Insights from our working moms at Cocone: “How is Cocone?”

※This article is machine translated.

Cocone has many female employees.
The percentage of women among all members is 65% (as of July 1, 2020).
When it comes to the planning and production of items such as “Pokecolo” and “Sensil,” as well as the animation, UI, and other design departments, most of these members are women.
(Note: As the author of this article, I also have a design background, but I am one of the rare men in the design department.)

Cocone’s services are mainly smartphone apps that allow users to decorate and enjoy the interior of their homes with characters and interior decorations, and most of our customers are women. Since we specialize in services for women, it can be said that many female members are active within the company.

And at Cocone, services are more about sensibility than convenience and functionality. In order to deliver feelings of “relief” and “cuteness,” we value the individuality and sensitivity of each member in creating our services and make it our basic policy to deliver such feelings to our customers.

For this reason, Cocone has always aimed to create a company system that allows each member to have a balance between work and life, and to make daily activities a source of life.
In particular, how to balance pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare with the activities of the company is a very important issue that we are tackling.

This time, a member of the Culture Improvement Team*, who is also “a little senior” in child-rearing, interviewed a mother employee in the Design Department who is currently working while raising children, asking, “How is Cocone for mothers? We asked them directly about their opinions.

Culture Improvement Team：This team aims to make Cocone a better company from a neutral standpoint, neither from the workers’ side nor from the company’s side, in order to refine the corporate culture, which is the foundation of Cocone’s character, in accordance with the ever-changing corporate structure.
Reference article: https://game-creators.jp/media/column/258/

Culture Team (“Culture”)

First of all, can you tell us the ages of your children?

M.
Yes, I am a mom of a two year old girl.

Y.
Ours is a 4 year old boy.

K.
They are 6 and 2 year old boys.

culture
Did you have any concerns when you returned to work after your parental leave?

M.
I was anxious.
I was concerned about whether I would be able to get enough sleep and what my job would be like when I returned to work.
I returned to work when I was able to sleep at night, but I think some people may not be able to sleep themselves and come to work. I guess it also depends on the age of the same child.

K.
I was worried that I would have to take more time off because my department was getting busier just as I was returning to work and since I now had two children, I would probably have to take twice as many days off for fever and the like.
In fact, I was grateful to be able to use childcare free time*, although I had to take more time off.

*Free time for childcare
This system allows employees to use the number of days worked per month x 1 hour of their time for childcare. You are free to use one hour every day to take your child to and from daycare, or to digest it all together. Dads can also use it. This childcare free time is paid and there is no reduction in salary.

culture
What was the reaction of the people around you?

K.
The people around me were very understanding. I also took care not to fall behind schedule by working ahead of schedule as much as possible. The free childcare time could also be used to visit the hospital for my child, so I was able to drop by the hospital on my way home from work, which was very helpful.

Culture When did you all return to work after maternity leave?

M.
I am the end of April last year (2019).

Y.
I joined Cocone nine months after giving birth.
Until then, I had been doing freelance work, but I lost my contract because the project I was supposed to do after the baby was born was no longer available. So I joined Cocone, where I could make use of my experience, initially on a part-time basis.

K.
I’m May last year (2019), so I’m back about the same time as you M.

M.
We were at the “Returning Moms” meeting together, weren’t we?

culture
Oh, there was a “returning moms group”! What kind of…?

M.
Labor hosted the event, and other mothers who were still on maternity leave gathered at the company to hear about the current state of the company and what kind of schedules mothers who have returned to work or raised children before us are working.

K.
People who had returned to work before us, or who were raising their children to rave reviews, told us many things about how to balance work and childcare.

M.
There were about six mothers on maternity leave who attended and about six who spoke with us.

K.
It was fun to come to the office for the first time in a while and meet members in the same situation.
When you’re on parental leave, you don’t usually get a chance to come to the office. Of course, I knew the workplace, but I was able to have something like a returning mothers’ meeting in between, so I think it made my return to work smoother, even in terms of my feelings.

culture
When you are away from the company on parental leave, it makes you somewhat anxious, doesn’t it?
It may be Cocone’s unique approach that allows you to learn about the company’s situation and how senior mothers work while on maternity leave.
Another unique initiative of Cocone is “childcare free time.” Do you make use of this?

M.
I make use of it. I think it’s the best (laughs).

Y.
I appreciate that it has been improved and is now available in minutes (it used to be in hours), so I can use it even for 5 minutes or so when I am a little lazy and late in the morning.

culture
Really, children don’t move as planned, do they?
Did you have any difficulties this year when you suddenly started working remotely from home due to the coronavirus?

