Family time as an occupation

2025/01/13

Previously, I wrote about Kazuya’s story. Kazuya has been working for a university and has had a workaholic life. He depended on his wife when it comes to house chores and childcare. Before he knew it, his children have rapidly grown. He was happy with his kids’ development but regretted that he missed precious time he should’ve had with his kids. Kazuya plans to provide support for them to grow well until they become independent. How is he going to spend time with his family? I want you, my readers, to think about how you spend time with your family!

Today, I would like to share with you a view of family time as an occupation, considering it from these angles:

The form of family time as an occupation,

the function of the occupation,

and the meaning of the occupation.

To look at this occupation in a big occupational picture, let’s imagine Kazuya engaging in doing things with his family.

Family time as an occupation

Situation: Kazuya is a man round 50 who teaches in a university. He lives with his wife, who is a full-time homemaker, and their three kids.　

Kazuya’s environmental challenge is he doesn’t have enough time with his kids because he is engaged in working from early morning to late night all year round. He is obviously affected by the strong cultural value of such a way for males to work in Japanese society. He must fit into this expectation for husbands and fathers, although he wants to enjoy spending time with his kids. 　

The form of the occupation: Kazuya is busy with his job on both weekdays and weekends. He spends only a couple of days a year with his kids, for a family vacation.

He engages in working his best to support his family financially which he accepts as his responsibility. His wife does all the housework and childcare. She plays a middleman between him and his kids. She tells his kids about him and tells him about his kids. She calls on him to play a father’s role when his family needs his support. Kazuya feels sad that he doesn’t have enough time with his kids because of his job. But he is going to continue a job centered life, in the same way he is engaged in at the moment, to order to economically support his kids until they can live independently.

The function of the occupation: Spending time together, family members belong to a community “family” and feel a sense of unity. They can feel safe and satisfied and happy with the unity. Such a family time has the effect of parents having a sense of unity with family and a realization of their kids’ development. Kazuya regrets missing a lot of time with his kids.

Kazuya doesn’t have enough time to spend with his kids but he lives a workaholic life to support his family financially and thus to get his kids a good education, and also to fulfill job responsibilities as wage earner for the family. This has been the traditional role for men in most societies for a long time.

Kazuya thinks it is a father’s role to support his kids as well as he can until they become independent. Kazuya’s family doesn’t have enough family time. It’s not good but it’s their realistic world. Kazuya collaborates with his wife, the go between in the family, to support their kids and to feel a sense of belongingness. His workaholic life, caused by his acceptance of Japanese cultural expectations, disturbs his family time. But through his Japanese style job engagement, he feels a sense of unity and belongingness with his family.

The meaning of the occupation: Spending time with one’s family makes a person’s life happy and meaningful. But a workaholic life under cultural expectations in Japanese society causes him to miss family time. That is Kazuya and his family’s realistic world. Kazuya works at his best to support his family life and his kids’ education. Then, collaborating with his wife, the mediator in his family, Kazuya plays a father’s role when it’s required. This gives him a sense of belongingness and unity with everyone in the family.