Member Article

Dads want flexibility, not shorter working hours

Being a father has little effect on men’s working patterns, according to research from the Economic and Social Research Council.Current work-life balance policies don’t take account of how fathers want to adapt their routines to fit in with family life, the research suggests. “It seems that fathers don’t want to work fewer hours,” said Dr Esther Dermott, who conducted the research. “What professional men value most about their jobs is their ability to control their working hours so that they can leave early to go to school functions or parents’ meetings – and this flexibility was also what other men most wanted. “There is no evidence that ‘new’ involved fathers are adopting a ‘female model’ of parenthood, with part-time work and high levels of child care.” The research found that a quarter of men wanted to work fewer hours: less than one per cent wanted to increase their hours and the remainder wished to maintain the status quo. These preferences did not change when the men became fathers.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .