• Pick Up
• Childcare Leave Experience
• Cross-Domain Computing Solutions Division (XC)
• Flexible Work Style
• Male Childcare Leave

One of the reasons why Yuka Mizunashi chose Bosch was to "work at a company where associates can take childcare leave and enjoy a good work-life balance". In fact, he says that taking childcare leave twice after joining Bosch has changed his work style. What kind of changes have occurred? We asked him to talk about the comfortable working environment at Bosch, from the perspective of someone who has taken childcare leave.

A culture in which everyone can take childcare leave as a matter of course, regardless of gender

First, please tell us about your background and your current work.

I joined Bosch in 2017 and was involved in quality assurance and software development of gateway products that connect networks between in-vehicle ECUs. After that, in my second year at Bosch, I was posted for half a year in Australia, which is the development base for digital key entry systems, and acquired detailed know-how overseas.

The Advanced Network Solutions Department, to which I currently belong, deals with electronic components installed in vehicles. Currently, I am in charge of system architecture design, while making use of the experience and connections I cultivated during my assignment overseas.

My role is to incorporate the client's requirements into the design document so that the software development department that actually does the work can proceed smoothly in the development.

Please tell us when you took childcare leave and for how long.

I took two months of childcare leave when my first son was born in 2019, and four months when my second son was born in 2022.

In fact, one of the reasons I decided to join Bosch in the first place was because of the environment where I could properly maintain a good work-life balance. When my wife, whom I met while studying abroad in my second year of graduate school, and I married, I said, "When I think about when we have children in the future, it would be nice to work at a company where I can take childcare leave."

My wife is Canadian and she does not have relatives in Japan that we can rely on to help raise our children. Before I joined Bosch, I was thinking of taking childcare leave and raising our children together. When I found out that we would have a child, I felt that, "It's finally time to take childcare leave!"

How did you decide on the period of childcare leave, which was two months, and four months?

When our eldest son was born, I thought that it would take two months before he could sleep well at night. However, my eldest son had a hard time falling asleep, and in reality two months childcare leave was too short. From that experience, I decided to take childcare leave for four months when our second son was born. In fact, I took five months off, including paid leave.

Before I went on childcare leave, I had planned to read some books in my spare time and study some things. But I did not have that kind of free time. Women who have given birth have a heavy burden both physically and mentally, and it could be difficult to even walk during the period after giving birth. Accordingly, I was doing the housework.

In addition, my wife would wake up every three hours at night to breastfeed our child. My wife of course, and also I, were not getting enough sleep. If I had not taken childcare leave, I think I would have been too sleepy to work.

In the past, I used to think of childcare leave as "a time for the two of us to raise our child together", but in reality it was also a time to help my wife. If I had not been able to support my wife, housework and childcare would have been even more difficult.

What was the reaction of the workplace members when you took childcare leave?

When I took childcare leave for the first time, there were no male associates around me who had taken childcare leave, but they all accepted it as a natural thing and thought about how to divide the work.

Nowadays, I am often consulted about taking childcare leave and raising children. The question I am always asked is, "How long should I take childcare leave?" In addition, I often hear about the worries that I too had experienced, such as "My child doesn't sleep much. What should I do to help him sleep well?"

Support from various childcare support systems, even after returning to work

How has the way you work changed after childcare leave?

The way I work after childcare leave has completely changed to "family-first", to prioritize family. Especially after our second son was born, I had to pick up and drop off our child at nursery school, so there were physical restrictions. Customer visits and meetings were adjusted to avoid morning and evening pick-up times. I worked for that part after our children went to sleep.

Since my eldest son was a growing boy with a lot of energy, my wife devoted herself to raising our second son, and I took our eldest son to the park almost every day so he could release some energy. The nursery schools were often closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, so both children were often at home.

However, Bosch has a good follow-up system for associates who have taken childcare leave, and I have participated in online roundtable discussions. I remember feeling a little relieved when I heard from people who had taken childcare leave about their experiences when they returned to work, saying, "Everyone is worried about the same things."

In addition, Bosch has an employee community called "Family@bosch", which was established in 2016. Associates on childcare leave can discuss childcare concerns and exchange information in the community. Consultation meetings on work styles after returning to work are also held regularly.

There are various support systems, such as a babysitter subsidy system, a shortened working hours system, and a short-time work system for full-time associates*, but the one that I often use is a nursing care leave system for children. I have two children so I can use it for up to ten days per year, such as when my child has a fever or when visiting a hospital. It can be taken in one-hour increments, so even if you want to take your child for a vaccination for two hours from 9:00 in the morning, you can minimize the impact on your work. I am able to balance childcare and work by utilizing these systems.

Creating a workplace where people who have taken childcare leave and those around them can work comfortably

As someone who has taken childcare leave, when do you feel that Bosch especially makes it easy to work?

I was fortunate that my boss is the father of two children and is an international marriage. His wife understands the difficulties of raising children in a foreign country, so he thought about my career and gave me a lot of advice on how to work. It was very reassuring.

Awareness of male associates taking childcare leave is rapidly changing in society as a whole. The rate of taking childcare leave at Bosch is also increasing, and in 2022, approximately 70% of all associates taking childcare leave were men. Many people also take the average period of two to three months of leave (*).

What did you experience, and what was good about taking childcare leave?

My wife and I experienced a phase for a few months when there was so much that we did not know about raising a child. There are many difficulties in raising children that you cannot understand unless you are with them 24 hours a day. You cannot realize how hard it is to breastfeed unless you are nearby. Raising children lasts a lifetime, so it was a wonderful experience to be able to have a relationship where we can say, "We overcame that difficult time together." I think that being able to share that experience is an irreplaceable value.

As someone who has taken childcare leave, is there anything you would like to improve?

After taking childcare leave for the second time, there was a major change of team members when I returned to work. Therefore, I had a hard time catching up with the situation around me. If you set a "catch-up period" for one to two weeks after returning to work, I think it will be easier for you and those around you to work. For members who will take childcare leave in the future, I would like support to be provided after returning to work, led by the site.

In addition, I think it is important to provide support for people other than those who have taken childcare leave. For example, for the work of those taking childcare leave, programs such as STA (short-term assignment for up to six months) can be called on for support, or the number of members can be increased for a limited time. As an associate who has experienced childcare leave, I would like to continue to encourage and disseminate such information. I would also like to create a place for communication so that there is no confusion or gap in awareness between associates who have taken childcare leave and those who have not.

As for catch-up training after returning to work, not only those who take childcare leave but also their supervisors can receive it, which I think is a very good system. It will be easier for those who want to take childcare leave to take it, and it will be easier for the members around them to work without feeling burdened. I look forward to more of such efforts in the future.

Finally, please tell us about your career prospects for the future.

I would like to improve my skills as a system architect without changing my family-first work style. I have heard from my seniors that when my children grow up a little more, I will have more time, so I would like to aim for a management position in the future.

I would like to create a work environment where both parties are happy, where those who have taken childcare leave can leave their jobs with peace of mind, and those who have not taken childcare leave feel that it is an opportunity to expand their range of activities.