An illuminating ongoing series in The New York Times examines recent changes in women’s prominence and economic impact on societies around the world. Today’s piece focuses on shifting work schedules in Holland, where more fathers in demanding professions are moving to a 4-day workweek to allow a day with their young children while their partners work. Here’s the well-produced short video report:
So are Dutch employers accepting a productivity drop to retain their highly talented father employees? Or are fathers working just as much – but now also from home and about, or with more focused and longer days in the office?
The accompanying article from Katrin Bennhold doesn’t provide hard data on these key questions, which could determine if Daddy’s Day remains largely a liberal-Europe-only phenomenon or could spread more broadly among western nations. But what one four-day-a-week partner in a Dutch accounting firm states in the article is clearly applicable and under active negotiation well beyond Dutch borders:
More men want time with the family, but without giving up their careers. And more women want careers, but without giving up too much time with the family.
