Yahoo! Japan president Manabu Miyasaka announced at a press conference on the 25th that the company would introduce a new system by the end of the current fiscal year which allows employees to take up to one year off from their jobs. The system, which is based on the concept of sabbaticals, allows employees to spend up to one year freely pursing whatever they desire, albeit without pay. Though fairly common in the west, offering such a system of leave is very rare for a Japanese company.

The company is still working out the details; however, the system is reported to be part of a larger effort aimed at creating a “company where employees are happy.” In addition to motivating current staff, the company believes offering attractive working conditions will help it in securing new employees.

“After completing their breaks, employees are welcome to come back and continue working at Yahoo! or, perhaps, they will want to start up their own company, it’s really up to them,” said President Miyasaka, explaining that the company was not seeking anything in return from employees by providing the break.

Yahoo! Japan, which also announced results for its fiscal year ending March 31, 2013, saw a year-on-year increase in sales of 13.5% (342.9 billion yen [US $3.4 billion]); net earnings came in at 115 billion yen (US $1.17 billion), an increase of 14.4%.

Source: Chugoku Shimbun