Fathers Are Finding Their Struggles to Manage Home and the Office Are Getting Similar to Mothers'

Can working fathers have it all? Some of them are giving it a shot.

A new generation of fathers with corporate jobs is joining the debate about balancing work and family, a conversation long driven by working women. As the number of dual-earner couples grows and more men make sacrifices to support their wives' careers, some fathers are asking employers for guidance and action or tapping flexible-workplace policies originally designed for working mothers. Others are curbing their career goals to spend more time at home.

Employers have been slow to recognize men's role as caregivers, fathers and researchers say. And, as a younger generation brings new expectations for fatherhood into the office, they will have to challenge an assumption their female colleagues have faced for years: It is impossible to be both an involved parent and a star performer.

The shift comes at a time when more women are out-earning their husbands—a percentage that has risen steadily from 3.5% of families in 1960 to 15% of families in 2011, according to the Pew Research Center—and men are redefining what it means to be a dad. A study by the Boston College Center for Work & Family found that a majority of fathers, especially those under 40, are moving away from the traditional "breadwinner" role and see themselves as responsible for both the emotional and financial needs of their children.

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