IkuBoss Symposium
What Is Needed to Build a Happy Workplace
That Is Considerate of Members’ Diverse Workstyles?
In September 2018, the Special Childcare Leave Program came into effect. Currently, eligible male employees take more than one month’s childcare leave, but in order to achieve and maintain a usage rate of 100%, not only advance preparation and the leave-taker’s own desire but also the understanding and support of the workplace are critical. In particular, the management skills of superiors (bosses) are an important key. Therefore, we brought together four “IkuBosses” from around Japan to talk about their feelings regarding the childcare leave taken by those under their leadership, care they have taken, the cooperative structures within their teams, and so on.
◆ What’s an “IkuBoss”?
This term refers to managers who work to ensure that their subordinates can balance work and childcare, improve work efficiency to keep operations running smoothly while their subordinates are taking childcare leave or working shorter hours, while themselves enjoying fulfilment in both their work and personal lives.
Participants
Deputy Chief Technology Manager, Keiyo Branch
Takashi Yoshida
Joined in 1999
Sales Manager, Ouji Sales Office, Tokyo Kita Branch
Fumiko Kuroki
Joined in 2004
General Sales Manager, Housing Plaza Iwakuni Sales Office, Yamaguchi Branch
Yasuhiro Ide
Joined in 2006
Section Manager, Exterior Design Group, Design & Planning Department
Jin Hayashi
Joined in 2000
* Departments and positions are as of September 2021
—How did you feel when we first started the Special Childcare Leave (hereinafter “paternity leave”) Program to promote the taking of childcare leave by male employees?
Yoshida At the time the system was introduced, one of our members was coming up on the deadline to use his leave, namely the day before his child’s third birthday, so it was a little rough to plot a schedule that fast. But we had already been practicing with the goal of making our team one where anyone can take a full week off at once if they so choose, so for my team and I there was no hesitation or worry.
Kuroki At the same time as the system was being introduced, one of the male Sales Managers at my branch took a full month off on childcare leave. Whenever we told our customers about this, they would say things like “That’s a wonderful system!” and “What a nice company!” It was a real conversation-starter. I was really happy that our customers evaluated it so highly, and this left a strong impression on me.
Hayashi When I first heard about it, honestly, I was quite envious, thinking that it would have been great if we’d had such a system when my children were younger. The reason was that I figured having a solid chunk of time in which to focus on childrearing would be great for not only the child but also for the parent’s own personal growth.
Ide I was the first man in my sales office to take childcare leave. I decided to take a full month off in one go, so I had to talk over the schedule with my Branch Manager. That said, I was unable to shake the feeling that with me as the Sales Manager taking that much childcare leave the team’s work would be delayed, so I had it set up so I could still keep in touch with the customers. In the end, the other members followed up well and never had to contact me.
Yoshida The first of my subordinates to take paternity leave was actually a neighbor of mine. I didn’t meet him directly, but our wives are quite close, and I would often hear that they were really happy with the paternity leave.
Ide Before I took paternity leave, I was always “work first,” and my wife would call me uncooperative with raising our children. (laughs) In that sense, too, I was able to take this opportunity to look forward to being more involved in childrearing.
—Since introducing paternity leave, have you noticed any changes in workplace communication, cooperation, and your own management awareness?
Kuroki The first thing I did was make sure not to contact him at all during his paternity leave. For this reason, we needed to make sure to visualize and allocate work in the planning stage, before he went on leave. From this point of view, the whole workplace now has better communication than ever before.
(Yoshida) This is when I became Deputy Chief Technology Manager.
Yoshida Our on-site supervisors are expected to go in for on-site visits for a variety of reasons, like inspections, groundbreaking ceremonies, and handovers. For that reason, when the one in charge of the site can’t make it there in person, we’ve made it so that someone else can go in their stead. We took the opportunity of this Paternity Leave System to have a section-wide discussion in the Construction Section about the division of labor, and I really feel like we’ve been able to implement a system whereby we can proceed in a more efficient manner.
Hayashi There are a lot of women in the head office’s development sector who have had long careers, and there are quite a few cases of people leaving on maternity or childcare leave for a year or a year and a half. For that reason, there wasn’t a particular burden involved in introducing paternity leave, and I think the entire department has been able to control the schedule adjustments and allocation of work.
Kuroki The number of branches where organizational management is conducted in such a way that multiple people are involved in a single job. Since the people at our branch share information widely, and any member of the team can handle the situation, the Paternity Leave System seems to be fairly easy to use.
Ide In the sales office where I work, we already had a workplace culture of helping each other, so I really feel like we’ve been successfully promoting the new system. Of course, it’s important to have meetings to work things out before they go on leave, and it’s not just sales but also the people in design, on-site supervision, and general affairs getting involved in both the dividing up of work duties and the creation of a follow-up system for customers.
