What does 99% of taking childcare leave mean?

March 23, 18:13

Now that it is common for men to raise children.

I caught my eye on a certain number.

"The rate of male national government employees taking childcare leave and leave is" 99% " ,"

the figures released by the Cabinet Personnel Bureau last August.

It was suddenly unbelievable for me, who had been interviewing bureaucrats who were busy with hard work.

From next month, the Child Care and Nursing Care Leave Law will be amended, and private companies will be required to confirm the intention of employees to take childcare leave. Various measures will be implemented to encourage employees to take childcare leave over the next year. ..

Is it the result of Kasumigaseki's bureaucrats setting the example for the system?

Kasumigaseki covered the childcare leave situation of male bureaucrats.

(Satoshi Sugita, Reporter, Social Affairs Department)

Male bureaucrat (30) I took childcare leave

Yuta Samukai (30), the chief of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, took childcare leave in late August last year when the infection of the fifth wave of the new coronavirus was spreading.

Mr. Samukai

"I thought it would be nice if I could take a rest after the childbirth schedule was decided, but I was worried about how to get out of the business if I got out of the new corona."

If I don't take it, it will be difficult for my juniors to say it even if they want to take it.

Mr. Samukai decided to take one month of childcare leave, as he had previously applied to her boss.

Mr. Samukai was relieved to be released from the busy work every day.

However, raising children was not as easy as I had imagined.

He found it more difficult to raise children than when he stayed up all night in response to the Diet.

Mr. Samukai

"I can't stop crying, I don't know how to deal with it. Unlike work, I can't do it at my own pace. I don't know, so it's more difficult ..."

What does Kasumigaseki's bureaucrats, who have been devoted to hard work, mean to raise children with a soft noise?

For me, who couldn't really feel it, Mr. Samukai took out a notebook recording the situation of childcare immediately after birth.

* 19 days after birth *

24:00 Milk

1:00 Cry, Milk

2:00 Cry, Milk

3:00 Cry, Milk

4:00 Sucking

6:00 Milk

7:00 Milk

9:00 Milk

11:00 Mokubath

14:00 Milk

18:00 Milk

20:00 Cry, Milk

21:00 Cry, Suck

22:00 Milk

23:00 Milk

24:00 Cry

Even though he took turns with his wife, he said that he could hardly sleep because he had his child drink milk every one to three hours.

In between her childcare, she occasionally gets in touch with her colleagues about work counseling.

She didn't have time to open about 100 workplace emails a day, so she checked them all at the weekend.

Mr. Samukai

"My wife told me that I wouldn't take about two months, but I thought I couldn't make a hole in my workplace for two months. I'm not directly grateful ... I think my wife would have been depressed if I was raising my child alone. I was also aware of my fatherhood, and I'm definitely glad I took it. "

It was the difference between leave and vacation

Is there 99% of male bureaucrats who took childcare leave like Mr. Samukai?

Actually, when I looked it up, this figure was limited to male bureaucrats who had children during the two months from April to June (2nd year of Reiwa).

Furthermore, within the first year of life, "paid leave for childcare" = the result of adding up all the people who took some kind of leave for childcare.

In other words, when my wife wasn't feeling well, I used my annual leave to take care of my child for a day, took a half day off to take my fevered child to the hospital, and took a few hours off to pick me up at the nursery school. There are also cases such as.

I see, that's what it is ...

"Childcare leave" is originally required by the Childcare / Nursing Care Leave Law so that the business operator can take it if the employee so desires.

Employees can take a leave of absence by requesting in advance and are unpaid in principle, but can concentrate on childcare for a certain period of time.

The percentage of people who have taken childcare leave as stipulated by law is announced as the so-called "childcare leave" acquisition rate.

99% of "childcare leave" is a broader concept.

Then, looking at the rate of taking childcare leave for male bureaucrats in Kasumigaseki, it was 29% in the second year of Reiwa.

Compared to 99%, it is low.

Even so, it increased about five times compared to 5.5 years ago (2015), which was 5.5%.

Moreover, this acquisition rate is significantly higher than that of private companies.

The national average of male employees taking childcare leave at private companies was 12.65% last year.

In other words, the rate of taking childcare leave in Kasumigaseki was more than double that of private companies.

(Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare survey of approximately 3,500 business establishments nationwide)

Why is the acquisition rate so high?

The fact that male bureaucrats take childcare leave at a higher rate than private companies, albeit less than 99%, was a surprise to me as Kasumigaseki, who works all night long, has seen the current situation.

When I asked the executives of various ministries about this, I was also surprised that many people understood that "childcare leave is a natural right" and "men should also participate in childcare."

Why is the understanding of executives so advanced?

Of course, as long as we have made the law, there may be times when we have to do it with "start from the beginning".

However, as I proceeded with the interview, an executive of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare revealed such a fact.

