Employers are feeling the strain of needing to offer alternative work arrangements to retain and recruit employees. Due to a change in demographics, dual-career couples and increased technology; people are demanding a transformation in the workplace environment. Two alternatives, which are being offered by employers, are flextime and telecommuting. "While flextime was slow to take off in the United States, it is now the most common type of flexible work arrangement" (Avery & Zabel, 2001). According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in May 2001, about 29 million full-time wage and salary workers had flexible work schedules, which allowed them to vary the time they began or ended work. According to a survey conducted for Olsen Corporation, based in Melville, N.Y., the majority of North American companies, 51 percent, now allow their employees to telecommute to work through ongoing pilot programs. Approximately 15 percent of today's workforce telecommutes at least once a week. Both alternative work arrangements have benefits. For the employer, flextime and telecommuting are used as a tool to broaden their employee base. For the employee, the programs offer more work to personal life balance. The downside, for employers, is that middle management resists the concept of employees working in an unsupervised environment. Furthermore, some employees don't take advantage of the programs in fear that their managers will look negatively upon them.