Q: I work in an office in a suburb of Boston. When I was hired four years ago, my hours were set as 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. My hours are important to me because I have to pick up my daughter at 5 p.m., and this gives me enough time to get to her day care with about five minutes to spare. Our day care charges extra fees if a parent is just one minute late.

I have a new supervisor who has asked that I work 8:30 a.m to 5 p.m. This would be very difficult. How should I handle this?

A: Hours can be critically important to employees juggling other commitments like children and elderly parents.

My recommendation would be to first request a brief meeting with your new supervisor. Ask him or her whether there is a reason your hours need to change, and explain your need to leave at 4:30 p.m. Most supervisors will understand this need and hopefully accommodate it. What I don’t know is whether there are other employees who have asked that they also leave at 4:30 p.m. Your supervisor might be trying to balance business needs with the needs of employees.

Some of my clients are very flexible with employees, but others are not because of business needs like telephone coverage, store hours, or the time of day when the office needs coverage the most. Most of my clients, however, will try to offer an option that works for the needs of the business and of the employee.

I would explain that you were hired with the understanding of being able to leave at 4:30 to pick up your child from day care. Your supervisor might be able to offer a compromise. Some of the compromises might be working through lunch or checking e-mails that evening.

Patricia Hunt Sinacole is president of First Beacon Group, a human resources consulting firm in Hopkinton.