Media Room

Welcome, journalists. I speak to the benefits of flexible work arrangements, the strategies to negotiate them, and the generational lifestyle issues that drive demand for them. I’m also well-versed in how to negotiate longer maternity leaves and higher pay raises. Have a pressing deadline? I’ll respond ASAP.

Email is the fastest way to arrange a phone interview: pat [at] workoptions [dot] com

WorkOptions in the Media

Pat Katepoo & Work Options in the Media & 50+ Books

  • Lifehacker Australia, Feb. 21, 2015, Prepare Your Career Before Having a Baby
  • Fit Pregnancy magazine, June 2014, Negotiating Maternity Leave
  • ABCNews.com, April 10, 2014, Making the Work Day Work For You
  • The Fiscal Times, Feb. 25, 2014, Guess Who’s Working at Home?
  • The Wall Street Journal, Feb. 18, 2014, Boss Works Long Hours; Must We All?
  • LearnVest, Nov. 20, 2013, How to Afford Not Working During Maternity Leave
  • Forbes featured the same Learn Vest article on their website
  • The New York Times, November 1, 2013, Planning a Needed Break from Work
  • Forbes, September, 6, 2013, How You Can Get a 4-Day Workweek
  • Next Avenue, August 29, 2013, It’s High Time for the 4-Day Workweek
  • The Fiscal Times, August 29, 2013, Work-From-Home Debate: 5 Ways to Win It
  • Woman’s Day, July 2013, 10 Steps to Negotiating a Flexible Work Arrangement
  • Money Magazine, May 2013, Wealth-Building Tip #35
  • BofA Small Business Community, April 2013, On Managing Telecommuters
  • Forbes/Next Avenue, March 1, 2013, see Advice for Telecommuters
  • OfficePro, January/February, 2013 Make Your Job Work For Your Life
  • Pregnancy & Newborn, June 25, 2012 (Ask the Experts guest article)
  • Tampa Bay Times (via RetailMeNot.com), June 19, 2012, Tips for Telecommuting
  • Daily Finance:Careers, June 7, 2012 (cited as a “reputable resource”)
  • Fox Business, May 14, 2012, Getting Baby Time When You’re a Working Mom
  • Today’s Parent, May 2012, How to Get Flexible Work Hours
  • Houston Chronicle (undated), Interviewing and Negotiating Techniques
  • The Wall Street Journal, April 17, 2011 (Recommends my Telecommuting Proposal; follow the “found here” link near the end of the article.)
  • Woman’s Day, October 2010, The Work-Life Balancing Act
  • Inc. Magazine, April 13, 2010
  • KURV, News Talk Radio (Texas), August 12, 2009
  • Forbes, July 15, 2009, Will Flextime Set You Up to Be Laid Off?
  • HR People, April 29, 2009, special for USAToday.com
  • Forbes, March 16, 2009, How a Flexible Work Schedule Can Help You Strike the Balance
  • New York Times Magazine,  March 3, 2009, Telecommuting During Tough Times – Interview by Lisa Belkin
  • Seattle PI, February 19, 2009, Work-life Balance is Suffering from Economic Stress
  • American Baby, February 2009
  • Today’s Dietitian, December, 2008
  • Metro Canada, September 15, 2008
  • Honolulu Star-Bulletin, April 27, 2008
  • MoneyLife Radio Broadcast, April 8, 2008 (part two)
  • MoneyLife Radio Broadcast, April 7, 2008 (part one)
  • Medical Economics, January 18, 2008
  • Chicago Tribune, October 28, 2007
  • Tucson Citizen, September 17, 2007
  • NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams,  September 11, 2007, Featured expert on flexible work arrangements for special series
  • U.S. News & World Report, print issue September 3, 2007; online August 26, 2007
  • The Tennessean, July 17, 2007
  • New York Daily News, June 11, 2007, At Home on the Job
  • New York Daily News, May 19, 2007, Self-Downsizing: Take This Job and Share It
  • India New England, February 16, 2007
  • The Wall Street Journal, January 11, 2007, …Hope For Balancing Work and Home
  • Fit Pregnancy, December/January 2007
  • Businessweek, July 24, 2006, Two for the Cubicle (job sharing advice)
  • Des Moines Business Record, May 28, 2006
  • The Fayetteville [NC], May 14, 2006
  • Self, May 2006
  • Black Enterprise, April 2006
  • Today’s Dietitian, March 2006
  • Chicago Tribune, January 1, 2006, Flexible Schedule Boosts Productivity
  • The Washington Post, Life at Work, December 18, 2005, Two for the Job
  • Newhouse News Service, November 18, 2005
  • Smart Money, November 2005
  • Fit Pregnancy, October/November 2005
  • HR Magazine, September 2005, Share and Share Alike (job sharing)
  • The Salt Lake Tribune, September 12, 2005
  • CNN Money, 5 Tips: Negotiating Flex Time, August 3, 2005 (recommends my proposals)
  • Ann Arbor News, July 12, 2005
  • Lexington [KY] Herald-Leader, June 20, 2005
