Bottom Lining Breakups: Heartache Leave

What’s the effect of break-ups on the bottom line? The Japanese must believe the lost love an passion are significant because corporations there are now offering a new employee benefit: Heartbreak Leave. Hime and Company offers one day off per year for those 24 and younger, two days off if you’re between 25 and 29. And once you reach 30, you apparently need three days to recover. Yeah, that’ll do.

It’s a smashing idea really. Because who can work with a ex-on-the-brain? More importantly, who wants to listen to a forlorn cube mate go on about that guy who’s just not that into her? Or him. Bad date stories are better left at home. However, what happens when the people falling in love, then out, both work for the same company?

Heartbreak Leave has yet to be spelled out in US employee handbooks. Here we prefer to mask all messiness under the umbrella of personal time. But what fun! Imagine the next option for passionate people: Speed dating in the company cafeteria!