The Current Status of Childcare Leave-taking and Childrearing by Male Nurses, and Factors Promoting Their Taking of Childcare Leave

摘要

An anonymous self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted, on 154 male nurses withchildren between 0 and 12 years of age, concerning the status of their childcare leave-taking and childrearing, as well as factors promoting the taking of childcare leave. The survey revealed the followingfacts. 1. Thirteen male nurses (8.4%) had taken childcare leave, with roughly half taking less than one month of leave. Respondents’ reasons for leave-taking included reducing the burden on their wives and/or care of their new born or older children. 2. To encourage male nurses to take childcare leave, it is necessary to promote a positive attitude towards such leave, and to provide a working environment that allows childcare leave-takers to return to thesame position in the workplace after their leave. 3. Disincentives for childcare leave-taking included the environment or atmosphere of their workplace, economic factors, work demands, objections from those around them, and insufficient understanding and poor public recognition of the childcare leave system. 4. The average length of time spent by male nurses in childrearing was 2.2 hours a day, and this time tended to increase with lower youngest-child age and/or lesser gender role awareness. 5. In order for male nurses to achieve a desired balance between work and childrearing, a work climate is required in which workers respect each other's notions of work and lifestyle, and both their income andalternative staffing during childcare leave are properly ensured.