Fathers struggling to balance work and family

Women have long been the ones to struggle with balancing work and family, but the latest Modern Families Index shows dads are starting to speak out about their battle to spend more time with their children.

The report, compiled by work-life balance charity Working Families, shows that although laws have changed to allow working fathers to take more time off for new children, common perception of flexibility for childcare is still centred on mothers.

This means men are instead taking sick days to be with their families. 36% say they have faked being ill in order to commit to family obligations, with younger fathers more likely to do so (48%).

This is evident by the fact that more than 40% of fathers aged 16 to 25 say they drop their children at school every day. That figure drops to just over 30% of men in the 26 to 35 age bracket, followed by just 10% of over-55s.

As men are taking a more prominent role in their families, resentment toward employers is on the up. 30% of fathers say they feel bitter about their work-life balance, whereas only 24% of mothers say the same. However, only 28% of the men surveyed would take a pay cut to have a better balance.

Read the original article by The Daily Mail at dailym.ai/1UkYeUM