Changes in attitudes identified in the British Social Attitudes Survey demonstrate that Fathers in the UK increasingly wish to combine work with time spent fulfilling childcare responsibilities. Various policies exist in the UK which give fathers the opportunity to spend more time taking care of their children, including parental leave policies and flexible working policies.
By communicating and encouraging the usage of these policies to working parents, organisations can better support fathers in the workplace, leading to a significant number of benefits for families, children, workers and the organisation, as outlined below.
Benefits for business
Employers consistently report that having family-friendly options within an organisation helps to improve workers’ motivation, productivity, employer-employee relations and staff retention. In addition, employers have noted a range of business benefits associated with family-friendly employment practices and policies including: above average financial performance, improvements in quality performance and rising sales values.
Increasingly employees and potential employees, particularly Millennials, are demanding that their employers provide family-friendly policies, and taking this into account when they apply for jobs or consider moving on from an organisation. In research by Working Families, the majority of younger fathers (87%) say they would consider their childcare needs before taking a new job or promotion. Nearly half (49%) of working fathers reported spending 25 or more hours per week on caregiving, but many still struggle to balance work and family time (Fathers Network Scotland, 2023). Meanwhile, fathers who work flexibly are significantly less likely to feel they spend too little time with their children.
Better for equality
As well as benefiting the business, supporting fathers in the workplace can also help reduce unconscious discrimination against women in the workplace and become a tool to help reduce the gender pay gap. These policies can also help reduce the gender pay gap, as they allow fathers to care for children if mothers wish to return to work.
Better for fathers
Being supported to spend more time caring for their children is beneficial for fathers as it promotes better bonding between father and child. It can also promote better intra-couple relationship over time and alleviate mental stress associated with being separated from their children particularly in the early years. A Fathers Network Scotland (2023) survey found that nearly 49% of working fathers reported spending 25 or more hours per week on caregiving, yet many still felt they struggled to balance work and family time. Recent evidence from the Working Families Index (2024) also highlights that fathers highly value flexible working, with those who work flexibly being significantly less likely to feel they are missing out on time with their children. Earlier research by the EHRC (2009) remains influential, with 56% of British fathers who took paternity leave reporting that it directly improved their long term involvement in their children’s care, and 69% saying it enhanced family life overall.
Better for children and families
Family-friendly policies can significantly benefit children. International research shows that fathers’ leave-taking, especially of more than two weeks, is associated with more involvement in childcare longer term which is linked to better outcomes for children. Evidence also suggests that paid leave for fathers, which promotes a more equitable sharing of parenting responsibilities, can support breastfeeding by giving mothers more time to breastfeed. Research within the UK shows that children with highly-involved fathers had higher cognitive test scores and were less likely to experience conduct or attention problems.