
CiRA Reporter
CiRA Reporter

People
July 16, 2024
A Positive Attitude to Both Work and Childcare with Flexibility

Tomohiro Nakatsuka
The General Affairs Section supports CiRA in many different ways
The general affairs work includes a wide range of work, from routine tasks such as organizing meetings, processing travel expenses, issuing security cards, and managing equipment to holding events such as kick-off meetings at the beginning of each fiscal year, university affairs such as accepting research internship students and holding graduate school information sessions, and handling visits by esteemed domestic and international guests. We also respond to many inquiries from research laboratories and take on tasks that do not fit other sections.
There are tiny bits of joy in my work, and I feel joyful from being able to help someone in need every day. I think this makes general affairs jobs so rewarding.
My goal is to experience more work unique to CiRA, such as welcoming VIPs when they visit or events where I can interact with donors and the general public, which is something I would not have a chance for in other departments. I want to make the most of my opportunities here. There have been more activities within the institute since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because CiRA has, in addition to faculty members and researchers, various people from administrative and research support divisions, I would like to overcome boundaries set by our jobs and interact with more people within CiRA.
The work of the General Affairs Section is full of tasks for which there are no correct answers, so I never get tired of doing it. There are still many things I am unfamiliar with, and sometimes I cannot answer daily inquiries immediately. I want to learn more so that I can do a better job. I hope to become a dependable general affairs official so that I can be helpful to everyone at CiRA.

Challenges identified through paternity leave
My first child was born in December 2023. The limited time on weekdays I had would have given me a small glimpse of how hard it is to raise a child. Just like work, you must do a certain amount of work every day for a certain amount of time to learn how to take care of your child. I decided to take the plunge and take paternity leave because I thought if I were going to do it, it would be better to take a break for a certain period rather than a little at a time.
I believe that everyone around me willingly accepted my one-month paternity leave without any issues. On the other hand, since it was a busy time, I was a bit nervous that it would burden everyone I worked with. When someone is away for maternity or paternity leave, others will inevitably have an increased workload. I feel that standardization and equalization to prevent work from becoming too dependent on individual skills will become an important issue to consider in the future. Furthermore, taking parental leave has reminded me of the importance of being grateful to those around me who help and earning the trust of colleagues by working diligently. I will keep in mind, for the future, the basic principles of respect and gratitude, which are included as one of CiRA's guiding philosophies.
Taking paternity leave has also increased my awareness of time management at work. During my childcare leave, I was always aware of how to use my time, and the skills of planning ahead and working backward have come in handy at work, even after my childcare leave has ended. I am glad I took the paternity leave because I was able to experience first-hand how hard childcare is. My wife will take childcare leave for a while, but I try to go home as early as possible and work with her to raise our child now.
Editor's notes
As the promotion of women’s empowerment continues, men taking paternity leave is of great significance in supporting dual-income families. The ideal environment would be one where people like Nakatsuka view paternity leave in a positive light and are surrounded by a supportive atmosphere. It would be great if we could gradually move closer to achieving a work-life balance by starting with what we can do individually.
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Interviewed and written by Chiaki Yoshino
A CiRA technical staff and a freelance writer and editor with experience writing and editing over 200 articles, including on-demand media, press releases, and interviews. Her topics of interest are corporate mental health and science.
(Translation: Kelvin Hui Ph.D., CiRA Research Promoting Office)