While “working parent” conversations are meant to be inclusive and expansive, they tend to focus on working mothers due to historical circumstances. However, working fathers deserve to be included in the conversation, workplace experts urge ahead of Father’s Day.
Financial education resource WalletHub released a June 9 report on the best and worst states for working dads, ranking Massachusetts the best state and New Mexico the worst.
Researchers analyzed state-specific data points on economic well-being, work-life balance and childcare, among other factors, to create their rankings. They also used this data analysis as a springboard to champion working fathers.
“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,” WalletHub Analyst Chip Lupo said in a June 9 statement.
Lupo acknowledged that the best conditions for working fathers are ones that help these workers meet their parental goals and “maintain their own physical and mental health.” Where does HR come in? Several studies over the past couple of years have confirmed and reaffirmed that caregivers are struggling with their at-work and at-home caregiving responsibilities.
Some employers, such as Patagonia, provide on-site childcare — which can arguably be an extension of a positive workplace culture. For companies that can’t facilitate the expense, experts have called flexible work schedules and paid leave crucial benefits for working caregivers — a population that has grown by the double digits.
Importantly, research now shows that men are demanding flexibility, too.
“The strongest and most consistent theme found when analysing our qualitative data on male employees is a desire for better work-life balance and flexibility, particularly through hybrid working and the option to work from home,” researchers at U.K.-based firm WorkL noted in its 2025 Global Workplace Report.
“Working from home acts as a powerful catalyst for parental equity by placing fathers directly inside the domestic sphere during active childcare hours and eliminating long commutes,” Andrew Burnstine, associate professor at Lynn University, said in a WalletHub press release. “Remote arrangements allow dads to take on a larger share of routine household chores and spontaneous child needs that historically fell entirely on mothers.”
Notably, when sharing findings that men are demanding flexibility at work, WorkL said the data indicated “a growing comfort among men” when it comes to expressing workplace needs. Revisiting research that, to use WorkL’s words, “reflects wider societal conversations about male wellbeing and vulnerability” feels poignant, especially in June, which is Men’s Mental Health Awareness Month.
Read on to learn more about how HR professionals and their employers can bridge the gap for working fathers who are looking to excel at work and at home.