—Have you noticed any particular growth or changes in the work attitudes and awareness of male employees who return from childcare leave?
Yoshida People often talk about how he’s able to set up his work better than before. He’s able to build a rapport with the customers by talking about childrearing and housework from his own experience, so it’s also true that work is going more smoothly than before.
Ide Same with me. I took paternity leave for the second time when my second son was born, and I set myself the goal of being able to change diapers. I worked hard, and now I’m the one who changes the diapers every morning. While it’s minor, I can also use this experience in my job, as it allows me to make conversation with customers, and I’ve even learned to guess when a customer’s child needs their diaper changed from just a shift in facial expression.
Hayashi Male employees who have completed paternity leave seem to take an active role in raising their children even after they come back to work, don’t they? For example, I get the impression that people are working more flexibly while also balancing it with family and childrearing, whether it’s seeing their kids off and picking them up from daycare or moving up their working hours because their child got a sudden fever.
(Kuroki) At my eldest’s elementary school graduation. His future dream job is to work at Sekisui House.
Kuroki I think that fathers in the past would largely take the stance that their way of working would basically not change even after having children, but young fathers nowadays have mostly come to see household and parenting matters as their own concerns. I, too, am raising children while working, but I have a great many problems balancing parenting with my work, and I had always thought that these kinds of concerns were something that only affected women. Now, however, I really feel that more and more men are working while mentally wrestling with worry and anxiety in relation to their household matters.
Hayashi With more connections to parents and nursery school teachers, awareness of childrearing has surely grown. Childrearing is something that continues for a long time. I think that childcare leave is a good opportunity for couples to come to the realization that they need to cooperate with each other and discuss things with each other in order to raise their children.
Ide In the past, I didn’t really understand the feelings of women who, between taking maternity and childcare leave and coming back to work, experienced a sense of unease. By putting myself in their shoes, I have finally learned to understand how they feel. When we feel the same way, our mutual understanding grows. That will surely lead to a better workplace.
—Have you noticed any changes in your workplace or in the people around you as a result of the new paternity leave system?
Yoshida When the system was introduced, some people were saying that it was a nice system but worrying if they’d really be able to take time off work. Now that it’s been three years, no one’s surprised when they hear someone’s taking paternity leave, and it’s even come to be seen as normal when someone’s on leave.
Ide At my sales office, too, many men have been taking childcare leave. They usually take it in four sessions of roughly a week each, so we support each other as if we were supporting a member who was taking a week off for travel, without being particularly conscious of the fact that it’s paternity leave.
Kuroki When a male Sales Manager at my branch took a full month off, the members of that branch were very eager, and each member was very motivated with a sense of “OK, we have to do our best!” Our performance in that month was actually really great. I think it’s a system that also supports the growth of those who stay at work to fill in.
Hayashi Lately I’ve seen a lot of instances of male employees who have young children talking to each other about their kids. They talk about things like vaccinations and nursery schools, so I really feel like the overall level of basic knowledge of childrearing has improved. This is surely the result of them having personal experience of the hard work of childrearing, and coming to see it as their own business, and they want to share the feeling with those around them.
Kuroki With more and more people to talk with, I believe that we can have more diverse discussions in the future. Who could doubt that this is a really major change in our entire organization?
Yoshida While it’s common for on-site supervisors to work in pairs of one veteran and one younger worker, nowadays, in cases of important inspections, multiple on-site supervisors will visit the site. This came into effect since we introduced the paternity leave system. We’ve also seen specific changes in business operations.
—What kinds of things are important for those in management in order to create a happy workplace where not only those raising children but also their coworkers can fulfill their work and private lives?
Yoshida I’m painfully aware that managers must always be thinking about how they can streamline their work and achieve a work-life balance within the limited time they have each day. That’s something that we need to work on across the boundaries of individual divisions. If we can keep up this kind of organizational management, that will surely lead to a happier workplace.
Kuroki I really think that the thing we really need to value is communication. What’s important is not just engaging in small talk but getting a picture of the other person’s circumstances by paying attention to their appearance and how their facial complexion looks every day. I hope that we can build relationships of trust where people don’t ignore the little signs, talk to people who are having trouble, and lend them a friendly ear.
Hayashi The thing that I’m most conscious of is taking the initiative to show that I value my own private life as well. By, for example, taking care to leave work at my set time without working overtime each day, and using hourly leave to take part in school events, we can build an environment where such things become the norm. If I say “I’m nervous about the parent-teacher conference today,” but still convey an air of enjoying myself, it changes the workplace atmosphere.
(Ide) I went fruit-picking with my two sons, and got a real sense of their growth.
