私は男女に関係なくモチベーションの高い人と働くことが好きだ。意欲的で向上心がある人。誰でもそうだと思うが、そういう人とチームを組むなどして共に何かのプロジェクトに取り組むことになった時は、自然とテンションが上がる。私も負けずに頑張る。そしていろいろありながらも仕事を終えて達成感を得られた時は、またいつかご一緒できたらと願う。共に苦労を乗り越えた友情みたいなものが生まれるようだ。

　しかしその人が女性の場合だと、その願いが叶う可能性が小さくなってくる。女性の場合は結婚すると、出産から子育てにまつわるプライベートの仕事が増え、それまでのように全力を傾けて仕事に取り組むことが難しくなってしまう。
　もちろん子育ては大変重要な仕事なので、そちらの方でより頑張ってもらいたいとは思う。子供は宝であり、私も応援している。ただ、「ああ、もう彼女とは本気で仕事ができないのか」と思うと、寂しい気持ちになる自分がいることは間違いない。同じようなことが今まで何度もあった。

　本来ならば男性も女性と同じように育休を取得するなどして子育てに参加するべきところなのだろうが、実際はそうはなっていない。少なくとも私の周りでは。それに正直、男性が育休を取ったところで、それほど役には立てないと思う。多少女性に休む時間を差し上げられるくらいだろうか。それだけでも意味があるのかもしれないが。
　私の感覚では、子供が生まれて小学校を卒業する12歳くらいまでは、お母さんは完全には仕事に復帰できない。いや、家庭を持った時点で「完全復帰」はもはやあり得ないのではないか。夕飯の支度や何やらで、働く時間は制約される。
　家事・育児について、女性がパートナーや親のサポートを受けられる人はラッキーなのかもしれないが、子供の身になって考えれば、毎日夜遅くまで仕事をするお母さんでは可哀そうだ。一緒に働いている女性がもしそんなことになれば、私の方が心配になってしまう。
　私の仕事の仕方が現代的ではないのだろう。もっと効率化を図り、短い時間で完了するようにすれば良いのだろうが、そこもなかなか難しい。結局また一緒にやるとなると、相手のご家庭にも迷惑をかけてしまう。やはり“私が考える”女性の職場への「完全復帰」は諦めざるを得ない。残念だが、それが現実だ。

　私が仕事を一緒にする人たちに依存し過ぎているということなのかもしれない。一人一人が自分に与えられた分担を時間内で着実に遂行していけば、それで仕事は成立するのだろう。しかし私は仕事にそれ以上の、みんなで心を合わせて取り組む“浪漫”のようなものを求めているところがある。どうせやるなら時間や疲れを忘れて、“本気でやりたい”と思うところが、すでに時代遅れなのだろう。
　女性が働くことができる社会のさらなる促進が求められている。私もそれに協力したいし、女性の感性や力は間違いなく必要だ。私も時代に即した考え方を学んで、寂しがってばかりではなく、女性とのより良い先進的な働き方を探っていきたい。

　お母さんは、ホントに大変だよねー

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Difficult Full Return

　I like working with motivated people regardless of gender. People who are motivated and ambitious. I think everyone is like that, but when I get to work on a project with such people, for example by teaming up with them, I naturally get excited. I will do my best to keep up with them. And when I feel a sense of accomplishment after completing a job, I hope we can work together again someday. It seems that a kind of friendship is born after overcoming hardships together.

　However, if that person is a woman, the chances of that wish coming true become smaller. When a woman gets married, she has more private work related to childbirth and child rearing, and it becomes difficult for her to devote all her energy to her work as she did before.
　Of course, child-rearing is a very important job, and I would like them to work harder in this area. Children are a treasure, and I support them. However, there is no doubt that there is a part of me that feels sad when I think, “Oh, I can’t really work with her anymore. The same thing has happened to me many times before.

　Normally, men should be participating in child-rearing by taking maternity leave, etc., just like women do, but in reality, this is not the case. At least not around me. And to be honest, I don’t think it would help much if men took maternity leave. It may be enough to give women some time off. That alone might make sense, though.
　My feeling is that a mother cannot fully return to work until her child is about 12 years old, when the child is born and graduates from elementary school. No, I think “full return to work” is no longer possible once she has a family. Working hours are restricted by preparing dinner and other things.
　Perhaps women are lucky to have the support of their partners and parents in terms of housework and childcare, but if you think about it from the child’s point of view, it would be pitiful for a mother to work late into the night every day. If the woman I work with were to have to do that, I would be more concerned.
　I guess my way of working is not modern enough. I guess I should try to be more efficient and complete the work in a shorter time, but that is not easy either. I would be inconveniencing the other family if I had to work with them again after all. I have to give up on what I consider to be a “full return” of women to the workplace. Unfortunately, that is the reality.

　Perhaps I am too dependent on the people I work with. If each person steadily carries out his or her assigned tasks within the time allotted to him or her, then the work can be done. However, I am looking for something more than that in my work, something like “romance” in which we all work together with all our hearts. I think that the desire to forget about time and exhaustion and “really get down to it” is already outdated.
　There is a need to further promote a society in which women can work. I would like to cooperate in this effort, and women’s sensitivity and strength are definitely needed. I would also like to learn how to think in line with the times and explore better and more progressive ways of working with women, rather than just being lonely.

　A mother’s job is really hard work!