WITH Japan facing a shrinking workforce in recent years, one company has taken a unique route in attracting young people amid the shortage of job seekers.
The Osaka-based tech company has offered its employees unconventional types of leave to solidify its competitiveness in the job market since it can only pay its staff a monthly salary of 222,000 yen (RM6,535) with added overtime from an estimated 20 hours of work.
The average monthly pay for new employees in Japanese firms amount to 273,300 yen (RM8,046) in 2023, according to the nation’s Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
One of those leaves offered by the company is a hangover leave for those who want some time to recuperate after drinking.
One of its workers clocked in for their shift at 12pm instead of the usual 9am start after taking advantage of the company’s hangover leave policy.
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“I can sleep for two to three hours more and come back to work feeling a bit more refreshed, which actually increased my efficiency,” the employee was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post, citing local news portals.
The company has also offered “celebrity loss leave”, where employees can apply for time off if any celebrity news might make them too emotionally distraught to work.
For instance, another staff member applied for leave in 2021 after it was announced that Japanese musician Gen Hoshino, whom she had liked for over 10 years, had tied the knot with actress Yui Aragaki.
Despite the low wages, these benefits worked in the firm’s favour, marking good performance and a low turnover rate, with zero resignations in the last three years.
