Today’s Dad is Not a Babysitter. He’s an Engaged Parent and Ready for His Paternity Leave

New 2016 Dads@Work Survey from Care@Work Reveals That 87% Would Be
More Involved With Their Family’s Daily Routine If Offered More
Flexibility at Work

WALTHAM, Mass.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#dadsatwork–While much has been written and studied about women striving to balance
career and parenthood, a new survey shows that this isn’t just an issue
for women: dads are facing challenges too. Care@Work,
the Care.com solution helping companies support their working families,
conducted the new Dads@Work
Survey. According to the survey, more than half of working dads
(57%) feel they don’t spend enough time with their children during the
week, and 87% want to be more involved with the family’s daily routine.
And, just as moms have continued to struggle to balance their working
schedules with family demands, so do dads, with only 52% feeling their
companies do enough to support working parents.

“Two parents working is the new reality for most families these days,
with 60% of households having no stay-at-home parent and 93% of dads
working outside of the home,” states Michael Marty, SVP and GM of
Care@Work by Care.com. “The lines between work and life are blending,
but societal and cultural conventions aren’t changing fast enough to
accurately reflect the lives of most families today. Our survey found
that dads not only want more day-to-day involvement with their families,
but also more support from their employers to make that possible. To
compete for the best possible talent, today’s business leader needs to
build a company culture that supports both women and men as engaged
parents.”

“For too long, we’ve discussed work-family integration as a woman’s
issue. The fact is the vast majority of fathers care very much about
their careers and are also putting in the work to be hands-on, highly
involved dads,” added Scott Behson, PhD, professor of management at
Fairleigh Dickinson University and author of The
Working Dad’s Survival Guide. “The results of this important
survey show how men aspire to success in their work-family juggles,
providing data and recommendations for how fathers, families and
employers can support working dads.”

2016 DADS@WORK SURVEY HIGHLIGHTS

Beyond Your Father’s Briefcase: According to the survey, fathers
today view their role and priorities differently than how they viewed
their father’s priorities when they were growing up. Interestingly, they
considered “making their children happy” the same top priority for
today’s dads (58%) as it was for their fathers (42%), but dads of today
also prioritize good work/life balance (55%) and a healthy lifestyle for
their family (47%) as what is most important (compared to their own
fathers at 22% and 21%, respectively).

Family First, Then Comes Work: The 40-hour work week is a thing
of the past, with a whopping 89% of dads surveyed working above that
threshold and 30% working more than 50 hours a week. And even though 1
in 3 working fathers spend more than 16 hours during the work week with
their children, more than half (57%) don’t feel they spend enough time
with them.

Flexibility for More Family Time (and Not JUST the Fun Stuff): A
resounding 87% of working fathers would be more involved with their
family’s daily routine if their employer offered a more flexible
schedule. Almost half want to be involved with every aspect of the day,
with the top five activities including general playtime (73%), doctor’s
appointments (61%), preparing dinner for the family (59%), going to/from
activities (57%), and bedtime routine (54%). It’s no surprise that 85%
feel their partner would be happier if they did participate more – and
moms agree (86%)!

Support for Parents Isn’t Just About Leave (or Moms): Nearly half
of working fathers (48%) feel their employers don’t do enough to support
working parents, citing the lack of child care assistance (55%) and paid
parental leave (50%). Furthermore, 64% of working fathers feel their
company/colleagues treat moms and dads differently, offering new moms
more leniency (50%) and more benefits (43%).

“Forward-thinking employers across an array of industries like Twitter,
Ernst & Young, Feeding America, Etsy
and so many others recognize this shift. They invest in and strive to
support moms and dads equally within their organization, which helps
them retain and recruit the best talent. That, in turn, reduces
absenteeism and drives overall productivity and corporate performance,”
added Marty.

If You Build It, They Will Come: When employers do offer parental
benefits or create a supportive culture for parents, dads engage. Though
dad-bias still exists in the workplace, 76% of dads did not feel
their co-workers/manager discounted their ability to do the job when
they took time off after their child was born; however, on the flip
side, that means roughly 1 in 4 did feel
there was some sort of bias towards them, so there’s still work to be
done. Regardless, dads felt as though their company/ colleagues
perceived them as supportive of the family (85%) and as an engaged
father (56%). And 89% of dads who participate in their child’s
sports/extracurricular activities are up front with their
boss/colleagues when they have to leave work to attend kid activities
without fearing that doing so will negatively impact their career.

Paid Leave Matters: A staggering 95% of employed dads feel that
they should have fully paid paternity leave, with 70% feeling they
should receive 4 weeks or more – far more than the current norm of most
employers offering no form of paid paternity leave (Society for Human
Resources reports
in 2015 only 17% of employers in the U.S. offer some type of paid
paternity leave). However, this doesn’t stop dads from taking the time
they need and want. Even though only 28% of those surveyed reported
having fully paid leave, 90% of dads took time off after their child was
born (60% taking between 1-2 weeks).

The Dads@Work Survey from Care@Work surveyed over 750 parents (320 dads;
450 moms) during the month of May 2016 to uncover the wants and needs of
today’s fathers from both parents’ point-of-view. Visit workplace.care.com/dadsatwork
for more information about the 2016 Dads@Work Survey from Care@Work.

About Care.com

Since launching in 2007, Care.com (NYSE: CRCM) has been committed to
solving the complex care challenges that impact families, caregivers,
employers, and care service companies. Today, Care.com is the world’s
largest online destination for finding and managing family care, with
11.0 million families and 8.6 million caregivers* across 16 countries,
including the U.S., U.K., Canada and parts of Western Europe, and
approximately 800,000 employees of corporate clients having access to
our services. Spanning child care to senior care, pet care, housekeeping
and more, Care.com provides a sweeping array of services for families
and caregivers to find, manage and pay for care or find employment.
These include: a comprehensive suite of safety tools and resources
members may use to help make more informed hiring decisions – such as
third-party background check services, monitored messaging, and tips on
hiring best practices; easy ways for caregivers to be paid online or via
mobile app; and household payroll and tax services provided by Care.com
HomePay. Care.com builds employers customized benefits packages covering
child care, back up care and senior care consulting services through its
Care@Work business, and serves care businesses with marketing and
recruiting support. To connect families further, Care.com acquired
community platforms Big Tent and Kinsights in 2013 and 2015,
respectively. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, Care.com has
offices in Berlin, Austin, New York City and the San Francisco Bay area.

*As of March 2016

Contacts

Care.com
Natalie Gerke, 781-795-7329
Public Relations Manager
natalie.gerke@care.com