Being a Father and a Senior Executive at the Same Time
4 March 2008
Read by 1638 persons
Text: Father and senior executive, how to balance your life? A discussion with the consulting firm Equilibres and Bénédicte Bertin-Mourot, sociologist at the CNRS and co-creator of the Observatory of Executives.
How do French fathers, senior executives and high-potential individuals aged 30 to 40, balance their professional and personal lives? Conducted by the consulting firm Equilibres and Bénédicte Bertin-Mourot, sociologist at the CNRS and co-creator of the Observatory of Executives, this survey is titled "Manager Fathers in Search of Balance: Portrait of a Generation that Wants to Reconcile Work and Fatherhood". Conducted with fathers, notably at Suez, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Coca-Cola Enterprise, Saint-Gobain, Bain & Company, and supplemented by a survey orchestrated by LH2, the study highlights the following central idea: men are investing more and more in their fatherhood every day. And in doing so, they are transforming their relationship with work.
Two out of three executive fathers want a balanced life, that is to say, maintaining their professional investment without sacrificing their family life. 60% of the executive fathers surveyed took their paternity leave in full or in part. Half of the executive fathers regret not having enough time to take care of their children. 20% of them say they are ready (especially in the Ile-de-France region) to leave their company if it allows them to better reconcile their private and professional lives.
The study shows that in 2008, the generation of fathers aged 30 to 40 is mainly "balance-seekers" (52%) or "egalitarians" (33%), while "breadwinners" are only 15% (see details of the profiles below). For the first two categories, building a balanced life is a deep aspiration, not easy to implement in the office. These two groups call for real changes in mentalities and a cultural change in companies... which is slow in coming. "They always feel that they are up against prejudices that confine them to their role as managers, the culture of total involvement made possible by high-tech tools and the fact that parental leave, part-time work and other professional breaks are still too often considered taboo," highlights the study.
Furthermore, these "balance-seekers" and "egalitarians" must also negotiate daily with their wives, who are just as or even more qualified than they are, the distribution of time in the couple. Even if, ultimately, professional compromises are made by the wife, especially among senior executives.
March 4, 2008
Lexpansion.com
How do French fathers, senior executives and high-potential individuals aged 30 to 40, balance their professional and personal lives? Conducted by the consulting firm Equilibres and Bénédicte Bertin-Mourot, sociologist at the CNRS and co-creator of the Observatory of Executives, this survey is titled "Manager Fathers in Search of Balance: Portrait of a Generation that Wants to Reconcile Work and Fatherhood". Conducted with fathers, notably at Suez, PSA Peugeot-Citroen, Coca-Cola Enterprise, Saint-Gobain, Bain & Company, and supplemented by a survey orchestrated by LH2, the study highlights the following central idea: men are investing more and more in their fatherhood every day. And in doing so, they are transforming their relationship with work.
Two out of three executive fathers want a balanced life, that is to say, maintaining their professional investment without sacrificing their family life. 60% of the executive fathers surveyed took their paternity leave in full or in part. Half of the executive fathers regret not having enough time to take care of their children. 20% of them say they are ready (especially in the Ile-de-France region) to leave their company if it allows them to better reconcile their private and professional lives.
The study shows that in 2008, the generation of fathers aged 30 to 40 is mainly "balance-seekers" (52%) or "egalitarians" (33%), while "breadwinners" are only 15% (see details of the profiles below). For the first two categories, building a balanced life is a deep aspiration, not easy to implement in the office. These two groups call for real changes in mentalities and a cultural change in companies... which is slow in coming. "They always feel that they are up against prejudices that confine them to their role as managers, the culture of total involvement made possible by high-tech tools and the fact that parental leave, part-time work and other professional breaks are still too often considered taboo," highlights the study.
Furthermore, these "balance-seekers" and "egalitarians" must also negotiate daily with their wives, who are just as or even more qualified than they are, the distribution of time in the couple. Even if, ultimately, professional compromises are made by the wife, especially among senior executives.
March 4, 2008
Lexpansion.com