  • The Washington Post, Life at Work, April 19, 2005 (recommends my proposal packages)
  • National Public Radio/Marketplace Morning Report, April 13, 2005, Telecommuting in This Age of High Gas Prices
  • Working Mother, April/May 2005, featuring WorkOptions and two clients, p. 55
  • The Wall Street Journal, December 30, 2004, …And Other Keys to Finding Balance: “For help developing flexible schedules, see workoptions.com, which has templates for writing proposals you can submit to the boss.”
  • Working Mother, October 2004, Recommends WorkOptions and features a client; Put it on the Table! How to Draft a [Flex] Proposal Your Boss Can’t Refuse
  • Richmond Times-Dispatch, October 21, 2004
  • Redbook, September 2004, Cut Back Your Hours at Work
  • Working Mother, September 2004,  The Ultimate Guide to Flexibility
  • Fatherhood Today, National Fatherhood Initiative newsletter, Fall 2004
  • Memphis Parent, August 2004
  • Sunday [New Jersey] Star-Ledger, August 22, 2004
  • Baltimore Sun, August 1, 2004
  • Pregnancy, July 2004
  • The Wall Street Journal, May 20, 2004, Baby Blues: The Dangers of the Trend Toward Shorter Maternity Leaves
  • USA Today, December 30, 2003, You Too Can Get a Flexible Schedule
  • Parents, October 2003, Get the Perfect Part-time Job (featuring WorkOptions and a client)
  • Bay Area Parent, September 2003
  • Physicians Financial News, September 15, 2003, Work Less, Enjoy More
  • Sales & Marketing Management, August 2003, It Takes Two (job sharing as retention tool)
  • Hawaii Business, May 2003, High Time for Telecommuting
  • e-Pregnancy, April 2003
  • Essence, March 2003, Balancing Acts: How to Sell Your Boss on Flextime
  • Honolulu Advertiser, February 24, 2003
  • The Wall Street Journal, February 13, 2003, Ways to Talk Your Boss Into Flexible Work Hours, Where WorkOptions.com is called “the best all-around Web site” for that purpose.
  • USA Today, November 4, 2002, Juggle Work, Personal Duties with the Right Employer
  • Toronto Star, November 3, 2002
  • The Wall Street Journal, October 17, 2002, The Incredible Shrinking Family Leave
  • Working Mother, June/July 2002, Work More, Play More
  • USAToday.com Careers, May 1, 2002
  • Meetings & Convention, May 2002
  • Working Mother, February 2002, So You Want to Share a Job?
  • Sales & Marketing Management, September 2001
  • Work/Life Today, March 2001, Job Sharing Lets Employees Stay With Firm
  • Careers Now syndicated column, March 21, 2001
  • Chicago Tribune, February 21, 2001, The Flex Perplex
  • The Indianapolis Star, Work It Out column, February 9, 2001
  • Employment Review, January 2001
  • Boston Globe, November 26, 2000
  • Working Mother, November 2000, Avoid Flex Pitfalls
  • Redbook, October 2000, Go Part-time Without Going Broke
  • Ladies Home Journal, October 2000
  • Work + Family Trend Report, September 2000, Plumbing the Potential of Part-time
  • Target the Family Magazine, Fall 2000, p. 15
  • Working Mother, June 2000, The Part-time Payoff
  • Tokio [sic] Today Morning Radio Show, October 29, 1999
  • Honolulu Star-Bulletin, October 26, 1999, Flex Muscle (featuring WorkOptions and five of my clients, nationwide)
  • Work + Family Trend Report on Job Sharing, August 1999
  • Financial Women Today, Summer 1999, Downsize Your Lifestyle and How to Find a Job Sharing Partner
  • Work Life Today, May, 1999, The Truth About Flexible Work Arrangements
  • Bucks County [PA] Courier Times, February 22, 1999, Workers Want Their Fair Share (feature on Job Sharing)
  • The [New Jersey] Star Ledger, February 15, 1999, Do Research and Exercise Your [Work] Options
  • Chicago Sun-Times, November 22, 1998
  • BabyTalk, November 1998, Take This Job and Share It (featuring my quote and one of my clients)
  • Meetings & Convention, September 1998, Want to Work Flextime?
  • St Paul Pioneer Press, July 19, 1998, When Negotiating for Flexibility, Have Answers Ready
  • Dallas Morning News, June 14, 1998
  • Parenting, March 1998, p. 73
  • San Francisco Chronicle, February 23, 1998
  • Family Times [DE], October 1997, Creating a Family-Friendly Work Schedule
  • Honolulu Advertiser, July 22, 1997
  • Hawaii Bar Journal, August, 1995, Taking Quality of Life to a Higher Level
  • Honolulu Advertiser, June 22, 1994
  • Honolulu Advertiser, March 13, 1994
  • Hawaii Parent, January/February 1994, Working Full Time: Is it a Must?
  • Honolulu Star-Bulletin, January 19, 1994
  • Honolulu Advertiser, Oct. 3, 1993, Working Over Time: From Job Sharing to Flextime

