Company Gives Non-Smokers 6 Days Off to Make Up for Others’ Smoke Breaks
A Japanese company has come up with a novel way to reward employees for not smoking: It’s giving them an extra six days off each year!
Officials at Piala Inc., a Tokyo-based marketing company, say the six paid days are to make up for the time smokers use for cigarette breaks.
“One of our non-smoking staff put a message in the company suggestion box earlier in the year saying that smoking breaks were causing problems,” says Piala spokesman Hirotaka Matsushima. “Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving non-smokers some extra time off to compensate.”
The company came up with the six day bonus after calculating the total amount of time smokers use when they go outside to smoke, says CEO Takao Asuka. Because the company is located on the 29th floor of a building, each break lasts an average of 15 minutes, he says.
“I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through incentives rather than penalties or coercion,” Asuka says.
So far, four employees have kicked the habit!
