Fathers struggle to strike a work-family balance. According to some studies, many find it tougher than even mothers do. Women also complain about dads overworking \u2013 particularly when they\u2019re left holding the baby or if family commitments mean they can\u2019t compete at work with \u201clong-hours men\u201d. But how do children feel about dads\u2019 jobs?<\/p>\n
We asked thousands of children between 10 and 13 years old. Their responses are a wake-up call to governments who often regard fathers\u2019 work simply in relation to family income but rarely in relation to family time. Unlike mothers, fathers have received little effective consideration from workplaces or policy makers to help them achieve family-friendly work.<\/p>\n
That oversight is a big problem for children, our study finds. It shows that work often encroaches unacceptably on children\u2019s relationships with their dads. Indeed childhood is at odds with many aspects of the evolving 24\/7 economy.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren don\u2019t want their dads to work weekends, evenings or nights. They also feel stress when their dad\u2019s work is high pressure, and they object when their fathers don\u2019t have flexibility around work times.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Children accept that dads need to work<\/h2>\n
It\u2019s not that children are unrealistic and think dad should be around for them all the time. They accept him going to work. But they don\u2019t like the job getting in the way of special times with him \u2013 weekends and evenings. They object when work so stresses him out that he\u2019s not much fun as a parent or when it\u2019s so inflexible that he can\u2019t be there for them at important times.<\/p>\n
We found that few of the thousands of children we surveyed wished that their father didn\u2019t work at all. Most valued fathers\u2019 employment. They accepted that it restricted their dads\u2019 time. They considered jobs to be important and a benefit to their family. But there came a tipping point when the demands of their fathers\u2019 working life made them protective of their time with him. Children don\u2019t want their dads to work weekends, evenings or nights. They also feel stress when their dad\u2019s work is high pressured, and they object when their fathers don\u2019t have flexibility around work times.<\/p>\n
These constraints on time with dad \u2013 about which children expressed discontent \u2013 also corresponded with declines in children\u2019s estimation of how close they felt to their fathers. That\u2019s a concern because a large body of evidence shows that close relationships between fathers and their children are fundamental to children\u2019s wellbeing \u2013 their identity, developmental achievement and long-term health.<\/p>\n
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