Dive Brief:
- New dads want to do more on the parenting homefront, but that's easier said than done given today's workplace scenario. More than half of working dads (57%) feel they don’t spend enough quality time with their children during the week, and 87% want to be more involved with the family’s daily routine, according to the survey, from Care@Work by Care.com.
- Unfortunately, 89% of fathers surveyed say they work more than the average 40-hour work week and another 30% report spending more than 50 hours per week at the office.
- Also, 52% of working fathers polled feel their employers don't do enough to support working parents, and 95% of employed dads feel they should have fully paid paternity leave. The vast majority of American employers offer no paid paternity leave.
Dive Insight:
Michael Marty, general manager/SVP at Care@Work by Care.com, says those survey results are not a surprise, given that societal and cultural conventions still fail to accurately reflect the lives of most families today. To get there, he adds, will require a push from employers to make it happen. Marty also notes that benefits like paid leave for fathers can be a talent draw for employers looking to create a workplace culture that supports both women and men as engaged parents.
And while 76% of dads did not believe their co-workers/manager discounted their ability to do the job when they took time off after their child was born (the so-called "dad bias"), it means roughly 1 in 4 did feel that taking time off was risky for career aspirations.
In fact, Ellen Galinsky, president and co-founder of the Families and Work Institute, told Time that despite new dads saying they want parental leave, some also often think that if they take the leave, they may be perceived as less committed. That perception of disapproval has been remarkably resistant to change, she told Time.
