Work-at-Home Dads: Men's Non-Traditional Work Preferences

Abstract

Much is known about men's actual labor force participation but little about their preferences. The vast majority work actually full-time outside the home when they have young children. But data from a large, representative national sample of Australia show that most would prefer to be at home, either working from home or without a job. Structural equation analyses show that younger men, those who like children, and those who see conflict between family and career have less conventional preferences. Because of the large gap between preferences and actual behavior, rapid change in men's employment patterns is possible in the future.