News by SB Informer

Home-Based Dads Find Personal & Professional Success

SB Informer
Monday, May 22, 2006; 01:29 AM

Coral Springs, FL – Work-at-home fathers used to be a cultural quirk. Often chided as “Mr. Moms” and “Soccer Dads,” today’s home-based dads are steering the family minivan from the home business right into mainstream culture. They’re active and involved parents who enjoy a more balanced workplace and home-life.

After years of paying their dues, they’re getting their due. Work @ Home Father’s Day will be celebrated this year on Friday, June 16. Observed each year on the Friday before Father’s Day, it recognizes those entrepreneurial or corporate telecommuting dads who have chosen the home as their office in hopes of improving family interaction, professional satisfaction – and balance between the two.

“Whether it’s in the home or the corporate office, work-at-home dads fit nicely into today’s workplace,” said Jeff Zbar, the “ChiefHomeOfficer.com,” a journalist, author, married father of three grade-school children – and creator of Work @ Home Father’s Day. “Half a generation ago, people didn’t get it. Today, more do, and that helps fathers feel that much more secure and happy in their role as home business owners.”

American men make up 55% of today’s 37 million at-home workers, and some 45% of all at-home workers have at least one child under 18 in the home, notes research firm IDC. Today’s work-at-home father is even more important in those households where he is sole care-giver and provider. An active and present father-figure creates a strong role model and positive impression on a young child.

These millions typically have set up offices with furniture, technology and accessories that make their space efficient and inviting. Work @ Home Father’s Day further validates the truth that home officing is no novelty. It’s a rewarding, mainstream experience.

Work @ Home Father’s Day was created by Jeff Zbar, the “Chief Home Officer.com”. Since the 1980s, Jeff has been a speaker, market consultant and author on microenterprise, telework and all facets of working from home. He's been a columnist for Entrepreneur, Home Office Computing and FreeAgent.com, and he appears regularly on national and local TV. Jeff lives and works in Coral Springs, Fla. Learn more at www.chiefhomeofficer.com.

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