A recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of staffing firm Adecco USA has found that that 59 percent of working men between the ages of 35 and 44 said flexibility for working mothers causes some resentment among co-workers. What's more, the survey found, some workers believe flexible schedules negatively affect team dynamics (36 percent) and morale (31 percent). On the other hand, 82 percent of survey respondents said that working mothers are just as productive as employees without children. And 44 percent of working mothers say flexible schedules help them be more productive.

So what can employers do to help alleviate negative attitudes and perceptions about working mothers on flextime? Adecco offers these three suggestions:

• Promote flexible schedules for men as well as women. Men often share home duties, or manage them entirely. Creating arrangements to allow them to balance work and career can have a tremendous impact on retention and productivity. Even if only a few male workers utilize such programs, promoting these types of opportunities can serve as workplace morale boosters.
• Have a written flex policy, and post team schedules on your intranet or in some other easily accessible place. Communicating flextime arrangements helps employees meet deadlines and appropriately arrange their priorities.
• Manage workers with flexible schedules so priorities aren't left unattended, which could force co-workers to pick up the slack. Have weekly check-ins and send around status updates on key projects so that one person's flexible schedule doesn't affect overall productivity.