From Childcare Leave to Child-Rearing Work Part 2: Utilizing the System to its Limit - Things We Take for Granted and Stop Noticing

I utilized the system of full utilization of annual paid leave to take a one-month vacation around the time of my wedding. Since this was in the late 1980s, at the end of the Showa era, it was unprecedented.

We did it, so go ahead and do it, everyone.

That is what this story is about.

The nickname for childcare leave, as a job we all raise together,

Child-Rearing Work

Having lived as a human for over 60 years, I believe that, broadly speaking, time will solve things. However, since measures against the declining birthrate cannot wait, I would like to recommend that those who can, do what they can to trigger an avalanche. With that in mind, I would like to introduce my Showa-era challenge—taking approximately one consecutive month of annual paid leave—as a reference. Of course, this is a true story.

The initial conditions given were: 1) I had just joined the company and was not yet in a management position, and as a labor union member, the union was aiming for full utilization of annual paid leave; 2) I belonged to a research institute, so there was flexibility in my work schedule as long as I produced results; 3) It was an office romance, and since we were in adjacent workplaces, there was an atmosphere where those around us would accept it (warmly looking the other way); 4) My wife was in charge of key tasks representing the company and was on good terms with the executives, allowing for flexibility. Although her work was usually demanding, we were able to avoid professional inconvenience by scheduling the wedding during a slack period; 5) Both of us were the type not to worry about a little bit of trouble as long as it didn't violate company policy (laughs). It was a challenge that made the most of these conditions. At this stage, making the most of these factors was the key to success.

So, this time, I would like to tell you that I recommend you walk the royal road with courage and open up new paths by referring to the following case study. As introduced in Part 1, the steel company I worked for during my child-rearing years had about 120 days of annual holidays, and annual paid leave was 20 days from the first year of employment, with up to 40 days being carried over across fiscal years. Also, the labor union was functioning normally, and the acquisition of annual paid leave was managed in writing. It was established practice to fully utilize annual paid leave without discarding it.

With this major premise, roughly speaking, I spread the vacation over two months by centering it around the wedding, which spanned across months. While maintaining appearances in a way that didn't stand out too much on paper, I effectively managed to take about a month off. To be more specific...

I got married just after entering my third year at the company, and I made full use of the company's system for full utilization of annual paid leave, targeting the period from June to the first half of July, when some people take early summer vacations to take advantage of cheaper travel costs. We became a June Bride and took over four weeks of vacation around the time of our wedding. Despite it being the rainy season, my life has been one of luck, intuition, and persistence. It was sunny around the time of the wedding. Of course, it wasn't all consecutive. We set it up so that we took one week off before and after the wedding, and two consecutive weeks for our honeymoon to New Caledonia. If you break it down, for example, taking 5 days of annual leave combined with the weekends before and after results in 9 consecutive days off. This is also a technique. Moreover, as mentioned above, by spanning across months, it was a soft landing. At the time, it was an unprecedented consecutive vacation at the company. Well, since it was a research institute, it was fortunate that work progress management was relatively flexible. It wasn't childcare leave, but vacation around the time of the wedding, and it felt like I was the first newcomer to boldly utilize the company's system to its limit.

A digression. This is something I really want to say (laughs).

The beauty of utility

That's what it is (laughs), and this daring feat (laughs) is, for me, the result of an artistic accumulation of logic... I think this kind of conduct is also artistic...

I would like to pioneer this field of art as well.

Returning to the subject. I have reached the end of my career as a salaryman and am now in a position to oversee the entire company, but honestly, there is no one else who would do that... So, the results of this challenge are...

I think I did a good job, even if I say so myself. By the way, there hasn't been a one-month vacation since then, but because the bubble economy started right after, it became a workplace atmosphere where one could enjoy a honeymoon with a long vacation of over two weeks relatively easily. Other than our own satisfaction, this was the result.

For the fine details of that situation, please enjoy Part 1 in this magazine. (Taking advantage of the unspoken company policy of not placing couples in the same work area, my wife remained in that workplace, and I was able to transfer to my desired department early, which led to an unexpected development where my life opened up significantly.)

This is just one example, but I would be beyond happy if you could use it as a reference and translate it into concrete action.

Now there is social media, and I am hoping that an avalanche will occur.

Go for it, everyone.
(I tried to make a pun on Nissan. Sorry for the Showa-era vibe.)

Reference
This is a document conveying the atmosphere of the now-defunct Club Med New Caledonia from a relatively recent period.