53% of millennial fathers seek a less stressful job and 48% would take a pay cut in order to get a better work-life balance

More than half of millennial fathers want to be demoted into a less stressful job in order to be better fathers, according to a report released on Monday.



As experts warn of a “fatherhood penalty” for men who want to be more involved in the upbringing of their children, 53% of millennial fathers told researchers they wanted to move to a less stressful job, while 48% would take a pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance.

One-fifth of fathers said their employer was unsympathetic about childcare, expecting no disruption to work, while 44% had lied to their employer about family-related responsibilities that “get in the way” of work.

The 2017 Modern Families Index, published on Monday, found that while nearly half of working fathers (47%) want to downshift to a less stressful job because they cannot balance the demands of work and family life, and just over a third would be willing to take a pay cut to achieve a better work-life balance, those figures increase for younger fathers – indicating a seismic change in workforce mentality.

Among the 2,750 parents across the UK who contributed to the Modern Families Index, men were twice as likely as women to think that flexible working would have a negative impact on their career.

Experts warn that if companies do not change working practices to suit both men and women, they risk losing out on the best talent of future generations.

The women and equalities select committee has launched an inquiry into the treatment of fathers in the workplace, amid fears that they are more likely to face discrimination if they ask for part-time or flexible working than mothers.

“The Modern Families Index shines a much-needed light on the experiences of British fathers in the workplace,” said Maria Miller MP, chair of the select committee. “Many fathers want to take a more active role in caring for their children and our committee’s inquiry into the gender pay gap last year found that sharing caring responsibilities equally between mothers and fathers is the key to reducing the gender pay gap.”

The government’s flagship policy of shared parental leave was likely to have little impact, with the government predicting it would be taken up by only 2-8% of fathers, she said.

Sarah Jackson, chief executive of the charity Working Families, said employers had to make sure employees could find a work-life balance to prevent a fatherhood penalty and tackle the motherhood penalty. “Making roles flexible by default, and a healthy dose of realism when it comes to what can be done in the hours available, are absolutely vital,” Jackson said. “A game-changing first step would be government creating a new, properly paid, extended period of paternity leave – sending a clear signal that government recognises the aspirations of modern fathers and is serious about tackling the motherhood penalty that blights the working lives of so many women.”

According to flexible working jobsite Timewise, more than half of the UK’s working population now works flexibly, but only one in 10 jobs advertised match the flexibility they need.



“With more men and women than ever before choosing not to conform to the Monday to Friday, nine to five way of working, it’s time for more employers to change how they recruit and open up quality roles to flexible working from day one,” said Emma Stewart, joint chief executive of Timewise. “If not they risk losing out on the best talent of future generations, and that’s not good for business or families.”



The impact of the motherhood penalty is well documented. While a recent study from the Resolution Foundation revealed that women in their 20s have seen the pay gap halve to 5%, a sharp rise in the pay gap after the age of 30 puts millennial women on course to face a deficit of almost 30% by the time they are in their mid-40s unless there is further government intervention.

According to the Fairness in Families Index 2016 from the Fatherhood Institute, men in the UK make up only 25.8% of the part-time workforce, and spend 24 minutes caring for children for every hour done by women.