I'm not available and to be a good, solid coworker. Other than that, occasionally someone might tell me, "I wish I could do that as well but my wife would never let me," which I find fascinating so I think it points out the importance of women and their ability to disperse the societal expectation that men be primary or sole bread-winner. It's important for men to be able to fit jobs into their lives as opposed to the other way around where the job can be all-consuming it minimizes their enjoyment of their own life.