Employee Interview - Discussion among men who enjoy parenting -

Sugaya

My parents both worked, so I have always thought that housework and childcare are things that a married couple should share, regardless of gender. But the specific thing that made me decide to take childcare leave was my wife’s suggestion that the three of us live together in our own home, rather than go back to her parents house to have our child. Later, when looked into how I should support my wife after childbirth, I found out that the six-week postpartum period is vital for physical recuperation. My wife was also due to return to work later so I felt I had to do the housework and childcare to enable her to fully recover physically, which is why I decided to take childcare leave.

Yamada

In my case, I had thought even earlier on, soon after joining the company, in fact, that I might take childcare leave if I ever had children one day. And when I read our Rules of Employment, I could see nothing in them about gender, which led me to believe that men themselves could take childcare leave, too. But I still wasn’t married at the time.
Then I got married, and at first I took about two weeks of leave when our first and second children were born, although we also had support from my wife’s parents so I felt unsatisfied about only being able to do a little myself. So when my next child was due, I told my wife I wanted to take a longer period of leave. After our third child was actually born, my wife said she wanted to return to work early, and so I made my final decision.

Yamada

Neither my boss nor my colleagues reacted particularly to me taking childcare leave. However, six months is a long time, so my absence must have caused problems. But if we hesitated because of that, we would never be able to obtain leave. I thought about what the most effective way would be, and made every effort so that not only I but also those around me could start to make preparations as soon as possible. The birth of a baby is, in the first place, absolutely wonderful and so there is no reason to delay telling others about it. I waited until my wife had entered the stable period of her pregnancy before telling my boss of my desire to take leave, and I informed others inside and outside the company as soon as possible. 
Subsequently, organizing my work reminded me once again of the disadvantages of my way of working which meant that I was the only one who could do certain procedures and that things would not go well without me. For me, this was a good opportunity to reveal the tasks I had been engaged in.

Sugaya

My boss in the Diversity Promotion Office whom I told first reassured me by saying I should definitely take time off. My section is unusual within our company in that it has many female employees, which may have made it easier for me to take childcare leave than if I had been in a predominantly male workplace. My boss in the other section where I work also understood my wishes and immediately responded positively.

Yamada

I feel just the same. Whenever I see fathers with their children going to play at a department store or somewhere, I also really take notice.

Yamada

During my period of leave, I prepared meals almost every day, so I am no longer reluctant to cook. This is because I’ve become more skillful with a kitchen knife and gained a sense of how much food I need for a certain number of people. I have also experienced how a husband really can do everything involved in childcare except breastfeeding. 
As for my work, I have started to look at creating a system for carrying out our business so that more male employees can take childcare leave in future. A condition of leave is that employees must first be able to take time off work. What I can do to help achieve this is improve our workplace so that tasks done by human effort can be left to the system.

Sugaya

I realized how hard it is to do housework and take care of a baby at the same time, and adapted my behavior so that I could return home as early as possible. At work, my childcare leave increased the opportunities to talk about children, which made communication easier. Colleagues understand when I suddenly need time off because my baby is sick, for example, and when I’m working at the company after regular hours, they often tell me I should go home because my wife and child are waiting.

Sugaya

By living together as a family of three, we have strengthened the bonds between us. Also, although I used to worry about raising a child, my period of leave has given me confidence and made me able to communicate more directly. My child’s development may have enabled me to develop as a father, too. 
When you actually take childcare leave, you will need to get your boss’s understanding and to coordinate your work with others around you. This is by no means easy, but childcare leave provides a good opportunity not only for your family but also your workplace to review the ways in which you work. I hope more male employees in our company will actively take childcare leave and that managers will positively support them in this.

Yamada

Your job can be done by a replacement but being a father to your child is something only you can do. Our company has a system of childcare leave, so it would be a waste not to use it. Because still only a few men take such leave at the moment, there is no doubt it would be a valuable experience. Also, childcare continues even after childcare leave ends, so you will encounter many situations and events for which you have to take time off work. I think childcare leave is an ideal period for you to prepare for that too, so that you will be able to take time off work later without any problems.

Sugaya

For me, too, it was a good opportunity to improve myself as a father and modify the way I work.

Yamada

I would like everyone to read about our discussion so that they know, first of all, that there are male employees in our company who have taken childcare leave. Then, little by little, I think men will want to take childcare leave themselves, and will talk about it with their wives, which will lead to the creation of a corporate culture in which it is commonplace for male employees to be able to take childcare leave.