Pacific Business News, Work-Life Columnist

You can see that I was writing about workplace flexibility two decades ago! The core issue remains the same: workplace flexibility is a business strategy that benefits the employer, the employee, the work process and the community.

50+ Books Feature Pat or Recommend WorkOptions.com

Second-Act Careers
Nancy Collamer (Ten Speed Press, 2013)

Mediterranean Diet For Dummies
Rachel Berman (For Dummies, 2013)
Featured under Working to Live Rather Than Living to Work, page 267

What Color is Your Parachute?
Richard Nelson Bolles (Ten Speed Press, 2011)

Thriving in the Workplace All-in-One for Dummies
(For Dummies, 2010)
Lists WorkOptions.com as a top 5 work/life website

Creative Girl: The Ultimate Guide for Turning Talent and Creativity into a Real Career
Katharine Sise (Running Press, 2010); page 67 sidebar, that doesn’t “read” in Amazon

The Wall Street Journal Financial Guidebook for New Parents
Stacey Bradford (Three Rivers Press, 2009)

The Work-at-Home Success Bible
Leslie Truex (Adams Media, 2009)

Working Mom’s 411: How to Manage Kids, Career and Home
Michelle LaRowe (Regal, 2009)

Running a Side Business: How to Create a Second Income
Richard Stim and Lisa Guerin (Nolo, 2009)

A Guide to Russian Adoption: Professional Counseling & Personal Insights
Alisa White Karwowski (Praeger 2008)

The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Working Less, Earning More
Jeff Cohen (Alpha, 2008)

Escape from Corporate America: Creating the Career of Your Dreams
Pamela Skilling (Ballantine Books, 2008)

Work from Home Handbook: Flex Your Time, Improve Your Life
Diana Fitzpatrick and Stephen Fishman (USA Today/Nolo, 2008)

Wow! I’m in Business: A Crash Course in Business Basics
Richard Stim and Lisa Guerin (Nolo, 2008)

Job Sharing: Two Heads are Better Than One
Angela Morella & Mary O’Hanlon (Allen & Unwin, Australia, 2008)
“…a very useful how-to site…run by Pat Katepoo, who is widely acknowledged in the United States as a flexible work arrangement expert…” (page 105)

Rumors of Our Progress Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
Carolyn B. Maloney (Modern Times, 2008)

Opting In: Having a Child Without Losing Yourself
Amy Richards (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)

The Christian’s Career Journey: Find the Job God Designed for You
Susan Britton Whitcomb (JIST Works, 2008)

The 2-Second Commute
Christine Durst (ReadHowYouWant, 2008)

The Leisure Economy
Linda Nazareth (Wiley, 2007)

The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal
Renee Peterson Trudeau (Balanced Living Press, 2008)

The Parent’s Guide to Family-Friendly Work
Lori K. Long (Career Press, 2007)

Work It, Girl! The Black Woman’s Guide to Professional Success
Pamela McBride (Parker Publishing, 2007)

Working After Retirement for Dummies
Lita Epstein (For Dummies Publisher, 2007)
“Pat Katepoo has developed excellent templates that you can download and personalize for your company and job situation…” (page 226)

The Anti 9-to-5 Guide
Michelle Goodman (Seal Press, 2007)

