National Survey Finds Today’s ‘New Dad’ Caring, Committed and Conflicted About Finding Work-Life Fit

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today’s dads want to share equally in the duties of raising their children, but most acknowledge that they are not yet doing that, according to a new survey by the Boston College Center for Work & Family.

“We see that fathers, too, need a family-supportive work environment when it comes to aligning work and family, and this has tangible benefits for their jobs and careers, and in turn for their organizations”

The New Dad: Caring, Committed and Conflicted, the latest assessment of the changing role of fathers by the Center, delivers an in-depth portrait of America’s working fathers, revealing that today’s dads associate being a good father just as much with the role of effective caregiver as the traditional role of “breadwinner”.

These men want to be engaged parents and successful professionals, yet find conflicts as they try to achieve both objectives.

“We see that fathers, too, need a family-supportive work environment when it comes to aligning work and family, and this has tangible benefits for their jobs and careers, and in turn for their organizations,” said lead author and center Executive Director Brad Harrington.

The New Dad: Caring, Committed and Conflicted expands on the Center’s 2010 study of new dads by drawing on a national sample of nearly 1,000 professional fathers. Significant findings include:

• Job security rates as the most important job characteristic by fathers; in fact job security and a job that allows flexible working rate higher in importance than good advancement opportunities and high income.
• Most of the fathers in the study aspire to share equally in caregiving with their spouse/partner, but often are unable to bring this desire to reality.
• Fathers who spend more time with their children report having more confidence as parents. Unfortunately, only 1 in 20 fathers took more than two weeks off after their child was born.
• A supportive corporate environment leads to more satisfied employees who are less likely to leave the company.
• Surprisingly, 53% of fathers would consider not working outside the home if this option were financially feasible, leading us to infer that the role of “stay at home dad” is becoming more acceptable.

Boston College’s Center for Work & Family, with more than 100 corporate partners worldwide, is a global leader in helping organizations create effective workplaces that support and develop healthy and productive employees.

Access the full report at www.bc.edu/cwf.