‘I am different’: a qualitative analysis of part-time working fathers’ constructions of their experiences

Abstract

Although there has been an increasing interest in the notion of involved fatherhood, few studies have examined how fathers who work part-time and engage in child-rearing make sense of this experience. The present study explores how part-time working fathers positioned themselves in terms of their ‘at home’ and ‘at work’ identities. Thematic analysis was used to examine 30 interviewees’ accounts of their experiences. Three central themes were identified: (1) choosing to work part-time, (2) benefits of working part-time, and (3) contrasts with fathers as ‘breadwinners’. A common feature in all of these themes was interviewees’ flexible transition between traditional and nontraditional types of masculinity. The ways in which part-time working fathers positioned themselves as caring for children while maintaining attachment to more traditional types of masculinity are considered in terms of implications for theory and for fathers’ personal development. At a time where expectations of fathers engaged in child-rearing are increasing, the results of this study could be drawn on in the area of personal development to support men in forming new strategies around fathering practices.