Heartache Leave

I’m always in favor of more time off from work, but the sexist (and ageist) overtones of this idea from a Japanese company would never fly here.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Lovelorn staff at a Japanese marketing company can take paid time off after a bad break-up with a partner, with more "heartache leave" on offer as they get older.

Tokyo-based Hime & Company…says heartache leave allows staff to cry themselves out and return to work refreshed. "Not everyone needs to take maternity leave but with heartbreak, everyone needs time off, just like when you get sick," CEO Miki Hiradate, whose company of six women markets cosmetics and other goods targeted for women, told Reuters by telephone.

Staff aged 24 years or younger can take one day off per year, while those between 25 and 29 can take two days off and those older can take three days off, the company said.

"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," Hiradate said.

Hime & Company staff can also take two mornings off twice a year as "sales shopping
leave", so they can race to stores to hunt for bargains.

What no PMS leave? No time off for changing one’s mind? No time for baking cookies? No bad hair day leave?

And how about those old broads over 30 suffering from Old Maid syndrome? Shouldn’t they get a week off to come to terms with the fact that they will never get a man? Poor dears.