This week is restoring our faith in bosses. On Tuesday, when a woman tweeted out her boss’s empathetic response to her request to take a mental health day, it went viral. And now, we’re learning that a company in India gives its employees a paid day off if they’re having a difficult period. Hell yeah!
Mumbai media firm Culture Machine allows its 75 female employees take off work if they’re experiencing pain or discomfort on the first day of their cycle. They’re officially calling the policy “First Day of Period Leave.”
While every day of that time of the month can bring with it discomfort, mood swings and pain, from cramping to nauseau, many women experience the most intense symptoms on the first day of their cycle.
On its women-focused Youtube channel Blush, the company posted a Candid Camera video of the joyous staff reactions to the news and it really should be required viewing by CEOs worldwide.
Indeed, it’s so convincing that a few days later, another Mumbai company decided to offer the same policy to its employees.
“We are a young organization,” Devleena Majumbder, president of human resources at Culture Machine, told NPR. “The average employee is 26 and we’re 35 percent women. Blush takes on women’s empowerment. So we thought, ‘Why not have policies that are in line with the content we’re creating?'”
Culture Machine isn’t the first company to instate this kind of policy. According to the BBC, parts of China, Japan, Indonesia and South Korea provide paid menstrual leave for employees. Earlier this year, Italy proposed legislation mandating that employers provide three days of paid “menstrual leave” for employees experiencing discomfort. If it passes, Italy would be the first Western country to offer the policy.
Can we get on board in the US?
