How Young Professionals Balance Work and Fatherhood

Fatherhood can be one of life’s greatest joys, but when coupled with a career in construction, balancing all of the responsibilities can be stressful.

Often, there’s a stigma with parents — especially fathers — sharing their emotions throughout the journey of maintaining a work-life balance. Sometimes, men feel as though they don't have an outlet to help them process and address the challenges life throws at them.

As part of the Young Professionals (YP) Week celebration, NAHB hosted a panel titled “Fatherhood, Family & Career” in conjunction with MANUAL, an innovative men’s health resource. The event featured four fathers from different backgrounds discussing the emotion, difficulties and rewards of parenthood.

Edwin Williams, founder and CEO of ZenHammer; Andrew Chomer, venture capitalist for Integrated; Jason Orvosh, president of Orvosh Builders; and Paul Criner, vice president at Criner Remodeling, shared impactful thoughts on what they love about fatherhood, how family relationships have changed, and what they’ve learned about themselves. 

“Find your balance. [Real life] isn’t like the CW. I don’t have a $4 million job with four hours of work,” said Orvosh, a father of three daughters ages 9, 5 and 4. “You have to find what works for you. I put things in my calendar. I have ‘daddy-daughter days.’”

The emotional conversation also allowed each father to illustrate what he thinks is most important in life.

“Your daughter doesn’t care if your business succeeds or fails,” said Williams, whose daughter is 9 months old. “She just wants you to be her dad.”

A recording of the panel is available to watch.

Members can also sign up for MANUAL for free.