Work Life Balance a Men's Issue too

As Father's Day approaches, we should be aware of one of the startling conclusions of a recent survey.  In their 2008 National study of the Changing Workforce, Ellen Galinsky, Kerstin Aumann and James T. Bond found that men now feel more work life conflict than women do.  Men’s self-reported work-life conflict has risen from 34% in 1977 to 45% in 2008, compared to now only 39% of women.  The majority of fathers in dual earner couples, report experiencing “some or a lot of conflict today, up from 35% in 1977.”  That compares now to only 45% of women in dual earner couples.  Far from being just a women’s issue, work life balance is a father's issue as well.  Over a generation when the percentage of women in the workplace has increased substantially so that dual earner families are now the norm, the needs of families has changed but the structure of work has not.  Fathers need workplace flexibility this Father's Day.