New dads in accounting: How to maintain a healthy work-life balance

Did you know, nearly 87% of the dads today are either mostly or fully involved in everyday parenting responsibilities? This means, more dads are now prioritising fatherhood over their careers than ever before.

With society becoming more egalitarian, people are gradually beginning to acknowledge the struggles that new dads have to face while juggling between work and childcare. However, there’s still a long way to go.

In this article, we’ll take a look at the current situation of work-life balance among dads in accounting. We’ll also suggest a few actionable tips for these dads on how to effectively balance their work life and family life without losing their sanity (and their jobs!).

Current Situation of Dads in Accounting

According to The Independent, British employees believe their work now occupies almost 50% of their life. In a perfect world, these employees would prefer to dedicate just 30% of their lives to their jobs and the remaining 70% to their life. But, merely 1 in every 3 workers believes they’ve already struck their optimal work-life balance.

Workplace stress and extended working hours are found to be the most common factors that impact work-life balance among the UK workers. While it’s true for the majority of industries, the situation in accounting is much worse.

As per our Millennial Dad at Work research, conducted in association with Deloitte, nearly 48% of dads in accounting requested for a change in their working hours because of work-life issues. However, only 56% of those dads had their requests approved.

And, nearly 13% of the new dads who requested working from home between one and two days every week, roughly 15% of them were heard.

Here’s another startling fact: While 20% of new dads requested to work from home for 3+ days every week, roughly 17% of them were granted their request.

All these statistics clearly indicate how an increasing number of dads in accounting are feeling the need to have flexibility in their work arrangements. It’s because they’re finding it challenging to pull off their double duties. But, the wide majority of employers in the UK are still oblivious to their plight.

One of the main reasons why dads in accounting have trouble in maintaining work-life balance is the lack of support from their employers.

This is why, nearly 66% of dads working in this field reportedly feel most guilt when it comes to their line managers. Some other reasons include incompetent co-workers, long commutes, and inflexible working hours.

4 Tips To Maintain Work-Life Balance For Dads in Accounting

The accounting workplace can be a challenging environment for any finance professional. And it gets even tougher for a working dad.

Managing children together with day-to-day deadlines with clients, new plans and tasks can get you wondering, “Will I ever strike a healthy work-life balance?”

Here’s the good news: Yes, you can!

It’s absolutely possible for a working professional with young kids to have a healthy domestic life while developing a flourishing accounting career.

It might be tricky, but it’s certainly rewarding.

I’ve compiled 4 tips for balancing career and children for working dads in the field of accounting.

1. Look for a standby childcare plan

Not everybody is lucky to have cooperative parents or folks living nearby. Thus, it’s important to have a standby plan for managing your kids.

Under most circumstances, taking your ill kids to work is not a good option for your little ones as well as your co-workers.

So explore different trained babysitting services or on-call caretakers in your area. Discuss with your partner in advance who’ll take time off in case something unexpected happens. Consider the possibility of splitting the day.

2. Be open about the struggles of your second duty

Many working dads perform two duties daily – one in the workplace and the other at home.  This is especially true if the mothers are also working full-time.

It’s totally normal to feel overwhelmed if you’re shouldering responsibilities like the cooking, housework, grocery shopping, and bedtime routines along with your full-time job.

Have an open discussion with your spouse about dividing the workload. Each of you can take turns in fulfilling these responsibilities without burning out.

3. Farm out some domestic errands

Consider subcontracting some of the domestic errands to free up a few hours in your hectic week for much needed relaxation.

Hire help to clean the house every other week. Sign up for a food delivery service. Drop off laundry at a professional cleaning service. Employ a babysitter to pick up your children from school.

It might shake up your budget a bit but it’s a good investment considering how it’ll let you enjoy some ‘ME’ time.

4. Request your employer for flexible work arrangement

As a working dad, you need additional time to strike a work-life balance.

You can’t extract more hours out of a day, but you can certainly request your employer about flexible working arrangements, such as working from home 1-2 days per week.

Try shifting your work hours earlier or later. Or, you may also consider working 10 hours for 4 days a week to enjoy a 3-day weekend.

Wrap Up

While many households in the UK today require double income to sustain, maintaining a healthy balance between your career and your family is attainable.

As a working dad, it’s possible for you to have a happy domestic life and a rewarding accounting career. It all depends on how you (and your partner) plan your course. We hope these 4 tips will come handy.

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Joe Flanagan is the Head of Community at Daddilife