New survey suggests some HR managers might have to shift their focus...
Coinciding with Mother’s Day yesterday, a new survey is taking a closer look at the pressures working moms are under in today’s economy and then comparing them to the stresses working fathers face too.
The survey, conducted on behalf of CareerBuilder.ca, found that many parents 41 per cent of working mothers identify themselves as the sole financial provider for their household – compared to 56 per cent of working fathers who say they’re the breadwinners for their family.
In general, fathers are more optimistic about their ability to “have it all” too – 77 per cent said they believe they can achieve both parental and professional success whereas only 70 per cent of moms said the same.
However, when asked about the impact their work life had on their parental relationships, things weren’t quite so plain sailing and it seems that both men and women are suffering the negative side effects of being a parent and a professional.
One third of women said they’d been asked to work less by at least one of their children and 38 per cent said they felt their work had “negatively affected” their relationship with their kids.
Men too shared their concerns – 27 per cent of dads had been asked the same question by their children and 34 per cent said they felt work had damaged their relationship.
Many parents also revealed that their pay packet just doesn’t compare to the price of quality time with their family – 44 per cent of working moms and 40 per cent of working dads said they’d be happy to take a pay cut to spend more time with their children.
Just 23 per cent of working mothers admitted they’d be unwilling to take a pay cut as opposed to 34 per cent of working fathers.
The study reinforces the point that HR professionals should be equally as open to providing flexible working arrangements and parental accommodation to fathers as well as mothers – without doing so, organizations risk losing their top employees.
A significant amount of working parents said they’d be quick to leave the workforce should the right situation arise – 38 per cent of moms said they were “somewhat” or “very” likely to leave their job if their spouse or significant other made enough money for the family to live comfortably and 27 per cent of working dads who said the same.
