Scott Behson - The Working Dads Survival Guide: How to Succeed at Work and at Home

Praise for The Working Dads Survival Guide

If youre like most dads, youre facing an impossible tug of war between work and home. My advice? Read this book. In this smart, charming, and actionable guide, Scott Behson offers a practical toolkit for thriving in both domains. Youll discover how to make family time more memorable, how to negotiate more flexibility with your boss, and why you should pack at least one stuffed animal on every business trip. Behson is the rare writer who can communicate everything you need to know, while making you feel like youre just chatting over a beer with a good friend at a barbeque.

- Ron Friedman, PhD, author of The Best Place to Work: The Art and Science of Creating an Extraordinary Workplace

Finally! This is the book dads juggling work and family have been waiting for.

In my work over the past 15 years as the director of the Boston College Center for Work and Family I have seen the challenges faced by working fathers move from a fringe topic to one that is front of mind for business leaders. Our Center has been striving to make the case that supporting working dads helps everyone - fathers, their spouses and children, their employers and society. Finally, it seems real progress is being made on this important issue.

While we are pleased with this progress. there has been a persistent gap that The Working Dads Survival Guide addresses head-on: How can dads themselves better analyze their priorities and take actions, at home and at work, to maximize their effectiveness? Behsons book is full of great insights, perspectives and advice that will help dads be more successful on all fronts.

- Brad Harrington, PhD, Executive Director of the Boston College Center for Work and Family

In The Working Dads Survival Guide , Scott Behson sets out to do one simple but not at all easy thing; help men feel confident and successful in both their work life and family life. Using the perfect combination of exercises, stories, insights, and practical strategies he accomplishes that goal with flying colors. Theres no magic pill that will make you the best dad you can be. But with commitment, hard work, and Scotts guidance, youre well on your way.

- Armin Brott, author of The Expectant Father and
The New Father: A Dads Guide to the First Year

The Working Dads Survival Guide combines success stories of real working dads with practical advice that finally gives new and expecting fathers a resource for navigating tough conversations with our parenting partners and our employers. Cheers to Scott Behson for providing the 21st century working dad a roadmap for career and parenting success.

- Matt Schneider and Lance Somerfeld, Co-Founders, City Dads Group .

In The Working Dad's Survival Guide , Scott Behson, tears down the wall of silence that has surrounded a generation of men who are seeking to redefine what it means to be a good father and a good man. Filled with the heart-felt voices of dozens of fathers struggling to juggle it all, Behsons imminently practical book lays out new ways of thinking, and helpful exercises, tools and strategies for how to be successful both at work and at home. If youre a working father whos felt alone, the Survival Guide is truly that - operating instructions to find your network and navigate this confusing yet exciting time.

- Brigid Schulte, author Overwhelmed:
Work, Love and Play when No One has the Time

In my experience as the Founder/CEO of FlexJobs, a job search service that helps professionals find legitimate flexible work, Ive seen first-hand how eager all professionals, dads included, are to find better ways to balance their careers with their family lives. Thats why Im so glad Scott wrote this book, because he not only clearly shows the conflicts faced by many working dads, but he also provides actionable advice that will help dads find better solutions at work and at home.

The stories, exercises, and concrete tips Scott offers in The Working Dads Survival Guide bring clarity, focus, and motivation for readers to tackle these issues in their own lives. As a working mom myself (married to a wonderful working dad!), I understand so many of the same thoughts, frustrations, and hopes we all feel when it comes to work-life balance. Scotts experience, and positivity, are a welcomed relief!

- Sara Sutton Fell , Founder & CEO of FlexJobs

I wish I had this book when I was taking heat in the corporate world for being an active parent. The suggestions and exercises would have made a big difference, to both support the choices I was making, and help me build a community of other working dads so I would not feel alone.

Behson unapologetically writes that men do not parent like women, and that sitting around sharing feelings is not our thing. But we can get together and talk man to man about the complex reality we face. He offers practical solutions and anecdotes that cover a wide variety of real life situations that working dads face today.

If you are a working dad who wants to spend more time with your family, or are feeling unappreciated at home for the work you are already doing, this book is a must read!

- Greg Marcus, PhD, author of Busting Your Corporate Idol:
Self-Help for the Chronically Overworked

In the early 1990s when I first conducted open discussion groups for dads, I invited the dads to share one thing they learned from the other dads in the room. The number one answer, I learned Im not alone. That other dads have similar challenges.

Behsons assessment of todays modern dad is accurate and confirmed by the stories I collected in my book, Dads Behaving Dadly: 67 Truths, Tears and Triumphs of Modern Fatherhood , which is a collection of stories written by a wide variety of dads, who share their honest, sincere feelings about their struggles and rewards of being a modern dad.

Behsons book provides valuable, concise, practical information that will help so many dads balance their work and family lives. The Working Dads Survival Guide is a well-designed game plan for dads on how to be successful fathers as well as productive employees.

Hogan Hilling, author, Dads Behaving Dadly I and Dadly II .

Scott Behson stands prominently at the fulcrum point of an important social and political discussion in America. As an expert, and father himself, Scott is working diligently to give fathers the opportunity to engage more with their children by stoking debate over the working and personal lives of men. More and more fathers are asking questions of their employers, themselves, and their roles in parenting. While the conversation of leaning in and opting out play out for women, Scott is blazing trails for men who want to participate more in their childrens lives and shift the consciousness of the business world.

- Charlie Capen, co-author, How to Be a Dad and
The Guide to Baby Sleep Positions .

The juggling act required to balance work and family has for too long been marginalized as a womens issue and more specifically a moms issue. Its incredibly exciting to have Scotts strong male voice helping to finally shift this narrative.

The Working Dads Survival Guide will no doubt give fathers everywhere the courage to speak out about the fact that the traditional workplace model is broken for them as well as for moms. Navigating the intersection of work and family is a complex task for both men and women, and Scotts recommended tools and strategies will not only help fathers but also ultimately help all parents find common ground and solutions to succeed at work and at home.

As we work to bring the benefits of work flexibility to more companies and people across the country, the 1 Million for Work Flexibility movement is proud to have Scotts support and involvement.