Fathers Paying Price For Long Work Hours

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Fathers are working more, spending less time with their families, and paying the price for it.

A new study from the Family and Work Institute found fathers are working on average, 47 hour weeks, three hours longer every week than men with no children.

It also leads to more work-family conflicts.

60-percent of men who work 50 or more hours every week said they find their work life and family life conflicting.

The primary reason for all the work researchers found, was the basic pressure men feel to provide for their family.

Rodney Munoz said it's something he feels every day when he leaves his day job in Arlington, and drives to a side job working on cars in Red Oak.

"I got an understanding wife, and she just let me do what I need to do to provide for the family," he said.

Munoz has a teenage daughter and two grown sons, but says he still feels the need to work long hours.

"Just became ingrained in me. Just became part of my life, part of my work ethic. That's just the way, it's the only way I know how to do things."

Researchers call it the new male mystique, and said it's similar to the conflicts women faced when they began entering the workforce more frequently several decades ago.

The solution isn't simple.

Employers need to be more flexible with schedules and work requirement, researchers said, letting men balance work and family life.

They also said that continued emphasis on giving men and women equal footing in the workplace will give families more options when considering breadwinning and family care duties.