More Fathers Seeking Satisfying Balance Between Family Life and Work

There's a lot of talk these days about the demands of balancing a career and a family.  The problem itself is not new. What's new is the availability of specific legal rights to help workers juggle those demands more successfully.

Last summer we noted that work life balance lawsuits were surging due to the increasing number of Americans that are having trouble balancing the demands of work and family. Initially, it was primarily women who were taking legal action in this area. However, it was recently reported by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that the number of complaints filed by fathers is increasing. Seems men -- and not just women -- are increasingly taking legal action when their federally-guaranteed rights are not accommodated in the workplace, including the right to have time off for childcare purposes and to accrue paid sick leave for the birth of a child.

On the positive side, here's an encouraging success story about Chris Rhee, a father and a lawyer in Washington, DC, who was able to make partner at his firm, Arnold & Porter, on a part-time schedule that leaves time for carpool duty, doctors' visits, and parent-teacher conferences. As noted in a prior post, Arnold & Porter was #19 on Fortune's "Best Places to Work" list.

By Steve Imparl, guest blogger