Sugawara: I started caring for my family while working because my child had a congenital illness. He needed surgery immediately after birth, but it was completely successful, and everything went well subsequently. I was able to return to work within the childcare leave period and was getting back on track when our house burned down, forcing me to take leave of absence again. I set about rebuilding my life and managed to go back to work, but my child's illness returned. I took caregiver leave because my family's surgery and caregiving were necessary. Around the same time my father-in-law fell ill from stress and since my mother-in-law had a chronic illness, I ended up having to care for three people simultaneously. Since my child could not attend nursery school because of the need for medical care, I was unable to return to work when the leave period ended. Thanks to the efforts of the hospital doctors and nurses, I was eventually able to leave my child in the care of a nursery school. This enabled me to return to work using the company's reduced working hours scheme for nursing care, which allows me to work four hours a day.
Now that both my child and my father-in-law have recovered to the extent that they can live normal lives, my main focus is on caring for my mother-in-law. Daily care requires thirty minutes to an hour for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, while about an hour of treatment is also needed on some days. Caregiving can be a matter of life and death and, together with not being able to do what I want, has become an emotional burden. It was especially hard for me to give my mother-in-law injections, but recently my husband has been helping me. Hospital visits are also difficult because there is more than one place to go to, but my father-in-law and my husband help me out. I came close to losing heart on many occasions in my life as a caregiver, but with the help of the company's schemes and my colleagues, I have been able to keep going.

Sugawara: When I had to start balancing work with nursing care, I had absolutely no sense that I was prohibited from talking about my caregiving concern in my workplace, and I was able to explain and discuss my situation openly. I am fortunate to work in an environment where I can speak about anything to coworkers and supervisors who are always helpful and supportive. I also remember that when I had to step away from my engineering work, I was comforted by the warm words of my colleagues and supervisors, who told me that I could always come back at any time.

Takeda: When I was assigned to manage Ms. Sugawara in this department, I wondered at first if she really wanted me to reduce her workload because she was not in a position to work full time. As she was originally a process engineer, I wondered whether reducing her workload significantly would also reduce her motivation, perhaps changing her feelings about contributing to the company as much as possible. After listening carefully to her wishes and firmly grasping her intentions, I assigned her to tasks that would contribute to the company while taking into consideration the weight of her work and responsibilities.

Sugawara: To balance nursing care and work, I took advantage of all available company schemes, including caregiver leave, the four hours a day reduced working hour scheme, and life vacations. As I was determined not to quit my job, I consulted with HR and asked them to look into all available schemes. On my own, I would not have known what to do and might have abandoned the idea of balancing work and caregiving altogether. I am still using the childcare and nursing care support such as working from home and using annual paid leave on an hourly basis. Since I need to provide care in the morning, afternoon, and evening, schemes that allow me to use my time flexibly during the day and take advantage of work breaks are extremely helpful.

Sugawara: Although I faced tough times with regard to caregiving when things piled up, quitting my job was not an option. While there are economic reasons, such as the cost of caring for my children and my future, I continue to work primarily because I want to confirm the meaning of my existence in an environment where I can feel connected to society. Since caregiving is something we do for others, I gradually fell into a mindset where I felt Ii was sacrificing myself and sometimes wondered what I was living for. If you can no longer feel that your life is your own, I believe your life along with a caregiving has reached a dead end. For me, my time at work is important because it enables me to realize my life is mine to live.
Life along with a caregiving can be lonely and it becomes difficult to escape from negative thoughts. Many caregivers have problems and unless they talk to someone they may find they are locked into a negative mindset. In my case, I was very fortunate to have colleagues, supervisors, and medical professionals with whom I could talk about anything. Since I became a caregiver while working, I am surprised to find I have had more opportunities to meet people with similar problems. Talking about my problems helps me gain courage and energy because I feel I am not alone. I want to tell people who are currently struggling with caregiving problems that they are never alone. If you have caregiving concerns, please talk to someone, do not keep them to yourself.