Report: Work/family issues bring stress for working dads

As I sat outside a local ice cream shop last week, enjoying a treat with my youngest girl at the end of a daddy/daughter date, it occurred to me once again how important and special such moments can be.

And how hard it can be to make time for them with all of the other responsibilities I have as a working dad.

I know I'm not alone in stressing out over this, and a recent report confirms that.

The report, titled "Beyond the Breadwinner: Professional Dads Speak Out on Work and Family," found that almost 85 percent of fathers feel pressure to be both a financial provider and an engaged parent.

Three out of four dads also worry that their jobs don't let them be the kind of dads they want to be, and more than half say work/family balance is a source of stress.

The report was released this month by A Better Balance: The Work and Family Legal Center. It was based on a survey of approximately 250 mostly white-collar working fathers in 31 states and Washington, D.C.

"I want to be the dad who attends all the little league games and dance recitals, the dad who is there in the evening to help with homework, the dad who sits down to dinner with his family every night," one father said in the report. "My current job does not allow for that to happen."

Wow, can I relate to that. I wrote a couple of months ago about trying to leave work early to attend my son's T-ball games, and I made it to most of them. But I wasn't able to attend all of my daughters' end-of-the-school-year performances, many of which occurred in the middle of the day. As my schedule has grown busier the last couple of years, I've also been factored out of the homework equation.

(Don't let the use of math terminology there fool you, though. It's possible that they've stopped coming to me for homework help because they figure I won't be able to provide much assistance. They're learning things in elementary school now that I'm pretty sure we didn't attempt until high school.)

Back to the study, many fathers said their biggest challenge revolved around time — for their families and their work.

"In particular, many mentioned the challenges of job-related travel and the demands of handling daily routines that involve getting children to school or child care and picking them up at the end of the day," the report said. "Many fathers also mentioned the psychological challenges of being able to shift gears and focus on their families once they are home."