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With Father's Day approaching and 94.3% of married dads working last year compared to 72.3% of married moms, the personal-finance website WalletHub recently released its report on 2025'a Vwar and worst states for Working dads, as well as expert commentary.
In order to help dads balance their dual role as parent and provider, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 22 key indicators of friendliness toward working dads. The data set ranges from the average length of the work day for men to child-care costs to the share of men in good or better health.
Life as a Working Dad in New Hampshire (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-working-dads/13458
"Working dads have to worry about much more than just how much income they're bringing home to support their kids. They also have to make sure that their children's childcare and education are adequate, their health is properly looked after, and they get enough quality time with their father. The best states for working dads provide the conditions for all these needs to be met, while also helping dads maintain their own physical and mental health."
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"Massachusetts is the best state for working dads, boasting one of the lowest unemployment rates for fathers, at just 2.7%, along with the fourth-lowest poverty rate for kids, at 5.1%. In addition, Massachusetts has the best parental leave policies of any state, the best school systems in the country and a high number of child care workers per capita."
- Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
Expert Commentary
What are the biggest issues facing working dads today?
"One of the biggest issues that working dads are facing today is to find a healthy balance between their work and family life. Due to not balancing work and family domains, working dads face issues, such as poor relationship quality with spouse, low engagement with children, lack of productivity, and work stress. These problems also affect their health and well-being and the overall functioning of their family."
Dr. M. H. Raza - Creator of MCEM Programs; Associate Professor, Missouri State University
"Working dads want to spend more time with their families. In many workplaces, policies are lacking to allow dads to have flexible hours or remote work. At the same time, many dads have work that does not lend itself to working at home. If more workplaces had policies that allowed time off for family activities, there would be more productive workers and stronger families."
Rob Weisskirch, MSW, Ph.D. - Department Chair, Human Development and Family Science; Professor, California State University, Monterey Bay
How can young fathers strike the right balance between career and family?
"Young fathers would be able to maintain a good balance between work and family when they receive appropriate support from their family and workplace. Research has shown that support from supervisors and coworkers help employees to maintain a good work-family balance. Similarly, research also has revealed that relationship quality with spouse or partner helps employees to maintain a healthy work-family balance. Likewise, family friendly workplace policies can also create a supportive environment for young fathers to perform their work and family responsibilities in an effective manner. For instance, schedule flexibility can help working fathers to work from home. Consequently, fathers can help their spouse/partner to perform household chores and childcare responsibilities. For single fathers, workplaces can offer childcare responsibilities so that young fathers do not get worried about the supervision of their children while they are in the workplace. Hence, when young fathers receive appropriate support from their family and workplace, they are more likely to maintain a healthy work-family balance."
Dr. M. H. Raza - Creator of MCEM Programs; Associate Professor, Missouri State University
"For many fathers, career development is a significant source of identity, and economic providing is an important aspect of what they do for their children and families. However, fathers should consider how time and energy devoted to paid work may result in sacrifices to their time and relationships with their children and co-parents. The benefits of father involvement and fathers' satisfaction with family relationships can be maximized when they are meaningfully engaged in the nurturing and care of children that goes beyond just 'being there.' Fathers should also attend to the needs of mothers and other co-parents as they consider work and family balance. As children's needs and career goals of both fathers and their co-parents change, regular and open communication about work-family balance will help to ensure that each parent's needs are met while establishing a cooperative environment to support positive child development."
Ray Petren, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Scranton
What impact does working from home have on fathers' role in caring for children and housework?
"There are pros and cons of working from home for fathers. The positive side is that they have more schedule flexibility, which allows them to support their spouse/partner in performing housework and childcare responsibilities. The negative side is that work invades the family and takes time away from fathers that they were supposed to spend with their spouse/partner and children. Hence, employers need to facilitate their employees to offer schedule flexibility in a way that does not impact their family life."
Dr. M. H. Raza - Creator of MCEM Programs; Associate Professor, Missouri State University
"As many fathers continue to work from home, they will continue to be faced with the ongoing challenges of balancing work and home responsibilities. On the bright side, with less time dedicated to commuting, they may be more available to assist with meal preparations, laundry, care for sick children, attend to other household responsibilities, and have more time to commit to their own physical and mental health needs. With the decrease in expenses related to working outside the home (gas, auto repairs, work attire, etc.), there may also be some financial relief."
Laura Bloom, Ph.D., CFLE - Associate Professor; Faculty Director, Child Study Center; Director, Certified Family Life Education Program, University of Montevallo
In order to help dads balance their dual role as parent and provider, WalletHub compared the 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia across 22 key indicators of friendliness toward working dads. The data set ranges from the average length of the work day for men to child-care costs to the share of men in good or better health.
