After two maternity and childcare leaves, my work style has changed and I find my job rewarding. Sales Support, Reimi Katori

Reimi Katori joined the company in 2007. A few years after Monosus was founded, she started working in the office in Hongo at the time. She then worked as a sales representative for Coding Factory (hereafter referred to as CF), and got married and gave birth in 2014. After a year and a half of maternity and childcare leave, she returned to work and supported the team members as a sales supporter. In 2022, she returned to work after taking maternity and childcare leave again for the birth of her second child, and is currently providing sales support for BtoB and CF businesses.

As he has changed his life stage from his 20s to his 40s, and as Monosus, the company, has also changed, how has Katori changed the way he works? And how has he found fulfillment in a job that suits his work style? We had a chance to talk to him at his Yoyogi office. Photographed by Maki Yamada.

From temporary staff to joining the original "Tomohata"

Sugimoto :So you started out as a temporary staff member, working in the call center at the Hongo office.

Katori : Even though it was a call center, the phones weren't always ringing, so I helped out with checking in my free time. Then, Sakuyama (Kumiko) asked me, "Why don't you try telemarketing for CF for one hour a day?" At first, I really didn't want to, but when I tried it, I was able to get appointments surprisingly quickly. Before I knew it, I was making three appointments with Okuyama (Hideno) a day, and my telemarketing work started off on a good note.

Sugimoto: When did you become a full-time employee?

Katori : I came here as a temporary worker in May 2007, and became a permanent employee in 2010. At the time, I was so busy working double and triple jobs that Mr. Sakuyama was worried and asked me if I was being chased by something (laughs). I only came to Monosus for 2-3 hours. I was asked several times if I wanted to become a full-time employee, but everyone seemed so busy that I declined, saying, "I'm not confident that I can become a full-time employee here." But in the end, I was the one who asked to join the company, and I was able to do so.

Sugimoto: Why did you want to work as an employee?

Katori: I think it's all about the people. The members at the time were close to me in terms of distance and age, so they all welcomed me. I was a bit worried about what I would be doing, but I was able to join the company thanks to the support of the other members.

Sugimoto :So you joined the company in a truly "Tomohata*" way. I imagine that once you joined the company, you became one of the busy members.
*An abbreviation of "Working with people who want to live together." One of Monosus' keywords.

Katori : Soon after I joined the company, I was put in charge of coding direction, but there were so many things I didn't understand. I remember consulting with Mr. Sakuyama and Mr. Tatsuta (Yoshihiro) every day and crying. The seniors around me all supported me carefully and I was able to get through it. I think the fact that I was able to try various jobs back then is connected to the way I work now.

My experience as Monosus' first maternity and childcare leave

Sugimoto: I think there have been many different periods in your life over the past 17 years. In 2014, you married Lucky from Pakistan and gave birth to a child. I heard that you were the first Monosus employee to take maternity leave.

Katori-san laughs a lot. His cheerfulness cheers everyone up.

Katori : At that time, I was working hard in the sales department. Looking back, it was only about two years, but it was the time when I was at my peak as a salesperson. It was just when Shogo (Harazawa) and the others joined the company and the sales department, including Tatsuta, had grown to a large group of five people that I found out I was pregnant.
It was a time when I was thinking, "Let's get more and more projects from now on!", and my pregnancy was a completely unexpected event. Since it was the first time for the company to have a pregnant member, Sakuyama-san researched a lot about maternity leave and childcare leave systems. Before my maternity leave, I said, "I'll be back soon!" I think the people around me also thought I would be back soon.

I'm sure Sugimoto Sakuyama looked into maternity and childcare leave systems because he wanted Katori to be able to return without any stress.

Katori : That's true. At the time, I had a lot of clients, so I had a strong desire to return to work right away, and I was constantly checking my emails before giving birth. But things changed after I gave birth. After a few months, I stopped opening my laptop, forgot about work, and a year had passed in the blink of an eye. When I finally tried to return to work, I was rejected by all the daycare centers, so I had to extend my leave by six months, and I ended up taking a year and a half of maternity and childcare leave.

The banner was given to Katori by the Check Team on the day she went on maternity leave. It was apparently displayed in her home at the time.

Known as the "Mother of the Sales Department"

Sugimoto: After you returned, how did you start working?

After returning to work, Katori started with a reduced work schedule of five and a half hours and was assigned to sales support. I have to go home on time because I have to pick up my children. In my case, my husband has to start early in the morning and also does night shifts, so I can't rely on him, and I have to do all the housework myself. The more important my family became, the more I felt distanced from the front line of sales. Before my maternity leave, I felt a sense of fulfillment in taking on cases myself and receiving direct consultations, so when I lost those opportunities, there was a time when I wondered, "What should I do?"

Sugimoto: That was the time when you were called the "mother of the sales department." Has the motivation for your work changed since then?

