I just read about a small Japanese company that offers its workers “heartache leave” to help them get over relationships gone awry.
According to this Reuters article, the founder of Hime & Company, a cosmetics marketing firm based in Tokyo, thinks that heartache leave is important because it gives workers a chance to deal with their grief and then return to the job completely “refreshed”.
CEO Miki Hiradate was quoted as saying,
Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, just like when you get sick.
The number of heartache leave days allowed per worker varies depending on age, with younger women getting one day per year and older women getting 2-3 days off per year. The rationale behind this is simple, according to Hiradate:
Women in their 20s can find their next love quickly, but it’s tougher for women in their 30s, and their break-ups tend to be more serious.
I actually think that’s a pretty cool idea. God knows I could have used heartache leave when I was in my late teens/early twenties…. it would have been much better than showing up to work with red, puffy eyes and having everyone stare and ask questions all day!!