Fathers' work-life balance: why occupational class matters in UK
- jdavies008
- Jul 6
- 5 min read
Updated: Jul 6
Workplace policies that create space for fathers to be involved in their children’s care are important for many reasons, write Drs Helen Norman, Rebecca Jones, Jeremy Davies and Wei Zhuang (see below for author details).
Longer periods of paid paternity leave, for example, give fathers more time at home with their children – and are linked to better wellbeing for both mothers and fathers, stronger parental relationships, and a greater likelihood of mothers returning to paid work after childbirth. Supporting dads’ involvement through father-inclusive leave and flexible working policies may also help their children do better at school.
But there’s a problem: workplaces often treat fathers' work-life balance as an afterthought, which can prevent some dads from engaging in caregiving as much as they would like. And our new research finds that this is particularly the case for fathers in lower status occupations.
What gets in the way of fathers’ caregiving?
Working Families’ 2025 survey of 5,000 working fathers in the UK found that overall, more than a third (35%) felt unable to take as much parental leave as they wanted, and three quarters experienced stigma around taking time off work for childcare.
In our new survey of 1,000 fathers (for more details see About our research below), we’ve discovered that fathers in supervisory, clerical and skilled manual occupational groups were half as likely as those in higher managerial and professional groups to report being able to take the amount of parental leave that they wanted, regardless of their age and working pattern (full-time employed, part-time employed, self-employed).
Compared to higher managerial and professional fathers, those in intermediate, supervisory, and clerical groups were three times more likely to believe that if they made a formal request for flexible working it would be denied. Semi-skilled and unskilled fathers were six times more likely to believe this. These differences remained even when we accounted for the fathers’ age, employment status, and the age of their youngest child.
What’s the role of workplace culture?
Fathers' work-life balance depends on them being able to talk openly about their role as a father at work. But two-thirds (68%) of fathers in our new survey said they did not feel able to do this.
And again, when we looked at differences across household occupational groups, we found that fathers in intermediate, supervisory, clerical and skilled-manual groups were around half as likely as fathers in higher managerial and professional groups to feel comfortable discussing their fatherhood role at work. Semi-skilled and unskilled fathers were around 70% less likely than those in higher managerial and professional groups to feel comfortable discussing this. This was even when we accounted for the father’s age and the age of their children.
Pressures to be a breadwinner were also more likely to be felt by fathers outside higher managerial and professional occupations. Fathers outside these occupations were twice as likely as fathers in higher managerial and professional occupations to report feeling at least some pressure to be the breadwinner. This was true even after we accounted for their age, marital status, and the age of their youngest child.
Why does this ‘class effect' exist?
Workplace barriers to fathers’ work-life balance remain stark, and our new data spells out how much more powerful they can be for dads outside of higher managerial and professional occupational groups.
Fathers in higher managerial and professional roles may have greater autonomy and access to flexibility. Organising leave or flexible working may also be more challenging to achieve in the lower-paid and lower-skilled occupational groups because of the nature of this sort of work — particularly if it is shift-based, manual, or frontline. Financial barriers may also play a role, with fathers in lower occupational groups less able to afford taking leave, even where it is available, unless it is paid at close to salary replacement levels.
But we found that cultural barriers were also stark for fathers in lower occupational groups. Pressures to be a traditional breadwinner seem to persist, which may explain why fathers in lower occupational groups often find it harder to talk openly about fatherhood at work than those in managerial and professional groups.
This may point to an important occupational class dimension in fathers’ ability to care. While policy discussions assume that fathers make straightforward choices over whether to take leave or work flexibly, our research suggests these choices may be heavily shaped by workplace cultures and occupational structures, as well as more easily quantified factors, like affordability.
How can we do better?
The father-involvement opportunity gaps our data show should be deeply worrying for any Government that cares about school readiness and attainment gaps; and for employers that takes a holistic view on staff welfare.
The appetite for change among parents is clear: in May, the ‘Push for Paternity Leave’ campaign saw thousands of fathers and families march in London, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham to demand better paternity leave rights. August will see a nationwide ‘Parent Strike’.
The UK Government is reviewing parental leave. If it were to introduce longer, better paid statutory paternity leave this could enable fathers and partners to spend more time caring for their infants, setting up a pattern of involved fathering that persists as the child grows older. It would also send a clear signal to employers of all sizes and sectors that all male employees’ paternal roles must be taken seriously.
Meanwhile, individual employers – especially those with high numbers of dads in lower occupational groups – should consider enhancing and actively promoting their paternity offers, supporting greater flexibility for fathers, and training line managers to create more open workplace cultures.
About our research
One Poll and Working Fathers surveyed 1,000 working fathers. The survey was funded by University of Leeds.
We used National Readership Survey (NRS) social grade classifications, derived from the occupation of the head of household, as a proxy for occupational class groups.
Methodology: Responses were weighted to match the UK Labour Force Survey (Oct–Dec 2025) distribution of working fathers by age, region, employment status, and social grade. Regression models compare fathers across household occupational class groups while accounting for age, employment status, age and number of children, and relationship status. Differences highlighted as “X times more likely” are statistically significant (p < .05). All percentages and regression-based comparisons reported in this blog use weighted data.
For a summary of the occupational status categories we refer to in this blog, see the table below.
Social grade | Definition | Examples of job roles | Numbers (and %) in our survey | |
A | Higher managerial/ professional | Chief executives, directors, senior civil servants, judges, doctors, and owners of large businesses | 170 (17%) | |
B | Intermediate | Middle managers, teachers | 215 (22%) | |
C1 | Supervisory/ clerical | Shop floor supervisors, bank clerks, sales person, office supervisors, clerical staff | 115 (12%) | |
C2 | Skilled manual | Plumbers, electricians, mechanics, carpenters | 331 (33%) | |
D | Semi-skilled/ unskilled manual | Delivery drivers, assembly line workers, refuse collectors, care workers | 161 (16%) | |
E | Casual labourer, pensioner, unemployed or student (e.g. pensioners without private pensions and anyone living on basic benefits) | 8 (1%) |
About the authors
Dr Helen Norman and Wei Zhuang are based at the University of Leeds.
Dr Rebecca Jones was head of research at Working Families, which has since closed.
Dr Jeremy Davies is deputy CEO at the Fatherhood Institute.
