Fathers work the hardest, but not as hard as they used to…

Men with a partner and children at home work longer hours than other men in full-time work, but the number of hours they work has been in decline over the last 10 years, according to new research published today by the University of East Anglia and NatCen Social Research.

Three in 10 men, living in what is seen as the typical family set-up in the UK, work 48 or more hours per week and one in 10 work 60 hours or more per week, higher than the average for all other men, women, lone fathers and considerably higher than men without dependent children.

However, the number of fathers working long hours fell between 2001 and 2011. In 2001 40 per cent of them worked 48 hours or more per week and 13 per cent worked 60 hours or more, compared with 31 per cent and 10 per cent respectively, a decade later.

The research findings, included in one of three reports published today at www.modernfatherhood.org as part of a new study seeking to map modern fatherhood in the UK, also show that during the noughties, the usual weekly working hours of fathers in two parent households who worked full time fell from 47 to 45 hours per week, as did the usual weekly working hours of all males working full-time (from 46 to 44 hours per week).

Meanwhile, there has been a significant decline in the proportion of fathers working evenings, nights or weekends. The share of those who never work evenings has risen from 33% to 52%, never working nights has gone up from 66% to 76%, while those never working weekends rose from 26% to 45%.

Mothers sharing the responsibility

Other findings on women's working hours suggest that mothers are increasingly sharing the responsibility for earning money.

Mothers who live with their partner and children are more likely to be in full-time work than they were a decade ago. The proportion of households with two full-time earners has increased from 26% in 2001 to 29% in 2011.

In addition, mothers who work part-time, who have partners working full-time, now work slightly longer hours, up from 17.7 to 18.2 hours per week.

Working hours of all women working full-time have fallen from 41 hours per week in 2001 to 40 hours in 2011 and the usual weekly working hours of mothers working full-time have remained stable at 39 hours per week.

Changing face of families

Just over 80 per cent of families where a mother, father and children live under the same roof have one of three models, either the traditional breadwinner (22%), two parents working full-time (29 per cent) or one parent working full-time and one part-time (31 per cent).

The findings suggest only a minority of families, around one fifth, have the traditional male breadwinner model for families where only the father goes out to work, but this has not changed in the last 10 years.

Where there has been change it has been the rise of families with two parents working full-time, up by three per cent, and the decrease in families with one parent working full-time and one working part-time, down by six per cent.

Prof Margaret O'Brien, co-director of the Centre for Research on Children and Families at UEA, said: "Our research suggests that fathers are spending less time at work and mothers are spending more. There may be a number of reasons for these changes, but the combination of this means that fathers are now more likely to be at home with their children and free to take a greater role in family life."

Svetlana Speight, research director at NatCen Social Research, said: "This new data base on modern fatherhood gives a fascinating insight into men's work and activities with children. As families change and evolve it is clear that fathers' involvement and responsibilities are extending beyond the financial sphere."