Katori : Because there were a lot of young people at that time. I started to feel a sense of fulfillment in teaching new employees in the sales department and working behind the scenes to make sure everyone could work smoothly. Originally, I was more suited to supporting others to behave well than being in the foreground myself. I'm grateful to the company for creating such a place. I could concentrate on my work for a short period of time, and when I got home, I would go pick up my children and make dinner. I was packed every day, but I felt fulfilled in my own way.

Katori-san working as a sales support staff member after returning from her first maternity leave

Sugimoto Katori, what do you value most in your work?

Katori: If I receive an instruction, I want to do more than twice as much as I was given beforehand. Of course, I think there are good and bad cases to do beforehand, but I have a strong desire to act without causing trouble to those around me. I don't like conflicts to occur. I want to create an environment where everyone can work comfortably and enjoy working together. I like the feeling that we can work smoothly without anyone saying anything, when we hear each other and understand everything, and say "I did it!" On the other hand, I feel sad when I hear the words "Ah, I wish you had done that" (laughs).

The company has changed a lot since I gave birth to my second child.

Sugimoto : You gave birth to your second child in 2019. Did you ever think about quitting your job?

Katori : Ah, to be honest, that was true. I also gave birth at an advanced age. But I came back because I felt I had to work. After I gave birth to my second child, Monosus' structure had changed significantly. I thought I would continue to support Shogo through crowdfunding as before, but I was really surprised to hear that the sales department's structure had changed and that Shogo was leaving crowdfunding sales. This meant that a lot of my sales support work would be reduced, so I wondered, "What can I do?" Then, I was asked to make telemarketing calls for BtoB business. It was another slightly new job.

I think Katori Sugimoto is very good at receiving the work that comes his way and giving it back.

Katori: I can't do specialized things, so I can't say, "I don't like this, I don't like that." When I started working in sales, I thought, "I'm not good at checking, so I don't want to do it anymore." But as I said before, I think that the basis of my stance in accepting various jobs is that I'm more suited to supporting others. Another reason is that I can respond flexibly and adapt to situations. I guess I'm the type of person who tries to digest things and do them even if there are things I don't like.

Sugimoto : I think the company Monosus itself has changed a lot. How have you dealt with that?

Katori : There have been a few times when the company has undergone major changes. I think that is also typical of Monosus. After a year off, many things have changed, but there are still familiar members (laughs). I think I have accepted it as "that's the kind of company it is." When the president was replaced, I was surprised, thinking "That can happen." It's strange, but the company is still running. I think it's interesting, so I might be watching it from a distance.

An evening spent with members raising children

Sugimoto : In 2016, Mr. Matsunaga (Satoru) became the first father to take parental leave. I think that over the past 10 years or so, Monosus has become a company where it is easy to take maternity and childcare leave.

During the Katori Monosas sports day, the members who had become mothers and their children gathered in the same room. We were able to share a lot of things while thinking, "Oh, everyone has become a mother now." When all the mothers gathered together, it was strange and happy. We could all talk about raising children, and I thought, "Everyone is doing their best!"
Now that I'm working in the office, I'm struggling with how to use my time. I'd like to have a roundtable discussion where we all talk about how we make time. I think there are about three people on maternity leave right now, and Monosus is experiencing a bit of a baby boom. When I took my first maternity leave, Nagai (Tomoko) asked me, "Should we set up a daycare center?" Maybe it's time to do it now. Since then, everyone has followed suit, and I think the trend has changed to one where it's okay to take maternity and childcare leave.

Members who have become mothers and their children at the Monosas Sports Day in 2021

The second son of the Katori family and Porta (Haruka Baba's brown bear marionette who lives with him)

Many children of members also participate in Monosus' sports day.

Sugimoto : I heard that you prepare two types of food at home every morning: Halal and Japanese. Spending time with your family, doing housework, raising children, work... I imagine you have a lot to do right now, so how do you make time for yourself?

Katori : People around me say, "That's tough, I can't do that." It's certainly tough, but I'm the type of person who can cut corners. Rather than being tied down and tough, I cut corners quite a bit at home.

Sugimoto : I'd love to hear some tips on how to relax! I really hope that one day we can hold a parenting roundtable with everyone at Monosus. Please join us then. Thank you!

I really liked the article that Katori wrote about Murakami . Since reading the article, I've been a secret fan of Katori. When I heard that he had been working as a checker under Maro (Murakami), I immediately went to see Murakami. Murakami seemed a little confused, but I got him involved and we photographed the legendary group "Remi Maron (I named it myself)."

"Right now, I really look at you with respect," says Katori, before laughing and lovingly adding, "Even though you're Maro!" Does the photo reflect the good relationship between the two of them?

"From now on I'll be working at Maro's desk. I feel safe there. Maro is really kind (laughs)."
Katori-san bursts into laughter just by calling him Maro. Maki Yamada took photos of the original Tomohatana people working hard. I left the check team room thinking that it must be special to be able to work together for such a long time, and that I was envious.