It doesn’t take much to shut down a business.  It can be a natural disaster, or one that’s manmade.  Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples of both.  Either way, work stops, productivity drops, customers’ needs aren’t met, the company loses business, and ultimately may be forced to close. This February, unusual back-to-back snowstorms closed the Federal government. The Office of Personnel Management says it cost an estimated $100 million per day in lost productivity.

If there are rumblings about cutbacks to family-friendly scheduling at your company, arm yourself with this must-have advice from workplace expert Roberta Chinsky Matuson, president of Human Resource Solutions, a consulting firm in Northampton, MA.

Be proactive: Ask why your schedule has to be adjusted. If it’s because the company needs more of a commitment, then find someone willing and able to do a job-share.

Forget salary, perks, the corner office—most working mothers will tell you that almost nothing is as important as flexibility to create work-life balance. Six of our Working Mother 100 Best Companies have become the vanguard for flexibility, offering parents the tools they need to succeed at home and work.