'Work/life balance' was the buzz-phrase of the year 2000. There was talk about the long hours people were working, how difficult life was for parents, and how something needed to be done.

More than three years later you are probably still doing unpaid overtime, squeezing the grocery shopping into your lunch hour and feeling guilty about having a coffee break. So how did a revolution in working pass you by? And what did that revolution mean for other people?

The work/life balance movement centred around recognising that everyone has a life outside the workplace, and that employees would be more productive when companies not only recognised this fact, but were also supportive of their need to deal with this life.

Part of this meant acknowledging that workers are human beings, not machines that can run all the time with no variation in performance. In the film 'Wall Street', Gordon Gecko declared that lunch was for wimps. Not only is this not true, but one might be forgiven for suspecting that Mr Gecko's appetite was being suppressed by some of the naughty substances that were rife in the 1980s. So what did he know?

Still, some people have come to feel that a lunch break is an optional extra. This may be true occasionally when you are working to a deadline, but eating lunch keeps your energy levels up through the afternoon, improves your concentration, and helps you to work better and more efficiently. Taking a break can also help manage stress levels. Companies in both the EU and the US must give employees working a full day a minimum of a 30 minute-break.

There are more important issues than lunchtimes, however. Inflexible working hours can make it difficult to cope, when events change your lifestyle. Having children or suddenly becoming the prime carer for an elderly relative, can mean the rigidity of the 9-5 is almost impossible to keep to. And this can be one of the most common reasons for leaving your job - particularly for women.

But when employers look at the average cost of labour turnover, it forces them to take a different perspective. In 2001, the cost of recruiting a new member of staff was calculated at £3,462 per leaver. This rises to £5,699 for managers. Firms - and the Government - soon realised that making flexible working patterns available could save at least 40% of these costs by retaining staff, and all the skills and company knowledge they carry with them.

Flexible working has many aspects. The simplest to implement is flexitime - variable start and finish times. With flexitime you can adjust your arrival time so that you avoid the rush hour traffic, and leave early on some days if you have other commitments, making up the time later. A difference in the working day of as little as thirty minutes can be hugely useful when getting to work on time.

The 'compressed weeks' system means you work a full week of hours in four days instead of five. This can be any redistribution of time that suits, such as working nine days out of two working weeks. This option is especially good if you have days when your workload is much lighter, although trying to work too many hours in one day will eventually be counterproductive.

Part-time work is a faithful standard amongst workers with commitments, particularly working mums. Turning a full-time job into a part-time one is difficult unless there really isn't enough work for you to do. Job sharing, where two people split one job, is a way of reducing your hours while continuing a level of support to colleagues. Taking a 35-hour job and splitting it into two 20 hour jobs is also a way of increasing the amount of man-hours spent on a role without having to create an entire new job.

Teleworking - working from home - is still on the increase, partly thanks to the spiralling cost and time spent commuting. It is also partly due to the growth in technology - people are now happy working remotely because they are comfortable using their PC to communicate. The falling costs of the equipment needed for remote working has also brought this option within reach for many.

Teleworking requires disciplined communication, as you need to be available to your co-workers virtually, if not actually. Your presence is still needed in the office for probably half the time, but working from home on an occasional basis is especially useful when you have projects that need your full attention.

'Bankable hours' means that when you work overtime, even the odd hour here and there, you can use the hours you have 'banked' as extra time off. These hours can be taken either as whole days, to shorten a day, or to extend your lunch-hour.

Another option is 'career leave', which allows people to take agreed unpaid extended leave from their jobs. This is especially useful when you have caring responsibilities, but staff can also request this when they want to go travelling, or when their partner is seconded somewhere and they want to go too. It's quite a big step to ask, perhaps, for a year off, but if you are an asset to your organisation, then they will want you back.

The Work Foundation confidently claims that flexible working can produce a more motivated, satisfied and equitable workforce, while also saving companies money by improving recruitment and retention of staff, lowering absenteeism and increasing productivity.

Most Governments see the sense of this, and now offer various incentives to businesses to think flexible. In April 2003, the new UK 'Right to Request' legislation meant that all working parents with children of 6 years and under, and those caring for a disabled child, could ask their employer for flexible working options. Firms are not legally obliged to agree, but they are obliged to consider your request and offer a reasonable argument if they decline. (See our story in the News, for an update on how this law is working in practice.)

It seems - though not yet perfect - the outlook in the workplace is optimistic. The pendulum is definitely swinging in favour of work-life balance, as the benefits are clear for all concerned. Could this be the time to consider your flexible options?