Ide I take on my work with a high level of motivation, and the reason I can do that is that I am very fulfilled in my personal life. It is important to clearly convey this message and engage in communication with the various members. At our sales office, we’ve introduced an initiative to establish one “No Overtime Day” each week, and I’m hoping that this initiative will produce results while allowing us to gain a full understanding of work contents and schedules of each and every member as well as the team as a whole.
—Society has been changing, with such things as legal amendments to make it easier for men to take childcare leave. How do you feel about these kinds of changes?
Hayashi At our company, the leave usage rate and the workplace atmosphere has changed dramatically with the introduction of the Paternity Leave System. If society at large can accelerate the taking of childcare leave by men, it can be hoped that society will see the same kinds of changes as Sekisui House has.
Ide With the firm establishment of paternity leave as a right rather than a responsibility, we’ve been able to create an atmosphere where it is easy to use. The fact that, while a lot of supervisors have little experience with paternity leave, a lot of younger men have been using their leave properly is surely a result of the way of thinking regarding childcare leave having really set in.
Kuroki What I’ve felt working over the years is that the mindset that says women should be in the home and raising the children is firmly entrenched. I’ve personally experienced very unpleasant emotions because of the lack of understanding and unkind words of those around me. If we can do away with this kind of mindset, women will surely be able to work with a greater degree of comfort and peace of mind. For that reason, it’s important to make the Paternity Leave System penetrate society, even if it needs to be done partially by force, so that it will start to be taken as a given.
Hayashi It’s not like men can’t take part in raising their children without taking paternity leave. What I think would be the ideal we really should be aiming for is not one of systems and laws but rather one where men can participate in childrearing as their regular work. Even if there were no system of paternity leave, we really must work to create a workplace where anyone can balance work and childcare while building a fulfilling private life.
Yoshida Would you say that for Sekisui House we are at a stage where we need to move on to the next step? For our company, which has been taking a variety of initiatives ahead of the rest of society, our next move is really something to look forward to.
Ide Our customers have evaluated the Paternity Leave System very highly, so that’s also something that I’m very proud of. I wish to continue conveying advice and experience as a leave-taker myself more and more going forward.
—Please give a message for those managers who have subordinates taking childcare leave and male employees who are considering taking childcare leave.
Yoshida You’ll have better communication and greater cohesion. The system allows the whole team to work in a better direction, so it’s best to promote it with a forward-looking attitude. I really enjoy hearing those members who come back from their paternity leave tell me about how they spent it, and I’ve had more opportunities to talk to my own wife about the topic of childcare leave. (laughs)
Kuroki It’s a great chance to build closer communication between the team members. The best way to work will vary depending on the individual members’ circumstances at any particular time. It is my impression that, by thinking over this together, supervisors can also learn to play it by ear, and this will lead to personal growth.
(Hayashi) With my son after a junior baseball game. This is a photo we took at a recreational parent-child baseball event.
Hayashi I expect that the Paternity Leave System will also give us a good opportunity to reexamine our own work and lifestyles. Changing the way we work and gaining the ability to increase the amount of time we spend with our kids, they will allow us to build relationships with the community, and more... I really feel like this system will increase our quality of life. That it has set in so well in just a little over three years is surely the result of not only the leave-takers themselves but the company itself becoming happier. For the sake of our future employees, too, I hope that we can work hard to maintain this system going forward.
Ide The most important thing is mutual understanding. When one side unilaterally says “I want to take time off during the busy season” or “I want to take a full month off,” it can be difficult to accept. Of course, while the leave-takers themselves need to have a certain level of etiquette, I think it’s important for us to strive for a system that is as tolerant and supportive as possible.
Yoshida It may be because it’s already been three years since the system came into effect, but there are very few supervisors who frown on employees taking paternity leave anymore. On the contrary, it’s an opportunity to sit down and think about precisely how to share and visualize work, so we really want you to use the leave with a positive attitude. And when you get back, please make sure to stop by and tell me all about what you experienced and what you discovered during your leave. Once communication is deepened, that will lead to a more and more enjoyable workplace.
Kuroki When my child was younger, my husband asked me what he could help with, and we ended up having a fight. The point is that it’s not about helping your wife but seeing it as your own job to take charge of yourself. If men can see childrearing as something of their own, there will probably be problems and complications along the way, but the experience will definitely be beneficial to them. I encourage you to take the initiative and use your paternity leave so that you can enjoy raising your children going forward.
Ide Come to think of it my wife said the exact same thing to me before! (laughs) But it’s not a simple matter of taking the leave: it’s more important to think about what you are going to do and how you are going to make the most of the leave. What I recommend is deciding upon a goal, even just one thing, and working toward that.
Hayashi When raising a child, the home is also a really important space. For us at Sekisui House, as professionals in the building of homes, childcare is truly one of the basic skills, is it not? So, childcare leave is a really important chance to have that experience. At the next opportunity, I would like you all to use this chance to grow your skills as a housing professional.
