Study Finds American Dads Are Cutting Back on Work and Taking on More Childcare

A study using data from the American Time Use Survey is revealing that American dads are working less time on average per week and spending more time with their children. Essentially, it marks a reshaping of gender norms.

For the longest time, moms were the designated caregivers and those who devoted most of a working day to their kids and household. But following the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems like fathers are now stepping more into the picture. They’re being more involved with their kids and household chores while also experiencing a reduction in working hours per week.

So what gives? Why is this change taking place?

The COVID-19 pandemic is responsible for a lot, including bringing people into the home to perform their work duties. After the pandemic subsided, some returned to their place of employment, while a large portion of people continued to work remotely. Many companies even decided to shift from in-office roles to remote ones, as in some cases it helped cut down on expenses and improve employee output (i.e., they can work from the comfort of their home and not have to travel for work).

With both parents present in many households, the study finds that college-educated dads, in particular, are taking on more household responsibilities, including common chores and childcare, and spending more than six fewer hours each week devoted to paid work. It’s not a huge decline in work output but certainly a noticeable one since the study flags this “extra” time they have to be devoted to the needs of the home.

But it’s important to note that the study doesn’t fully credit remote work as the main driver of this decline in working hours or the increase in helping around the house among some fathers. It does, however, suggest that working remotely was a factor in it all.

Ariel Binder, a researcher from the American Institute for Boys and Men, led the study using data from the American Time Use Survey. She used data from three-year segments, comparing periods from 2019 to 2024. The research focused on both mothers and fathers and how they divided their time between working a job, childcare, household work, rest, and leisure.

From it all, the study concludes that college-educated fathers reduced their paid workload by more than six hours each week and devoted an additional four-plus hours a week to being a household helper, including lending a hand with childcare.

While the study does point to remote work as one factor driving this change, it doesn’t pinpoint an exact cause for it. And so some folks on Reddit are creating their own theories, with some crediting what one user dubbed the "Millennial dad effect" to explain why fathers are working slightly less yet dedicating more time to the household.

One Redditor attempted to add some context to the phrase, writing, "Millennial dads don't believe that parenting is exclusively “women's work” the way that basically every prior generation in the history of western civilization did."

Another person agreed, writing, "As a new millennial dad I agree. My wife and I split childcare evenly, all parts of it."