Columns

Breaking up is hard to do, but on a PLD?

Did you hear about the Japanese company that lets heartbroken employees take paid "breakup" leave?

By Scott Barancik, Times Staff Writer
Published February 10, 2008

Did you hear about the Japanese company that lets heartbroken employees take paid "breakup" leave?

According to a recent article, workers at Tokyo's Hime & Co. get one to three days paid leave after each breakup. Older staff get the most, on the theory that failed relationships grow in significance as one's reproductive clock ticks.

Neat idea. Instead of ducking into the bathroom stall at work for a cry, you can go home, grab a battalion-size bag of salty treats, cue up When Harry Met Sally on DVD, and hurl the contents of your nightstand at the wall. It reminds me of the outlandish benefits that Internet startups created in the 1990s to build buzz, attract young talent and make everyone forget they were working 80-hour weeks. But at the risk of taking this too seriously, I'd say the odds of breakup leave migrating to our continent are roughly one in never.

First, a reality check: Nearly half of U.S. private-sector workers don't get paid sick leave. If they did, they wouldn't need breakup leave. They'd simply take a mental health day and be done with it.

And although I'm sure the staff at Hime & Co. appreciate the benefit, their priorities are hardly typical. All six of the firm's employees are women. They also are very young. The company, which markets cosmetics, reserves the maximum leave (three days) for its most Jurassic staff members: those aged 30 or older.

Administering the program fairly - and without driving one's employer into bankruptcy - would be a significant challenge for any human resources department. Among the issues:

- Say an employee splits with the same person several times. Should she be allowed paid leave each time? If not, H.R. will need to begin keeping a list of each employee's exes in order to prevent double-dipping.

- Employees in long-term relationships - or no relationship at all - might revolt. Why should they be penalized for not having breakups?

- Many benefit plans don't recognize gay or lesbian partners. Will they recognize gay breakups?

I'm all for supportive workplaces. Employer-paid child care, vacation, sick leave, pension, family leave - bring it on. In my single days, I could even have used a little breakup leave.

But the chances of it catching on in the U.S.? Put it this way: a Paul McCartney/Heather Mills reconciliation is more likely.

[Last modified February 8, 2008, 20:41:44]