Modern dads shun part-time work

Modern fathers do not choose to work part-time, but instead return to the same working hours they did prior to their children arriving scientists say.

Researchers at the University of Bristol found modern men took an old-fashioned approach to fatherhood.

After temporarily cutting back their hours after the baby is born, they found most return to old working times.

The research also found no evidence men were combining part-time work with raising their children.

The Economic and Research Council-funded research concludes the impact fatherhood has on men's commitment to work has been overplayed with fathers not working shorter hours than non-fathers and not seeing that as a problem.

"Fatherhood is not a good predictor of the number of hours men work once other variables are taken into account," said Dr Esther Dermott, who lead the research.

"What professional men value most about their jobs is their ability to control their working hours so that they can leave early to go to school functions or parents' meetings - and this flexibility was also what other men most wanted," she added.