Japan has something of a reputation for overwork. We’ve talked before about the phenomenon of 過労死 (karoushi; death by overwork) and its tragic consequences. Fortunately, a push for “work reform” and a new focus on helping employees establish work-life balance are slowly changing that.
And some companies, it seems, are open to supporting the mental health of their employees in…well, inventive ways. One company went viral earlier this month when it announced that it would approve “fan leave” for idol group supporters. The CEO of Hiroro announced that employees can request they leave an hour early to attend an idol concert. And if an idol graduates or experiences another major life event, they can lobby for a full day off.
“Monster Hunter Holiday”
Building on that, a number of companies went viral on Twitter recently when they announced office-wide visits in the wake of a new game release.
The game is Monster Hunter (モンスターハンター), more affectionately known as “Mon-han”. The Capcom series, first released in 2004, is extremely popular, having sold a total of 66 million copies since its inception. The latest edition, Monster Hunter Rise, just went on sale, prompting large crowds to risk infection and death in order to grab a copy.
Some people interviewed by NTV’s News Zero said they had taken a break from work to get the latest game and now couldn’t wait to get home after work so they could play it.
Some companies, however, weren’t so cruel as to make their employees wait so long to pop the new release into their consoles. Jack Masaki, the head of VR content firm Mark-On, made the official announcement on Twitter that, “since we anticipate that no one will be able to concentrate, we are declaring a ‘Monster Hunter’ holiday.”
Some commenters on Twitter panned the move. (“It’s because the CEO wants to play it more than anyone, I’d bet.”) Others pointed out that this is the type of thing you’d expect from a VR company and that you likely wouldn’t see Mitsubishi or Toyota following suit any time soon.
Those comments were, of course, balanced out pretty equally by the pleas of gamers asking if Mark-On had any open positions.
Monster Hunter Hooky
Obviously, Mark-On’s declaration didn’t lead to the creation of a new national holiday. However, News Zero reports that Twitter was filled with reports of individual “Mon-han Holidays” (モンハン休暇; monhan kyuuka).
But at least one company seemed to go even further. An illustration company where one woman worked told employees that anyone who even dared come into the office on Monhan Day would “face disciplinary action”.
I’m sure even non-gamers welcomed the day off. But while this is a nice surprise for all involved, it makes me wonder whether these companies are doing just as well when it comes to their employees taking maternity and paternity leave. Women in Japan still often face massive discrimination when they attempt to return to their workplaces after taking off to give birth. And men have faced severe punishment – including even being transferred cross-country – for daring to take paternity leave at all.
One can only hope that these companies will be there for their employees during such critical life moments – and not just when a cool new game drops.
