One in Four New Japanese Fathers Experiences Workplace Paternity Harassment

A survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare has revealed that, in the past five years, 24.1% of men who tried to take childcare leave experienced paternity harassment.

The percentage was higher, at 33% for men in management positions. Based on the size of the company (number of employees), those with 100 to 299 employees had the highest occurrence of paternity harassment at 30%.

When asked how often they had experienced harassment, 45.2% of respondents stated “from time to time” and 27% said “repeatedly,” meaning more than 70% in total had been subject to it multiple times. A further 27.8% stated it had been “only once.” In the case of companies that had 99 employees or less, the majority, with 42.1%, had been “repeatedly” subject to harassment.

When asked what detriments had been caused by the paternity harassment, with multiple responses possible, the most common, at 24.2%, was that work superiors and colleagues had “obstructed use of childcare leave.” This was followed by “continuous bullying” with 20.8% and “detrimental reassignment” at 19.2%.

Respondents were also asked which childcare entitlements they had given up on using because of the paternal harassment. With multiple responses possible, 31.7% said “exemption from overtime,” followed by 25.8% with “childcare leave.”

The survey was conducted online in January 2024 and targeted 500 employed men.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)