Dads on Paternity Leave: Thanks but No Thanks

  
    
  
  
    
      More than half of working dads (59 percent) would not take paternity 
      leave if it were offered, according to the latest Workplace Insights 
      survey by Adecco USA and just in time for Father’s 
      Day. Among those who would not take paternity leave, reasons cited 
      include: fear it would harm their career (31 percent); being too busy at 
      work to be away for an extended period of time off (28 percent) and 
      being depended on too much by co-workers and clients (28 percent). The 
      top reason: 46 percent say they’re unable to 
      afford paternity leave even if it did pay partial salary (which is rare 
      in the U.S.).
    
    
      Some key findings include:
    
    
      
        Battle for Balance: Compared to working moms, do working 
        dads struggle less with work/life balance? Half (50 percent) of 
        working moms seem to think so, compared to 29 percent of working dads.
      
      
        Family First?: A quarter (25 percent) of working dads 
        say they usually dedicate more time to their work life, while 11 
        percent of working moms claim the same.
      
      
        Fatherhood Fears: Some dads who wouldn’t 
        take paternity leave say that they don’t 
        think they’d do a good job caring for the 
        baby (12 percent) or that they don’t 
        have the patience to spend that much time with the baby (8 percent).
      
    
    
      “Even if some companies are offering paternity 
      leave, it has yet to become a society standard,” 
      says Bernadette Kenny, chief career officer, Adecco USA. “Our 
      survey found that 70 percent of dads think that being a father also 
      makes them a better employee. But fathers probably face more pressure to 
      stay on the job more than mothers do when a baby comes along. Now it’s 
      the employers’ turn to do a better job of 
      implementing benefits and policies that allow for dads to achieve 
      sustainable work-life balance.”
    
    
      Seventy-two percent of dads named the ability to work flexible hours as 
      one of the most appealing benefits. Here are some tips on how companies 
      can help dads achieve balance:
    
    
      
        Talk to Your New Dads: Make 
        sure your employee knows that you understand, appreciate and will 
        accommodate their additional family responsibilities. Work with dads 
        to negotiate a working environment that best suits their personal and 
        professional needs.
      
      
        Focus on Fathers: Though 
        typically thought of as maternal benefits, telecommuting and flex-time 
        allows for new dads to maintain their roles as productive employees. 
        This is significant for companies that want to preserve employee 
        satisfaction and retention.
      
      
        Make Policies Conventional: 
        A new dad’s struggle to balance work and 
        family can be avoided by making paternal benefits known company-wide 
        so they become part of the norm; once it’s 
        accepted, dads may be less likely to feel uncomfortable taking 
        advantage of these benefits.
      
    
    
      ADECCO WORKPLACE INSIGHTS SURVEY 
      METHODOLOGY:
    
    
      This survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris 
      Interactive on behalf of Adecco USA between May 9 and May 11, 2007 among 
      223 adult men (aged 18 and over) who are employed full-time and/or 
      part-time and parents or legal guardians of at least one child. Figures 
      for region, age within gender, education, household income and 
      race/ethnicity were weighted where necessary to bring them into line 
      with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score 
      weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ 
      propensity to be online. With a pure probability sample of 223, one 
      could say with a ninety-five percent probability that the overall 
      results would have a sampling error of +/- 10 percentage points. 
      Sampling error for data based on sub-samples may be higher and would 
      vary. However, that does not take other sources of error into account. 
      This online survey is not based on a probability sample and therefore no 
      theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
    
    
      ADECCO WORLDWIDE:
    
    
      Adecco S.A. is a Global Fortune 500 company and the world leader in 
      workforce solutions. The Adecco Group network connects over 700,000 
      associates with business clients each day through its network of over 
      33,000 employees and 6,600 offices in over 70 countries and territories 
      around the world. Registered in Switzerland, and managed by a 
      multinational team with expertise in markets spanning the globe, the 
      Adecco Group delivers an unparalleled range of flexible staffing and 
      career resources to corporate clients and qualified associates.
    
    
      ADECCO NORTH AMERICA:
    
    
      Adecco is the workforce solutions leader in the United States and 
      Canada, with a comprehensive service offering that includes temporary 
      and contract staffing, permanent recruitment, outplacement and career 
      services, training and consulting.
    
    
      Adecco operates the following specialty divisions in the U.S. and around 
      the world: Adecco Office; Adecco Industrial; Adecco Engineering & 
      Technical; Adecco Human Capital Solutions; Adecco Finance; Adecco Legal; 
      Adecco Information Technology; Adecco Medical & Science; and Adecco 
      Government Solutions.
    
    
      Adecco S.A. is registered in Switzerland (ISIN: CH001213860) and listed 
      on the Swiss Stock Exchange with trading on virt-x (SWX/VIRT-X: ADEN), 
      the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: ADO) and Euronext Paris - Premier 
      Marché (EURONEXT: ADE).
    
    
      Additional information is available at the company’s 
      website at www.adeccousa.com.
    
    
      ABOUT HARRIS INTERACTIVE:
    
    
      Harris Interactive is the 12th largest and fastest-growing market 
      research firm in the world. The company provides innovative research, 
      insights and strategic advice to help its clients make more confident 
      decisions which lead to measurable and enduring improvements in 
      performance. Harris Interactive is widely known for The Harris Poll, 
      one of the longest running, independent opinion polls and for pioneering 
      online market research methods. The company has built what it believes 
      to be the world’s largest panel of survey 
      respondents, the Harris Poll Online. Harris Interactive serves clients 
      worldwide through its United States, Europe and Asia offices, its 
      wholly-owned subsidiaries Novatris in France and MediaTransfer AG in 
      Germany, and through a global network of independent market research 
      firms. More information about Harris Interactive may be obtained at www.harrisinteractive.com.
    
    
      To become a member of the Harris Poll Online and be invited to 
      participate in online surveys, register at www.harrispollonline.com.