(WSVN) - A Japanese marketing firm is giving their non-smokers an additional six days of paid-leave to make up for their employees who take periodic cigarette breaks.
According to the Telegraph, Tokyo-based marketing firm Piala Inc. introduced the perk in September, and says employees have already started taking advantage of the paid leave.
The idea came after non-smoking employees began voicing their concerns that they were working more than their smoking counterparts.
“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,” company spokesperson Hirotaka Matsushima told the Telegraph. “Our CEO saw the comment and agreed, so we are giving non-smokers some extra time off to compensate.”
Resentment especially grew because the firm was located on the 29th floor. Those who went for a smoke break would have to go to the basement level, with each break lasting about 15 minutes.
So far, the firm says 30 of the company’s 120 employees have taken advantage of the time off, and it has also encouraged four people to give up smoking.
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