Special Report: Family Ties

The workday used to begin at 8 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. for all 46 workers in the compensation and benefits division at Du Pont's corporate headquarters in Wilmington, Del. Since July, the unit's employees have trickled in between 7 and 9:30 a.m., chosen a half-hour or one-hour lunch, and left between 3:30 and 6 p.m. -- as long as they have put in eight hours each day. Secretary Joann Wolanski, 28, picked an early shift; she begins at 7:30, takes a half-hour lunch and leaves at 4. The result: more time in the evening with her husband and 14-month-old son. "Before, there was a lot of stress in coming home and getting dinner started while the baby wanted to eat," Wolanski says. "Now it's much more relaxed."

Although Du Pont has no company-wide policy of adjustable hours, all units are welcome to adopt them. The only two conditions: work must come first, and there cannot be any added cost to the company.