By Deborah McAleese
21 June 2005The majority of Ulster's working dads are missing out on quality family time because of demanding employers, according to a survey today.
Seven in ten people in Northern Ireland believe most workplaces expect so much from employees that men cannot get enough time to spend with their families.
More than 70% of people also believe that many fathers damage their family life by choosing to work such long hours.
The findings were revealed as part of the Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey conducted by Ark.
The report, Mystery Man, also raises concern about the lack of support within workplaces for fathers wanting paternity leave.
More than 90% of men and women surveyed said that many families cannot afford for fathers to take paternity leave unless it is on full pay.
Two-thirds said they believe men do not ask for paternity leave because they do not want to create problems at work.
And half of those surveyed said that employers put pressures on men not to take paternity leave.
However, one in five people said that men do not take paternity leave because they do not want to be at home with their new baby.
When it comes to parenting following the break- up of a marriage or a relationship less than 1% of people said they assumed the father would do most of the parenting.
Almost eight in 10 people believe that both parents should equally share parenting duties while one in five assumed the mother would do most, unless there was a good reason not to.
The report also showed that domestic violence is not just suffered by women.
More than two thirds thought violence by women against men happens "more than people think".
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