Paid Menstrual Leave: is this possibly the next big thing in workplace rights?
Aside from the general inconvenience of having a period, most American girls just kind of schluff it off as a wasted 4-8 days. We generally regard this time as a necessary evil, but a bothersome one often ridden with cramps, back aches, skin drama, and general annoyances related to having to hop off to the bathroom every few hours to change tampons, pads, or both. But did you know in much of Asia there’s such a thing as Paid Menstrual Leave? It’s a legal right to many female workers in the Far East, and a concept that may soon spread to North America like hormonal clocks in a sorority house.
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Japan’s menstrual leave legislation has been in effect since World War II or so, and encourages women with exceptionally painful periods to take a mental leave of absence till the end of said period. At the time, the law was freeing to many women both physically and emotionally– but is quickly becoming outdated as women have better options for pads and pain medications.
Either way, the idea of 5 or 6 days a month at home sounds appealing– and if it ever makes its way to the US I’ll be stockpiling the following for my monthly staycation:
1. All nighter pads. Like these from U by Kotex.
2. Advil.
3. A NEST Candle. Grapefruit is supposed to be uplifting, right? Love this one.
4. Chocolate. It’s nature’s solution, and who am I to fight nature? These Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels are life-changing. Literally, I love them.
