Dads have long been celebrated for their role as breadwinner in the family. Now the top priority of men with children under the age of 18 still living at home is the softer side of being a father -- providing love and support.
Many fathers these days want it all -- time with kids, promotions at work and a spouse who shares the parenting duties.
But some say they would trade in their commute and office gig for a stay-at-home role.
With Father's Day just around the corner, a new study surveying nearly 1,000 fathers in the United States working at Fortune 500 firms takes a look at just how hard it is for dads to balance their work and life goals.
The study titled "The New Dad: Caring, Committed and Conflicted" was unveiled on Wednesday by the Boston College Center for Work & Family.
Dads have long been celebrated for their role as breadwinner in the family. Now the top priority of men with children under the age of 18 still living at home is the softer side of being a father -- providing love and support.
More than half of all fathers surveyed said they would consider not working outside the home if the family was able to live comfortably on one salary, a surprising change in perception, said Brad Harrington, executive director of the center.
"There's a lot of new thinking," said Harrington.
"But there is also an inability to let go of some of the more traditional roles that fathers have played and pick up some of the responsibilities that mothers have traditionally taken greater ownership for," he said.
For example, the study showed dads did not view day-to-day childcare tasks as a top priority, leaving a spouse to do the car pooling, diaper changes and laundry.
And, despite a desire to spend more quality time with the kids, after the birth of their children dads did not cut their work hours and said they were expected to do the same or more at the office, Harrington said.
Most dads acknowledged the parenting duties should be split equally, but it rarely happens that way, the study revealed.
That does not mean dads are not putting family first.
Job security was overwhelmingly important to fathers, the study showed, with high earnings and advancement taking a back seat.
如今许多父亲都想多样兼得——有时间陪孩子，工作上获得晋升，妻子可以分担养家的责任。
不过，也有些父亲表示，和每日往返于家和办公室之间相比，他们更愿意待在家里照顾家人。
在父亲节即将来临之际，美国开展了一项新研究，调查了在财富500强公司工作的近千名父亲，看看父亲们平衡工作和生活目标有多么不易。
波士顿学院工作与家庭中心周三发布了这一题为“新时代爸爸：顾家、尽职及冲突”的研究报告。
长期以来，在众人心目中，父亲的角色一直是挣钱养家的人。如今，对于那些子女还不到18岁的男人而言，优先考虑的是如何做个好父亲：给孩子爱和支持。
接受调查的父亲们有超过半数的人表示，如果只靠一份收入家里就能舒服地过日子，他们会考虑不外出工作。波士顿学院工作与家庭中心的执行董事布莱德•哈灵顿说，这是观念上的一个惊人转变。
哈灵顿说：“有很多新的想法。”
他说：“但在现实中让父亲放下传统上担当的部分角色，而承担起母亲们一贯肩负的部分职责还是有一定的困难。”
例如，研究表明，父亲们并未将日常照顾孩子的任务当作优先考虑的事情，仍是让妻子去做诸如拼车、换尿布、洗衣服等事情。
而且，哈林顿说，尽管希望能花更多时间陪孩子，但孩子出生后，父亲们并没有减少工作时间，甚至可能工作更多时间。
研究显示，多数父亲承认，夫妻应平均分担养育子女的责任，但现实生活中却很少如此。
不过，这并不意味着父亲们不将家庭放在第一位。
研究表明，工作的稳定性对父亲而言极其重要，高收入和晋升相对而言则没那么重要。
around the corner: 即将来临
committed: willing to work hard and give your time and energy to something; believing strongly in something（尽心尽力的；坚信的；坚定的）
be celebrated for: 以……出名
car pooling: 合伙用车，拼车
take a back seat: to be less important or have a lower priority（比较不重要）