One in five fathers who work from home would resign if forced back to the office
New research shows almost a fifth of dads currently working from home would resign if their employer mandated a return to the office full-time.
A study by King’s College London found that flexible working policies may exist on paper, but workplace cultures, expectations around visibility and assumptions about commitment often prevent fathers from using them effectively.
The survey of more than 8,200 working fathers found that nearly 17 percent of those currently working remotely would quit their jobs rather than return to the office five days a week.
The report also highlighted significant inequality; fathers desire to work from home at least two days a week; that’s twice as much as their employers usually allow. What’s more, remote working fathers are often evaluated less favorably by managers when it comes to promotions.
Professor Heejung Chung, a co-author of the report, highlighted the broader implications of these findings. “Flexible working has never been a mothers’ problem. It’s time we stopped treating it like one,” she said.
Professor Chung said that “post-pandemic fathers have discovered something their own fathers never had: the school run, dinner time, the chance to really be there to support the family’s well-being and financial stability.”
He concluded by noting the profound social change underway: “What’s more, when men get involved, not only do their ideas about what it means to be a man change, but so do their children’s ideas. A generation is growing up with a different idea of masculinity. Remote work isn’t just reshaping offices, it’s reshaping families and the future of gender roles.”