M.
Since the company-wide remote work-from-home program started suddenly, the company created various systems and structures, but I think it must have been difficult for those who had children who could not go to daycare centers.

K.
There were many times when my work didn’t go as smoothly as I would have liked when I was at home watching my children. My older child is in elementary school, so there was homework to see to at-home learning as per the timetable….

Y.
I had to digest my energy, so I would try my best to finish work around 5:00 p.m. and take them to the park.

all of us
That’s great!

culture
Are there any requests from the child-rearing generation regarding the use of remote work?

M.
I know the number of infected people has been increasing again recently (as of July 9). I am worried that I might pass it on to my family if something happens to me, as I commute to work on a crowded train from a distance.
As for families with small children, we have been able to provide them with the flexibility to use remote work* after July, so they can rest assured that their families will be well taken care of.

*Cocone’s remote work policy: until June, the company will primarily work completely remotely, coming to work only by permission; starting July 1, the company will allow employees to work remotely 10 days per month (i.e., half of the time). The company plans to continue to be flexible, taking into account administrative and public conditions.

Y.
I hope that the childcare generation will be able to use remote work as flexibly as they can use childcare free time. It would be nice to be able to work remotely when children are home due to illness, instead of having to go to bed at night.

culture
Yes, there are times when a child is home sick and you can work, such as the moment they fall asleep.
By the way, you introduced a ” home deli ” while working remotely, did you use that one?
(Reference article: https://cocone.co.jp/en/news/press-release/id=12048/ ）

all of us
Used!

Y.
I wanted to use it every week already (laughs).
When I’m at home with my kids, I have to cook lunch and dinner, so I can add a dish when I’m in a difficult situation. It was really helpful.

K.
I can’t even take a lunch break because I have to prepare dinner for my children. After cooking and working, it’s already dinner time and I have to cook again. 、、、、

M.
You can feed only the children first and let them eat first when you make the adult portion later.

culture
It seems that there is still room for more ingenuity in taking care of the child-raising generation.
By the way, going back to your pre-Cocone days, is there anything about the Cocone system that made you happy or that you felt could be improved?

M.
Although it was not a system, I was grateful that the team members were very understanding.
When a child has a fever, there are members who say, ” We’ll take care of it here.

culture
I guess I really could hear those words naturally. Come to think of it, some employees unavoidably bring their children to work with them. With all of you, I have had them draw with me, eat lunch with me, and say, “Hey, you’ve grown taller again.
I feel that when the members around me meet the actual child, they know ” Oh, you are raising this child,” and they are more likely to cooperate.
It is also quite nice to be able to bring children to work.

Y.
Yes, that’s right!
I like being able to participate in company events such as Halloween parties with my family because the atmosphere is so nice and everyone is so friendly and welcoming.

K.
There was a time when my child was sick and had to be hospitalized, and when I asked my boss about remote work at that time, he gave me some flexibility.
At that time, the system allowed two remotes per month, but I talked with labor and others to have the frequency increased.
I felt that Cocone’s flexible approach, which does not say, “It’s a rule, so it’s not allowed,” was unique to Cocone.

culture
I was once terminated from my contract at a previous company for taking too much time off from work when my children came down with the flu in rapid succession (lol).
You mention the words “flexible” and “easy,” why do you think Cocone does that?

M.
It’s because we believe that people are our treasure!

Y.
Since there are so many women in the company, I think they have a good sense of what the future holds for women who continue to work.

K.
It can be good for both the individual and the company, as women can keep their jobs longer and help Cocone grow.

culture
Finally, what would you like to say to those who are interested in joining Cocone?

M.
I hope that you will not be attracted to this program because of the ” benefits “, but that you will use this environment for the benefit of yourself, the members around you, and the company, and that you will take responsibility for the work you do. I hope that you will not just passively enjoy this system, but actively use it to create a positive impact together.

Y.
While the children are small, they are flexible in many ways, but once the children are out of the way, now I want to contribute to the people around me! I want them to feel that they can make a difference.
I, too, have been helped by those around me, and I hope to contribute more in the future.

K.
You can also aim to become a leader while raising children. We have a good environment for mothers who have their own career plans.

culture
Cocone is a company where you can have children and still make your dreams come true!
I myself am the same way, so I would like to encourage anyone who wants to ” do their best ” in both child rearing and work to come I would like to encourage those who want to “do their best” in both child-rearing and work to come here.

Thank you very much for your cooperation.

Cocone Corporation is building a company where not only working mothers (and fathers) but also people from all walks of life can have the strength to play an active role, grow, and lead happy lives!
If you share this dream and the desire to work together to create this environment, please apply.

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