When I returned to work after the birth of each of my sons, I was offered a six-month accommodation in my schedule. I could either keep my full salary and work one day a week from home, or take a temporary pay cut and work part-time. Since it was just a six-month opportunity, I took the part-time option each time. A lot has changed in the workplace since my first son was born three years ago, however, and part-time work is not the break it once was.

I first realized that I might have made a mistake when a colleague, upon hearing of my arrangement, looked at me quizzically and asked whether I still have the same workload. Of course I do, and that is precisely the problem with part-time work. I am actually being paid less to be more productive. If I had any doubts that less time at work does not necessarily mean less pressure, they were quickly dispelled when I found 39 e-mails waiting for me the morning after my first day off. I asked a number of women who either work part-time, or tried to work part-time, about their experiences and found their responses to be strikingly similar.

One woman went back to work three days a week at three-fifths pay after having her first child. Unfortunately, she found herself spending too many days off in the local library, catching up on her work. She ultimately found it less stressful to go back to work full time. Another woman I know also works three days a week. At the office, her phone doesn't ring on her days off so her co-workers assume her clients respect her work schedule. Not so. Once her clients realized where she was, they just called her directly at home. In fact, they called her so often that her boss finally had to readjust her compensation and pay her for four days of work. She does not designate one of her days at home as a workday, but she feels she must check her e-mail and voice mail regularly and be reachable by cell phone wherever she is. Apparently neither she nor her boss ever considered telling her clients to stop calling.

A third woman left a full-time high level position at a large company in New York City to take a four-day-a-week job closer to her home. Again, there seemed to be no boundaries on her day off. When her former employer approached her about coming back to an even bigger job, she agreed, but only if she could work one-day-a-week from home, without suffering any financial consequence. Now she feels she has finally found the right combination of work and motherhood.

As I continued to question women who no longer wanted to work full-time, I discovered that telecommuting had actually become the preferred alternative. Compared to the women who found part-time work even more stressful than full-time work - it's hard to enjoy a play date if you suddenly have to be on a conference call - the women who work from home have plenty of time to get their work done and are thrilled when their day is brightened by a few stolen moments with their children.

As my son gets older and spends more time in school and at other activities, I find that he doesn't need or even want me around all day. When I am home, however, he needs me to be more patient and attentive than ever. The hours from 7 to 9 in the evening are sometimes the most stressful and hectic of my whole day. When I walk in the door there are suddenly six things going on at once. Satisfying everyone's needs while still being a basically pleasant person sometimes feels like an impossible challenge.

Working from home might not transform my life by giving me a lot of free time, but it would enable me to get back a few precious hours each week. I often think if I could just eliminate my commute a couple of days a week I could also eliminate the commotion. And if once or twice a week I spend my breaks shmoozing with my children instead of with colleagues will the quality of my work suffer?

The advances in technology over the past few years are starting to make "face time" an old-fashioned concept. More and more we are working in real time with people who are not even in the same city, let along the same building. In addition, the high turnover in the current job market caused by the proliferation of dot.com companies has given all employees added leverage.

The woman who went back to her company in the city was not really unhappy at her part-time job. She had nothing to lose by asking for terms that just a year ago would have been unheard of. Talented and experienced working mothers now have an opportunity to set new standards. As long as work refuses to be confined to the office, employers should be willing to try innovative solutions that will increase productively without simultaneously increasing resentment. Hopefully we will be able to prove that balancing, not juggling, is the real key to success for everyone.