Baby Bites
Bridget Swinney (Meadowbrook Press, 2007)

Smart Marriage
Allen Parkman (Praeger, 2007)

Mothering Magazine’s Having a Baby, Naturally
Peggy O’Mara (Atria Books, 2007)

The Savvy Part-time Professional
Lynn Berger (Capital Books, 2006)

This is How We Do It: The Working Mothers’ Manifesto
Carol Evans, (Hudson Street Press, 2006)
“One of the most effective Ironclad Proposals I’ve ever seen was put together by Jaime Duffy, an advertising salesperson for USA Today…She discovered a great online resource, a Web site called WorkOptions.com, where work-life expert Pat Katepoo offers proposal templates for a variety of flexible work arrangements.” (page 207)

Job Search Magic
Susan Britton Whitcomb (JIST Works, 2006)

Hit the Ground Crawling: Lessons from 150,000 New Fathers
Greg Bishop (Dad’s Adventure, 2006)

Ferguson Career Resource Guide for Women and Minorities
(Ferguson Publishing Company, 2006)

Mother’s Pearls: The Revival of Parenthood
Chava Dagan (Trafford Publishing, 2006)

The Wall Street Journal Guide to the Business of Life
Nancy Keates, Senior Editor (Crown, 2005)

Parent Savvy: Straight Answers to Your Family’s Financial, Legal & Practical Questions
Nihara K. Choudhri, Esq. (Nolo, 2005)
“…the easiest and most stress-free way to prepare a winning proposal.” (page 96)

The Unofficial Guide to Landing a Job
Michelle Tullier (Wiley, 2005)

Time Off! the Upside to Downtime
Kristine Enea, Dean LaTourrette (Leisure Team Productions, 2005)

Your Next Move: Success Strategies for MidCareer Professionals
Dan Finnigan and Marc Karasu (Sterling, 2005)

Going Back to Work
Mary Quigley and Loretta Kaufman (St. Martin’s Griffin, 2004)

Balancing Pregnancy and Work
Nancy W. Hall (Stonesong Press, 2004)

Managing for Dummies, Second Edition
Bob Nelson and Peter Economy (For Dummies, 2003)

Flex Time: A Working Mother’s Guide to Balancing Career and Family
Jacqueline Foley (Avalon Publishing Group, 2003)
“…an excellent resource…download directly onto your computer…all you have to do is fill in the specifics of your situation…Some of the women in this book swore by this product…helping them create a professional proposal and successfully negotiate the work arrangement they wanted.” (page 77)

Mom Economy: The Mother’s Guide to Getting Family-Friendly Work
Elizabeth Wilcox (Berkley Trade, 2003)

Strategies for Stay-at-Home Parents
Kris Berggren (Meadowbrook, 2003)

Shades of Gray: A Mother’s Guide to Work and Family Choices
Lynn Hennighausen (Beaver’s Pond Press, 2002)

Retaining Top Employees
J. Leslie McKeown (McGraw-Hill, 2002)

Best Advice for Life After Baby Arrives
Nancy Evans (Rutledge Hill Press, 2002)

The Working Mother’s Guide to Life: Strategies, Secrets, and Solutions
Linda Mason (Three Rivers Press, 2002)

The Entrepreneurial Parent
Paul & Sarah Edwards and Lisa M. Roberts (Tarcher/Putnam, 2002)

Changing Careers for Dummies
Carol L. McClelland, PhD (John Wiley & Sons, 2001)

Mompreneurs Online
Pat Cobe and Ellen Parlapiano (Perigee, 2001)

The Everything Hot Careers Book
Ronald A. Reis (Adams Media Corporation, 2001)

The Best Friend’s Guide to Maternity Leave
Betty Holcomb (Perseus Publishing, 2001)
“…you’ll find free advice…learn ways to convince your boss you should telecommute, and many other helpful resources and tips.” (page 235)

What Color is Your Parachute?
Richard Nelson Bolles (Ten Speed Press, 2001 – 2011 editions)

Work Less, Live More
Paula Brook (Doubleday Canada Ltd., 1997)
“One of the best tools I’ve found…a detailed blueprint to help you negotiate your proposal…enhance the chances of your proposal being accepted.” (page 188)

Breaking Out of 9 to 5
Maria Laqueur and Donna Dickinson (Peterson’s, 1994)

I’m ready to share my expertise on flexible work, time off, maternity leave, sabbatical leave, and work-life issues for your media story. Contact me soon.