Abstract
The focus of the issue of childcare leave, which forms the pillar of family-friendly policies, has shifted to actual adoption of the system in the workplace. The two problems of finding substitutes and the specific handling procedures for such substitute personnel in the workplace, are considered in terms of the results from two hearings. Two methods are in operation: share method and forward rotation. The former involves the apportioning of a slightly increased volume of work among co-workers. The latter resembles a chain-reaction, wherein existing employees are shunted forward when an individual takes childcare leave. If a female employee takes childcare leave, responsibility for her work passes into the hands of the man or women immediately below her, that individual's work in turn being taken on by the person below them and so on. The former method will yield increased productivity in the short term, but the latter is considered to be superior in the long term.
