Main image via ARAMA! Japan + VotingStation
Japan while known for many amazing things, is also unfortunately known to have one of the most toxic work cultures around.
But one company however is trying to change things up by offering their employees paid leave whenever one of their favourite idols get married, retire or even have a concert!
via GIPHY
Media agency Hiroro’s president and founder Shizen Tsurumi shared that he is fully accepting that a worker’s mental and emotional health is just as important as physical health and is an important element to consider in their employees’ performance.
To put his words into practice, Shizen introduced the Oshi Vacation System that allows employees to take paid leave if they’re sad about their favourite artist’s retirement, marriage or anything else that can cause a fan’s grief.
via GIPHY
For those who are unaware, oshi is a slang that is used in Japan’s idol fandom that refers to someone’s favourite idol.
Shizen’s new policy allows employees to take up to 10 days off to grieve their favourite idol(s) and if it’s not their absolute favourite artist that retires or gets married, they’re entitled to two to three days leave.
According to SoraNews24, if an employee’s number one oshi is getting married, they can split their 10 days of leave. This means that they can actually take the first few days off when an engagement announcement is made, and the remaining days for when their idol’s wedding ceremony takes place.
via GIPHY
The Tokyo-based agency’s founder was inspired to implement the new system when he observed a couple of employees who became distracted and unfocused at work because of bad and sad news from their idols.
Shizen then decided to give these employees the day off to grieve and eventually, it became an official company policy.
However, the vacation system is not just for those who are grieving their oshi, employees are also allowed to take leave or get off work early to catch “surprise concerts” or meet-and-greet events that are usually announced just hours before it’s supposed to take place.
To those who are not part of a fandom, this may seem like an over-the-top reaction but for a company whose core values are based on the belief that “Nothing motivates someone to work harder than the feelings they have for the people and things that they like”, the system makes a lot of sense.
As productivity ties in with an employee’s physical, mental and emotional health, Hiroro is definitely on the right path in ensuring that their staff are happy with their jobs.
via GIPHY
This is definitely an interesting way to ensure employee productivity! We wonder what would happen if Shizen’s policy was introduced in Malaysia…
Have you ever felt devastated and needed a day off when your idol retired or got married? Let us know what you did to cope!
Info via SoraNews24
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