Here come the Daddy Wars

Men are starting to notice what women have known since they first entered the work force back in large numbers in the seventies: it’s difficult to balance work life and family life.

Just as the media is starting to lose interest in the “Mommy Wars,” here come “The Daddy Wars.”

In August, CNN reported on a survey done by CareerBuilder.com. 38 percent of working dads would take a pay cut to spend more time with their kids.

Last year Time Magazine reported that men born after 1965 spend over 50% more time with their kids on workdays than baby boomer dads with kids the same age.

But here’s the news that came out this week: not everybody wants to spend extra time at their kids’ hockey games. USA Today cites the example of two men-- one who leaves his job at 5 p.m. each day so he can be with his family and one who spends long hours, free time, and some weekends at the office. These two work styles are at the crux of “The Daddy Wars.”

Some companies are starting to offer such benefits as two week paid paternity leave and adoption leave. And employers are seeing the value in letting dads have more flex time, in order to attend their children’s events or just to be home to do their share of the work of parenting.

Often people think of Europe as having more enlightened laws for the family.

A Eurobarometer survey shows that men in the EU are aware of their paternity leave, but often hesitate to take it, because of concerns about their career advancement or because of financial worries.

Are there family friendly policies in place at your job?

Are you a dad who wants more time with your family?

Now that the media is paying more attention to the problems of dads, do you think that we’re going to see more flexibility in the workplace?