Your dad has most likely been the source of some of your most memorable conversations. Many of those lessons can apply to your professional life as well. Let’s look at three generations of fathers and the career lessons they might have to help you succeed at your job. (more…)
Balancing your work and home lives can be a challenge. Can you coach your son’s little league game and still nab that promotion? Does taking time off for your daughter’s play make you less likely to get a raise?
Traditionally, moms (even working moms) were expected to handle most of the child-rearing responsibilities. However, times are changing. More fathers are involved in their children’s lives than ever before. The Pew Research Center’s Modern Parenthood Survey revealed that 50% of working fathers found achieving work-family balance to be “very/somewhat difficult.”
How can you, as a dad, achieve work-life balance?
Working dads frequently have to manage multiple responsibilities: parenting, their job, finance management, future planning, and more. The first step on the way to achieving work-life balance is to share some of these responsibilities. As far as parenting is concerned, it’s a good idea to sit down with your partner and coordinate schedules far in advance. That way at least one of you should be able to attend any school events that might come up.
You can also get in touch with any other potential caregivers, such as parents or other relatives. See if they can take care of the kids once in a while so that you can spend an evening out with your partner or go on a vacation out of town. Parents’ day out programs are also an option.
Finally, if you are able to afford it, you may want to look into hiring a financial planner. Such a person can help cut down on your time spent organizing your finances, freeing up that time for your partner or children. At the very least, an expert’s opinion on your current investment strategies can’t hurt anything.
No matter how well you plan, something can still come up that throws all of those plans out the window. Perhaps you promised your wife that you would make little Molly’s ballet recital on Wednesday so she could attend a conference, but the boss needs you to stay late to finish a huge project. You can’t say no because that could mean saying goodbye to any sort of raise or career advancement. Instead, you have to call your wife explaining that you actually won’t be able to make the recital. Your daughter’s feelings might get hurt as well.
Is there anything you can do to avoid this? Probably not. Being a working dad is all about balance. As horrible as it sounds, there are moments where you will have to prioritize work over your child’s event in the short term in order to better provide for them in the future. Make sure to communicate as much as possible with your spouse and children to ensure that they understand why you have to skip the event.
Hope isn’t lost, however—you just have to accept that work-life balance is all about the give and take. If you stay late one night to complete a career-defining project instead of attending that ballet recital, you’ll need to skip out on a smaller project or networking opportunity in the future. Find an employer that allows you to have flexibility—if you feel like you’re constantly having to choose your career over your kids, you might want to look into a different job.
And when you are home? Try to unplug from work as much as possible. Spend time with your kids, kick a soccer ball around, go to the park, or just watch cartoons together. Even if you can’t dedicate your entire weekend or day off to the kids, try to schedule at least one or two fun activities.
You can even declare an hour or two each night as “no-screen” time, where everyone engages in a fun family activity that doesn’t involve phones, computers, or the TV.
Once you’ve moved up in a company, you may have the ability to negotiate for more flexibility. The worst thing they can say is no—they’re not going to fire you for asking, especially when you’ve made significant contributions to the company.
Such flexibility may come with a reduced raise, but if that’s worth the flexibility to you then you’re golden. If your position allows for it, you could even ask about working from home occasionally.
However, do make sure to gauge the climate at your company first, just as you would before asking for a raise. If layoffs are happening and everybody is running around like their hair is on fire, it’s probably not a good time to ask for more time off.
Hopefully this helped you working dads out in one way or another. Happy Father’s Day!
Have any tough experiences as a working dad to share? Let us know about it in the comments below!
The first Father’s Day is believed to have originated in the state of Washington on July 19, 1910. Yet, the day did not become a nationwide holiday until President Richard Nixon made it official in 1972, nearly 60 years after Mother’s Day was declared a holiday.
Father’s Day will be celebrated this Sunday, June 19. In honor of the annual celebration, we’d like to recognize all fathers while taking a deeper look at those in the workplace.
Fathers in the Workforce
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, about 93% of all men with children under age 18 participated in the labor force in 2015. The Pew Research Center also revealed that in 46% of two-parent households, both mom and dad work full time. This is up from 31% in 1970.
Work-life Balance
With that many working fathers, the recent results from a Pew Research Center survey should come as no surprise. Just like mothers in the workplace, fathers often find it challenging to balance family and work. Yet, a large portion of those surveyed said they feel like they have to work to provide for their family. The survey also found that men want to be able to spend more time with their children and enjoy sharing the child raising responsibilities.
Here at Movin’ On Up, we salute our associates who are working fathers and wish all of them a happy Father’s Day!
Are you a working dad? Do you have tips for other working dads? Let us know in the comments section below!
Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.
The role of a parent is different for every mother and father. Some moms work, others stay home with their children, and some do both. Likewise, some fathers work while others take the opportunity to stay home and raise the kids. To celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, June 21, we want to share some interesting facts about the role dads play in their children’s future careers.
Breaking Gender Barriers
While parenthood is different for everyone, a new study by a group of psychologists at the University of British Columbia is helping illuminate how parents’ routines may impact their children. The study suggests that fathers who take part in activities that have traditionally been deemed female chores, like cooking, cleaning, or childcare, are more likely to have school-aged daughters who aspire to more gender-neutral careers, such as being a doctor or lawyer, instead of stereotypical female careers.
According to the study, when children–especially girls–see this division of household labor, their view of gender equality can be shaped from a young age.
Establishing Work Ethic
Likewise, how parents view their work life directly influences how their children will feel about work in the future. University of Michigan researchers found that children who perceive their father as someone with a strong career orientation are more likely to be career-oriented themselves. Furthermore, children may carry their parents’ views about work into their own jobs or careers.
The study also found that children who were close to their fathers were more likely to model their father’s career behavior.
Teaching Important Skills
Another study found that human capital passed from father to son, like advice, intelligence, and work ethic, could be more important to the child’s success than the money a father brings home. In fact, the study, published by the Journal of Political Economy, suggests that these intangible human elements account for nearly two-thirds of the overall relationship between a father’s income and his child’s future salary.
A Deeper Look
Express Employment Professionals recently polled fathers in the workplace to find out if they work out of necessity or choice. The poll revealed that 80% of working fathers would continue working even if they didn’t have to, while 20% reported that they would stay at home if their situation allowed. These results are not very different from those of working mothers. The poll found that 28% of mothers would stay home if they could, while 72% revealed they would continue working.
At Express, we honor and celebrate all of our associates who are working fathers and wish all of them a happy Father’s Day!
Are you a working dad? How do you find balance between your work and home life? Share your tips in the comments section below!
Movin’ On Up is brought to you by Express Employment Professionals.
