Why is this Japanese company offering their nonsmoking employees paid leaves?

World News Nilgun Salim
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A Japanese is offering their nonsmoking employees an extra of six paid days off after they started to complain their smoking colleagues are working less.

Apparently, smokers unlike nonsmokers, besides the fact they benefit from a regular lunch break just like the rest of their colleagues, they also go out for “cigarette breaks”, writes The Telegraph.

Tokyo-based corporation, Piala Inc. introduced the new policy in September and the nonsmoking group rushed to take full advantage of it.

“One of the company’s non-smokers has filed a notice earlier this year saying cigarette breaks are causing problems,” stated the spokesman of the company.

“Our director saw the notification and agreed that non-smokers should receive extra time in compensation”, added the Japanese.

The complaints filed by non-smokers multiplied because the company’s offices are located on the 29th floor of a skyscraper from Tokyo.

Anyone who wants to smoke has to go to the basement, and every cigarette break takes at least 15 minutes.

“I hope to encourage employees to quit smoking through these incentives rather than through constraints”, said Takao Asuka, Chief Executive Officer of Piala Inc. for Kyodo News.

At least 30 of the company’s 120 employees have taken their days off since the new system was introduced, according to Matsushima, who is also a non-smoker and used the free days to travel to a thermal resort with his family.

So far, the initiative encouraged four people to quit smoking, added the CEO.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 21.7% of Japanese adults smoke, the percentage being higher among men and older people.