For years, working women have faced the pressures of balancing work and family. With more dual-income households, increased work hours and more involved fathers, men are experiencing greater pressure to balance work and family than ever before, according to new research from Boston College and WFD and the Alliance for Work Life Progress.
The study found that 60 percent of working fathers experience a high level of work-family conflict, while 47 percent of women experienced the same conflict. That number for women has stayed relatively constant since 1977, while the percentage of men experiencing work-family conflict has increased, and nearly doubled since 1977 when it was at 35 percent.
Despite shifts in gender role responsibilities, men continue to feel the pressure to be the primary bread winners, according to the Families and Work Institute.
Men with families tend to work longer hours in order to provide, and in order to keep up with their single counterparts. These same men are also more involved with their children's lives and households, as the definition and expectations of the "ideal" man have changed. Not only must a man be financially successful, but he must also be a devoted son, partner or husband and an involved father, the study said.
Men are expected "to do it all, to work, to take care of the kids, to clean the house," said Josh Hoyt, father of four from Logan. These are "probably what the expectations were for women in the past. Which is understandable because more women are holding jobs that require more expectations at work, than they have in the past."
Though men are expected to be more present in their homes, society still requires men to be strong and brave, but they also "need to be tender, wise, nurturing and loving," said Will Denam, an Orem resident and working father. "I have come to believe that these qualities are more important to manhood or masculinity than the stereotypical ones like strength and power."
But when the desire to "do it all in order to have it all" comes into play, it creates a work-family conflict for men. And in order to keep up with fast paced jobs, navigate blurred boundaries between work and home life and ensure job security, men are being stretched in all directions.
Traditionally a higher percentage of women experience this pull from both sides, but recently that has changed. Researchers at the Families and Work Institute compare this conflict men are experiencing to the one women felt when they entered the workforce in mass years ago.
"I do feel a conflict between work and family life," Denam said. "I battle with a sense of guilt when I have to leave my kids with someone so I can go work. I find that when I focus on one area, the other areas tend to suffer. Constantly, I feel like I am doing a balancing act."
New research from Boston College and WFD and the Alliance for Work Life Progress "The conflict comes from maintaining your status at work, to keep a good job and provide well, while still trying to spend time with your kids and be a good dad," said Gerry Christiansen, a Salt Lake resident and single father.
Researchers have found a direct correlation between the number of hours worked and how demanding the job is and the feelings of work-family conflict. Also, men who put work first and who are in dual-earner households felt greater conflict between work and family.
An unexpected finding from the study was that men with children worked more hours each week, at least three more, than men with no children.
Men who don't live with a partner or a spouse, which includes single dads, were less likely to express high levels of work-family conflict, than those who were partnered.
"It's easier to feel the balance as a single person compared to when I was married," Christiansen said. "I was putting more pressure on myself when I was married to do all those things."
Another factor contributing to the conflict is technology. While it allows men to access work whenever they need to, and often get ahead, it also makes it hard to have a defined line between work and home, which has added to the tension.
"When I am here, I want to be at home and spend time with (my kids)," Denam said.
Around 47 percent of men working long hours did so because they needed the money, while 16 percent said they would be unable to keep their job without working extended hours, and 14 percent did so in order to keep up with the high demands of their job, according to the research conducted by the Families and Work Institute.
Creating a good balance between work and family in this fast-paced society has become more challenging. But as men today have placed a greater amount of value in family life, as well as caring for financial obligations, searching for that balance has become an important aspect of their lives.
"Men do care," Christiansen said. "Men care a lot more today."
Email: AWhatcott@desnews.com