Men have changed – they want to be fully involved, hands-on dads, not just chained to a life of breadwinning. Are you doing all you can to give your male employees permission to be the dads they want to be?

If not, you could be missing the opportunity to attract and retain the best, most loyal men to your organisation.

Why care about working fathers?

• Over 80% of working men in the UK are parents (Connolly et al, 2013)
• Fathers experience even more work/family stress than mothers (Families & Work Institute, 2011), with 82% of UK fathers wanting to spend more time with their family (Scott & Cleary, 2013),
• Almost a third[1] say the demands of family life interfere with work
• High work/family conflict among men has a negative impact on occupational wellbeing and is found more commonly among better-educated fathers (Mauno & Kinnunen, 1998)
• 26% of UK men in paid employment have changed their work (or employer) to look after someone (mainly children) (British Social Attitudes, 2002)
• Fathers with access to flexible working have better physical and mental health, are more committed to their employer, conduct better relationships at work c, are better motivated, and perform better, and are less often absent from work (Lancaster University Management School, 2011)
• Paternity leave is one of the two ‘family friendly’ benefits most consistently related to above-average financial performance; and one of four most consistently related to above-average labour productivity performance (Dex & Smith, 2002).

[1] Certainly a substantial underestimate, since research shows that both male and female workers are reluctant to admit to the degree to which family issues compromise their work performance.
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