28 Sep 5 WAYS TO EMPOWER FATHERHOOD IN THE WORK PLACE
Today, social attitudes towards male parenting are evolving quickly, which is having a direct impact on fatherhood in the workplace.
Balancing work and family life is a tricky and constant juggle for working dads, with many admitting they feel work has an impact on their ability to be a dad, as well as wanting to spend more time with their kids[1]. Men’s priorities are changing, and workplaces are changing in response, which is a significant step in the right direction.
While we know change isn’t easy and we still have a long way to go, here are five things your workplace can adopt today to empower fatherhood and help make dads feel happier at work.
- Create a caring culture. If your workplace can show a commitment to work-life balance, this can have a huge impact on retaining great employees. The first step to creating a caring culture is listening – find out what’s important to your employees with a genuine and open conversation.
- Acknowledge fatherhood as a 21st century priority, both at work as well as at home. Gone are the days when it was widely accepted that dads went off to work while mum stayed home to raise the kids. Today, many dads want to be more actively involved and present in their children’s lives.
- Encourage young fathers to take parental leave. Unfortunately, there still remains a stigma to taking paternity leave. Many new dads might worry about not being promoted or even losing respect from fellow colleagues. Encouraging and applauding dads for taking parental leave and maintaining promotions will foster an empowered culture.
- Be flexible with the work environment where and when you can. In a recent study, 95% of respondents rated flexibility in the workplace as important[2]. Whether that’s varying start and end times for daycare drop off or working remotely, it all adds up to creating a progressive workplace.
- Share experiences from role models of all genders who have made mindful trade-offs and choices to create their own unique balance between work and family life. It’s also important to gender-neutralise all talk when it comes to parenting and care to help remove outdated ideas of gender-specific roles.
[1] https://supportforfathers.com.au/resources/resources/work-and-family-balance/
[2] https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/three_steps_to_a_father_friendly_workplace