Announcing the results of the #WorkLikeBalance submission contest held by doda and note!
We are announcing the results of the "Work <Like> Balance" submission contest (hashtag used for entries: #WorkLikeBalance), which was held for about a month starting May 21, 2026, to discuss "things you must do" and "things you want to do." During the period (5/21-6/20), we received 13,538 entries! Thank you for submitting such wonderful works filled with your experiences and thoughts.
Please see here for a list of entries on note.
As a result of the selection process, the winners have been decided as follows.
Grand Prix (1 entry)
Once we decided "what we value as a family," we both started working shorter hours
Ao Nakamura, who felt lost after giving birth, wondering, "Is my career over?" This is an episode about how she and her husband discussed the question "What do we value as a family?" which she encountered in a book, and arrived at a work style where both of them work shorter hours. The process of the couple making choices one by one is very impressive. It is a work that makes you want to talk to your family about what you value.
The judges highly praised it, saying, "The process of discussing as a family and organizing what needs to be done and what you want to do is wonderful," "It is highly relatable to the situation many people face of having no time due to both parents working," "The photo of the handwritten memo has warmth and approachability," "It was a unique perspective that smoothly superimposed the concept of Work <Like> Balance advocated by doda onto their own family life and put it into words," and "I was struck by the point that she was able to accept things like being unemployed for a time precisely because 'I understood that a time would come when I could prioritize my career, and I trusted my husband.'"
[Winner's Comment] Thank you for choosing me for the Grand Prix. I felt that the words "Work and Like" are a theme that feels modern yet universal. I often post about work styles and careers, but what I really want to convey is that "you can think for yourself and decide what you want to do with your life." I am happier than anything to think that this may have been conveyed in this way, and I am also grateful for the opportunity to have it seen by so many people.
Judge's Special Award (Kaho Miyake Award: 2 entries)
Likes are not just found outside of working hours
Rentaro Yusu, who works behind the scenes supporting events at public facilities. This is an episode about finding "likes" quietly mixed into daily tasks behind the chairs he set up and the microphones he prepared. It makes us realize that work and likes are not separate things, but things that can be swapped.
When I hear "work-like balance," I tend to imagine the balance between hobbies and work, but reading this work made me realize that there are "likes" within work as well. I am sure many people who read this work will find points they can relate to. It was a work that expanded the meaning of the words.
Third-grade president, taking a leave of absence. A story about work-like balance I learned from my son
Haruka Kobashi's eldest son, who became obsessed with making card games. The handmade card games quickly became popular at school, and orders from friends poured in one after another. However, the eldest son suddenly declared a "leave of absence from card making"! To keep liking it, he dares to take a break. It is a work that makes you think when you see your child like that.
The story of a son who became absorbed in making card games was very heartwarming, but because of that, I felt there was a lot for adults to learn as well. And the author's attitude of honestly learning from such a son is also wonderful. I think this is a work that captures how to deal with work and likes, which was the theme this time, from a new perspective.
"doda" Award (2 entries)
Work, life, and the sea. My clumsy "long-span" balance
Kiiro-chan-san discovered bodyboarding, a marine sport, when she was a beauty advisor. After changing jobs several times, she joined a company at 27 where she became so immersed in her work that she drifted away from the ocean, eventually becoming a store manager and the company's first female section manager. Even so, she eventually let go of her work to return to the sea. While she looks back on her cycle of immersion and resetting as "clumsy," this piece accepts that, viewed over a long span, she was actually maintaining a balance.
Kiiro-chan-san, thank you for your submission. Your writing style drew me in from the very first paragraph. It even made me want to head to the ocean. The structure was also compelling, making me wonder, "Wait... again?" While many entries focus on how to balance work and likes that exist simultaneously, it was refreshing to see how you balance work and likes that occur within the waves of life rather than at the same time. It was also very pleasant to read how you accept yourself in that way.
Power of Likes
Noriko-san has been working at a Japanese company in the US for 14 years. This is an episode about how she, who used to make excuses by saying, "It's not a job I like," decided to properly face the work in front of her after being inspired by the words of a comedian. Turning the desire to do something into action gradually aligns work and life. This piece conveys that sense of certainty.
Noriko-san, thank you for your submission. I was deeply impressed by how you understood the intent of "Work <Like> Balance" and redefined it by applying it to your own life. Finding likes within work and using them as fuel. Taking the steering wheel of your own life and accepting those choices. I believe that attitude is the very essence of the philosophy that doda upholds: "Decide your own way of working and living."
Winners (5 entries)
General comments from each judge
Reading the submissions, I was greatly encouraged to see that everyone is struggling with the balance between what they have to do and what they want to do while doing their best every day. Personally, there are times when I get sick of having too much work or feel negative emotions toward my job when I'm busy, but I found myself empathizing with and being moved by the many notes that show an attitude of trying to face work without letting go of the "like" part. Thank you to everyone who applied.
Looking back on the contest
The following is a comment from the doda note representative.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for the more than 13,000 submissions to the "Work <Like> Balance" submission contest.
We were deeply drawn into the stories of everyone searching for the optimal balance for themselves through worries, conflicts, thoughts, values, and experiences.
Re-examining "Work <Like> Balance" with your own emotions as the axis, that first step becomes a catalyst for thinking about your ideal career and way of working.
The job change service "doda" will continue to support you in achieving that in a way that you find satisfying.
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Although the submission period has ended, we hope this will be an opportunity for you to think again about a "Work <Like> Balance" that feels comfortable for you.
Please take a look at other submitted works from the link below.