An executive of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

"The major turning point was that the government at that time announced the realization of 100 million total achievements in 2015 as women's social advancement progressed. I was instructed to take childcare leave. Now, if I take it, my boss will be able to evaluate me. "

According to the Cabinet Personnel Bureau, from four years ago (2018), the goal of taking childcare leave for subordinates will be included in the work goals set by managers once every six months.

It seems that personnel evaluation will be based on whether the boss is planning a vacation or whether he has secured alternative personnel.

An executive of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure , Transport and Tourism

"Of course, that alone does not determine the overall evaluation, but if you do not take it, the evaluation will go down."

An executive of the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare

"To be honest, I'm in trouble because the number of people is decreasing, but if I say NO, the personnel evaluation will go down, so I think many people say that I can get it."

In any organization, performance appraisal is the trump card that moves people.

But that's not the only reason.

An executive of the Ministry of the Environment

, "Although the number of young people is steadily decreasing, there are times when young people will stop even more if Kasumigaseki cannot take childcare leave."

Certainly, Kasumigaseki, a young bureaucrat, is seriously separated.

According to the Cabinet Personnel Bureau, 86 bureaucrats in their 20s retired for their own reasons in the first year of Reiwa.

It has more than quadrupled in 6 years.

Furthermore, Kasumigaseki is becoming less popular as a place of employment for new graduate university students.

At this rate, the number of talented people will decrease and the bureaucracy will not be able to be maintained.

There was a sense of crisis from the executives.

Legal development to proceed What will change?

The movement to create an environment where childcare leave can be taken is not limited to Kasumigaseki, but is spreading widely throughout society.

From next month, the revision of the Child Care and Nursing Care Leave Law will gradually expand measures to encourage private companies to take child care leave.

From April 1st

▽ Obligation to inform employees of the system to business establishments.

▽ Mandatory to confirm the intention to take childcare leave.

From October 1st

▽ Established a system for "postnatal daddy childcare leave".

Within 8 weeks after the child is born, a total of 4 weeks of leave can be taken in 2 separate sessions.

▽ In principle, in addition to taking childcare leave twice up to the age of one, it is now possible to take childcare leave up to four times.

From April 1st next year

▽ Companies with 1000 or more employees are obliged to announce the acquisition rate once a year.

Period and timing are issues

Childcare leave for men, led by Kasumigaseki, is undergoing change throughout society.

However, some say that the content is not yet satisfactory.

For example, in the case of Kasumigaseki, 70% (70.5%) of those who took childcare leave are less than a month like Mr. Samukai introduced at the beginning.

Looking at the breakdown of 1 month or less, ▽

3.3% for less than 5 days ▽

18.3% for 5 days or more and less than 2 weeks

▽ 48.9% for 2 weeks or more and less than 1 month.

Furthermore, from the talks to young bureaucrats, not only the “period” to be acquired but also the “timing” issues emerged.

A male bureaucrat in his twenties who took childcare leave for two months last year.

When the child was born, he was in the process of making a policy.

He gave up getting it right after giving birth if he couldn't get the job done if he left.

After the policy was set, he took childcare leave about two months after giving birth.

20s bureaucrat

"There is an atmosphere that is easy to take, but there is no one who can fill in the gap when it comes out. Even if the system is in place, manpower is not catching up."

Another male bureaucrat in his thirties said that he was also working on the new Corona, so he acquired it separately, avoiding the time of the Diet and budget, when the work would be particularly busy.

A bureaucrat in his thirties

"My wife was surprised to be able to take a day off in the first place. However, when Kasumigaseki is free enough to take childcare leave, that is not the case at all."

How can I take childcare leave?

Experts who are familiar with work-life balance point out that even if there is a system, it is not possible to obtain it as desired because there is a problem with the way Japanese work is done.

Daiwa Institute of Research Shungo Koreeda Senior Researcher

"If you are a professional such as a nursery teacher or pharmacist, you can easily take a day off if you secure the necessary number of human resources. However, in Japan, many including bureaucrats. The work is personal and the scope of work is ambiguous as to who is responsible for what. Therefore, if someone is missing, it is difficult to substitute. "

So how can we create an environment where it is easy to take childcare leave?

Senior Researcher Koreeda told me that his experience with the Corona sickness might be a hint.

Shungo Koreeda, Senior Researcher, Daiwa Institute of Research

"Many companies must have experienced a situation in which someone suddenly became unable to work after the large-scale epidemic of the new corona. I think that the organization and creation of an information sharing system can be used as it is even when someone takes childcare leave. "

How will we bridge the gap between the childcare leave system and the actual working style?

The "99% acquisition rate" may present issues that society as a whole must overcome.

Sachiyo Sugita ,

Reporter, Social Affairs Department

Joined in 2010

Wakayama Bureau and Osaka Bureau are mainly in charge of incidents and disasters

.