Jack of all trades? Involved father, ideal worker and caring husband

Men’s roles and behaviours in the home have evolved significantly over the last few decades. Involved ‘hands on’ fathers are much more prevalent. However, research on fathers and working men remains a neglected focus. Our paper seeks to render ‘working fathers’ more visible and provides insights into the work-life balance (WLB) experiences of professional men in a flexible and autonomous work role (academia). We interviewed fifteen male faculty members with pre-school and school-age children from three research-oriented European business schools. Our study identified three salient themes that emerged from how fathers talk about WLB – ‘mastering time’; ‘it’s all about being there’; and ‘performance pressures: imposition, compliance and choice’. We show how some fathers attempt to become ‘jack of all trades’ – an ‘involved father’, an ‘ideal worker’ and a ‘caring husband’ – and how some fathers adopt working practices that heighten their level of (self-produced) work life conflict.