Life as a Working Dad in New Hampshire (1=Best; 25=Avg.):
- Overall Rank: 9th
- 10th - Male Life Expectancy
- 1st - % of Kids Younger than 18 with Dad Present Living in Poverty
- 1st - Unemployment Rate for Dads with Kids Younger than 18
- 13th - Male Uninsured Rate
- 23rd - Avg. Length of Work Day (in Hours) for Men
- 14th - % of Physically Active Men
- 25th - Child-Care Costs (Adjusted for Median Family* Income)
- 16th - Day-Care Quality
For the full report, please visit:
https://wallethub.com/edu/best-and-worst-states-for-working-dads/13458
"Working dads have to worry about much more than just how much income they're bringing home to support their kids. They also have to make sure that their children's childcare and education are adequate, their health is properly looked after, and they get enough quality time with their father. The best states for working dads provide the conditions for all these needs to be met, while also helping dads maintain their own physical and mental health."-
"Massachusetts is the best state for working dads, boasting one of the lowest unemployment rates for fathers, at just 2.7%, along with the fourth-lowest poverty rate for kids, at 5.1%. In addition, Massachusetts has the best parental leave policies of any state, the best school systems in the country and a high number of child care workers per capita."
- Chip Lupo, WalletHub Analyst
Expert Commentary
What are the biggest issues facing working dads today?
"One of the biggest issues that working dads are facing today is to find a healthy balance between their work and family life. Due to not balancing work and family domains, working dads face issues, such as poor relationship quality with spouse, low engagement with children, lack of productivity, and work stress. These problems also affect their health and well-being and the overall functioning of their family."
Dr. M. H. Raza - Creator of MCEM Programs; Associate Professor, Missouri State University
"Working dads want to spend more time with their families. In many workplaces, policies are lacking to allow dads to have flexible hours or remote work. At the same time, many dads have work that does not lend itself to working at home. If more workplaces had policies that allowed time off for family activities, there would be more productive workers and stronger families."
Rob Weisskirch, MSW, Ph.D. - Department Chair, Human Development and Family Science; Professor, California State University, Monterey Bay
How can young fathers strike the right balance between career and family?
"Young fathers would be able to maintain a good balance between work and family when they receive appropriate support from their family and workplace. Research has shown that support from supervisors and coworkers help employees to maintain a good work-family balance. Similarly, research also has revealed that relationship quality with spouse or partner helps employees to maintain a healthy work-family balance. Likewise, family friendly workplace policies can also create a supportive environment for young fathers to perform their work and family responsibilities in an effective manner. For instance, schedule flexibility can help working fathers to work from home. Consequently, fathers can help their spouse/partner to perform household chores and childcare responsibilities. For single fathers, workplaces can offer childcare responsibilities so that young fathers do not get worried about the supervision of their children while they are in the workplace. Hence, when young fathers receive appropriate support from their family and workplace, they are more likely to maintain a healthy work-family balance."
Dr. M. H. Raza - Creator of MCEM Programs; Associate Professor, Missouri State University
"For many fathers, career development is a significant source of identity, and economic providing is an important aspect of what they do for their children and families. However, fathers should consider how time and energy devoted to paid work may result in sacrifices to their time and relationships with their children and co-parents. The benefits of father involvement and fathers' satisfaction with family relationships can be maximized when they are meaningfully engaged in the nurturing and care of children that goes beyond just 'being there.' Fathers should also attend to the needs of mothers and other co-parents as they consider work and family balance. As children's needs and career goals of both fathers and their co-parents change, regular and open communication about work-family balance will help to ensure that each parent's needs are met while establishing a cooperative environment to support positive child development."
Ray Petren, Ph.D. - Associate Professor, Pennsylvania State University, Scranton
What impact does working from home have on fathers' role in caring for children and housework?
"There are pros and cons of working from home for fathers. The positive side is that they have more schedule flexibility, which allows them to support their spouse/partner in performing housework and childcare responsibilities. The negative side is that work invades the family and takes time away from fathers that they were supposed to spend with their spouse/partner and children. Hence, employers need to facilitate their employees to offer schedule flexibility in a way that does not impact their family life."
Dr. M. H. Raza - Creator of MCEM Programs; Associate Professor, Missouri State University
"As many fathers continue to work from home, they will continue to be faced with the ongoing challenges of balancing work and home responsibilities. On the bright side, with less time dedicated to commuting, they may be more available to assist with meal preparations, laundry, care for sick children, attend to other household responsibilities, and have more time to commit to their own physical and mental health needs. With the decrease in expenses related to working outside the home (gas, auto repairs, work attire, etc.), there may also be some financial relief."
Laura Bloom, Ph.D., CFLE - Associate Professor; Faculty Director, Child Study Center; Director, Certified Family Life Education Program, University of Montevallo
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