For generations, the division of labor was clear-cut. Fathers were breadwinners, mothers were chiefly in charge of the children, and if anyone had to leave work to take Junior to a doctor's appointment or attend a parent-teacher conference, it wasn't likely to be Dad.
自古以來，父母之間的勞動分工非常明確。父親負責養家糊口，母親則主要負責照顧小孩。如果孩子生病需要看醫生或者學校召開家長會，往往都是母親請假去處理這些事情。

Times change. A nationwide survey in late May found that more than half (56%) of employed fathers say they frequently take time off for child-related tasks --markedly more than the 40% of mothers who report doing likewise.
時代不同了。五月底一項全國調查顯示，超過半數的職場父親（56%）稱他們經常請假去處理子女的事。與此相比，只有超過40%的職場母親表明會做類似的事情。

Employers haven't quite caught on yet, it seems. About two-thirds (68%) of dads with jobs say they've experienced "negativity or problems" with bosses over conflicts between work and children. Of those, 57% say this has happened "multiple times."
雇主們對此似乎還不能夠完全理解。大約三分之二的職場父親（68%）表示，因為工作與孩子之間的沖突，他們都曾與老板們發生過“不愉快或其他問題”。其中的57%職場父親們說類似事件已“多次”發生。

"The American workforce is different than it was even five years ago," observes Dean Debnam, CEO of Workplace Options, an employee training consultancy based in Raleigh, N.C., which conducted the poll.
位于美國北卡羅來納州首府羅利市，從事員工培訓的咨詢公司Workplace Options（WPO）開展了這項調查。該公司的首席執行官丁• 戴伯南說：“現在美國的勞動力就算跟5年前比起來也有很大不同”。

For one thing, he notes, the Census Bureau counts 2.3 million U.S. households where fathers are raising kids alone. Added to the majority of families where both parents work full-time, "the pressure for fathers to succeed both as professionals and as parents is greater than ever."
他指出，原因之一是據人口普查局（Census Bureau）統計，目前有230萬戶美國家庭由父親獨自撫養子女。此外，大多數美國家庭中，父母雙方均從事全職工作。“父親既要在事業上取得成功，又要兼顧家庭，他們所承受的壓力空前沉重。”