Are you stressed out at work? Do you or your spouse spend so much time working that there’s little left to care for your children or aging parents? Or, are you considering re-entering the workforce, but fear the demands a new job will place on your family life?

If so, you’re not alone. In a recent survey, 55 percent of American workers said they were dissatisfied with their jobs. Two-thirds of women with children under 6 are in the workforce, and dual-earning couples are now working more hours than ever before.

There’s got to be a better way, reasons Berkeley author Joan Blades in The Custom-Fit Workplace: Choose When, Where and How to Work and Boost Your Bottom Line, co-authored with Nanette Fondas (Jossey-Bass, 2010).

Blades, a co-founder of MoveOn.org and MomsRising.org, spoke with Bay Area Parent about how the way we work needs to catch up with the changing way we live. She says that what’s good for workers is good for business, too. For more information, visit customfitworkplace.org.

Why is work “not working?”

We have a workforce that is very diverse. Half the workforce are women who have significant family responsibilities, and men are no longer happy to only bring home an income and not be engaged with their children.

Meanwhile, many people feel that rather than being freed by technology – which has been my experience working virtually for more than 10 years – they are shackled by it. Having people feel like they are always working creates burnout, and you lose creativity and that spark that makes working great.

What are some examples of custom-fit workplaces?

Working virtually allowed me to write a previous book with a mother of young kids. We worked on “mommy time” and got a huge amount accomplished after their bedtime.

Babies-at-work programs are fantastic. There are a bunch of jobs where a new mother taking an infant to work makes all kinds of sense, and it works for employers, too. That has surprised a lot of people.

Flexibility in scheduling is one area where there’s the most data – it’s not only good for workers but for employers. It means different things in different environments. In some cases, people may come to work at 6 a.m. and leave at 3 p.m. In a retail environment, you need certain hours covered, but you can let people arrange scheduling needs with each other. There are also compressed work weeks, part-time work and job shares.

A results-only work environment is a wonderfully freeing concept that it’s not about time. It’s about your productivity.

What are the benefits for businesses?

Lower turnover and reduced absenteeism. It’s easier to hire people, and you have more productive workers. When times are tough and you have a cohesive team of workers, you can downsize a little and do it together, rather than make hard choices.

How can employees secure such arrangements?

The best thing you can do is explain why it’s good for productivity. You may mention on the side that it’s good for you, too, but the primary focus should be on why it’s good for the employer. The more data you have to support that, the better. We have lots of examples.

Is “custom-fit” work just for moms?

It’s not just good for women who have kids, but for anyone who has had a change in their lives and needs to slow down, from having [older] parents to care for to other special needs.