(FORTUNE Magazine) – Dear Annie: I work for a telecom company that has had several rounds of layoffs, and it seems to me that people who take advantage of flexible hours, telecommuting, etc.--in other words, usually mothers (and a few fathers) of young children--are among the first to get the ax. As a mom who works at home two days a week and who leaves at five to relieve the babysitter the other three days, I feel vulnerable. Am I being paranoid? If not, what can I do about it? --Flexible Flyer

Dear F.F.: "It's clear to me that there is a huge correlation between having a lot of family responsibilities and getting laid off," says Liz Ryan, CEO of World Women in Technology (www.worldwit.org), an online network of 15,000-plus professional women around the globe. The mother of four young children with another on the way, Ryan was U.S. Robotics' first female VP before starting WorldWIT. "The tendency to lay off people who work at home a lot, in particular, isn't deliberately aimed at women, but senior management gets a little weird in times of stress and starts looking at an amorphous loyalty factor. People start counting the cars in the parking lot at 8:30 P.M., and the moms just aren't there." Ryan suggests you discuss the situation with your boss: "Find out where you stand. Ask, 'If you were doing a top-to-bottom ranking of your staff, where would I fall?' And, 'Is there anything I can do to help the company, or to be less of a liability to you, in these tough times?' Address it head-on." And then act accordingly, even if it means putting in more hours at the office for a while.

Nancy Collamer, a career coach who wrote a tremendously useful e-book called The Layoff Survival Guide: Practical Strategies for Managing the Transition from Pink-Slip to Paycheck ($12.95 at www.layoffsurvivalguide.com), also runs a Website called Jobsandmoms.com. "If your boss didn't want you working flexible hours or telecommuting in the first place, you could be especially vulnerable," she says. "One problem with working at home is the lack of face time, including informal social contact with colleagues." Take someone out to lunch now and then, and don't miss too many office parties. Even more important, "when telecommuting you have to make sure people know what you're accomplishing. Report on a regular basis what you're doing--you made a big sale, you started a cost-cutting initiative--to decision-makers besides your immediate boss. Don't assume that people are aware of what you're contributing."

Your best job insurance long term, Ryan and Collamer agree, is to make sure you're a revenue producer, not a cost center. "Too many women tend to be concentrated in staff areas like marketing or HR. Over time, try to move from a staff position into a line job," says Ryan. "Say you're in finance. Try to get into business development. With an HR background, try to get into executive recruiting or selling HR software." Anyone bringing in new business is far less likely to be viewed as dispensable, flexible hours or no.

Dear Annie: I'm considering starting my own consulting practice, but one concern that has so far kept me from bailing out of corporate America is the difficulty of finding affordable health insurance. I have four dependents, and the same coverage I have now would cost me many thousands of dollars out of pocket. Any tips? --Looking Before Leaping

Dear L.B.L.: This is a tough one, but if you dig around, you may unearth some relatively reasonable plans through trade associations, professional organizations, alumni groups--especially if you're willing to forgo extras (dental, vision) and just get bare-bones major medical. Look at as many options as possible. Two Websites that let you comparison-shop, with instant price quotes from more than 300 insurers: Insure.com (go to www.insure.com/health) and Ehealthinsurance.com. Good luck.

Dear Annie: I've spent my entire career in sales, and I'm looking around for a better job. One reason I'm unhappy is that I don't think a new commission structure the company set up is fair. So in interviews I tend to ask about pay pretty early on. My wife says I should wait for the interviewer to bring it up. Is she right? --Wonder Boy

Dear W.B.: In general, yes--but interviews for sales jobs may be the exception. Ponder this passage from 201 Best Questions to Ask on Your Interview (McGraw-Hill, $12.95), by career guru John Kador: "With salespeople, the acknowledged desire to earn a high income is considered an unalloyed virtue. Companies actually like to see a reasonable level of greediness.... The system is set up so that salespeople make money only if they earn the company a lot more money." So ask away.

Kador's book is full of tips from hiring managers. A "memorably good interview question," according to Liz Reiersen, a senior technical recruiter at Verizon in Irving, Texas: "Can we schedule a performance review in three months?" Everyone promises to do great work, says Reiersen, but you'll stand out if you seem confident you'll prove it before long. How about bad questions? Richard Kathnelson, head of HR for a Canadian company called Syndesis, offers this: "If I don't take a lunch break, can I accumulate the hours and add them to my vacation time?" Says Kathnelson: "Any question with the word 'lunch' in it is inappropriate."

E-mail: askannie@fortunemail.com Mail: Ask Annie, FORTUNE, 1271 Avenue of the Americas, Room 1559, New York, N.Y. 10020. Please include an after-work phone number. Annie offers additional advice at www.askannie.com.