Working Dads Fear Negative Career Impacts

The challenges working moms face have been noted for decades, even if not all the players in the labor market and corporate world necessarily appreciate those challenges or take steps to mitigate and address them.

Even with very active dads, mothers tend to assume the majority of childcare burdens, meaning working moms are constantly being stretched in different directions. Additionally, whether consciously or unconsciously, many employers and managers discriminate against working mothers, in part out of fear that those mothers are more committed to their families than their job (imagine!) and might not be a solid long-term solution to a given employment need.

But data suggests moms aren’t alone in experiencing or at least perceiving negative career consequences due to their role as a parent.

Parenting Impacts on Dads’ Careers

“Even after lockdown hinted at more egalitarian views of parenting responsibilities, Bright Horizons’ ninth-annual Modern Family Index (MFI) found that men remain more likely than women to worry about how parenting will affect them professionally,” according to Bright Horizons. “Despite satisfaction with the offerings, working fathers whose company offers at least some work-life-balance benefits are more likely than mothers (44% vs. 36%) to say using such company resources will negatively impact performance reviews.”

Additional Findings

Additional findings from Bright Horizons’ MFI include:

• Hybrid-working dads are more likely than mothers (43% vs. 27%) to worry about the negative effect of remote working on their careers when they choose to work from home.
• Overall, working dads are more likely than working moms to feel their companies have been sympathetic to working parents (74% vs. 68%), have provided enough support (70% vs. 58%), and have added/altered benefits (57% vs. 48%) to better respond to working caregiver challenges in the past 2 to 3 years.
• Working fathers are also more likely to wish their employers would do more to support their childcare needs (52% vs. 45%).

It’s important to note that the Bright Horizons data focuses primarily on perceptions: Dads are more likely to worry about negative career impacts, dads are more likely to feel employers are sympathetic to working parents, and working fathers wish employers would do more for them.

This doesn’t necessarily demonstrate the reality of employer treatment of dads versus moms or parents generally. That being said, perceptions do matter, and employers should be aware of how working dads—likely representing a substantial proportion of their workforce—perceive their level of support.

Lin Grensing-Pophal is a Contributing Editor at HR Daily Advisor.

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