Do only women worry about juggling work and family? Not really, according to a new study. Men are more likely than women to quit their jobs if time with their kids is jeopardized. If a certain job is cutting into family time, a man is more likely to pack up and go elsewhere.
Ann Huffman, a doctoral student in psychology and Stephanie Payne, Ph.D., both at Texas A&M University, studied 280 people in the U.S. military stationed in Germany over a two-year period. Every three months, the men and women were asked if working late hours or managing a heavy workload would force them to quit their jobs. Men said they were more likely to quit.
"Traditionally, men have been in the workforce and women have dealt with family matters," says Huffman. Increases in single fathers and double-income households have pushed added family responsibilities onto men. Huffman argues that current attitudes toward gender are dated and do not reflect the modern reality of family life.
