A Swedish company gives its staff a "masturbation" break during office hours, and it is even ingrained in the policy of the firm. Erika Lust, or Erika Lust Films, has a solid explanation for having such a strange perk in place. It started off as a trial to help employees get rid of stress and anxiety, before being made a permanent part of the company mandate in 2022. The Stockholm-based company has over 40 employees and produces content for "indie adult cinema". Talking about how she came up with the idea of the masturbation break, Erika said that she noticed signs of stress related to day-to-day life and anxieties about COVID in her staff. The pandemic had affected people mentally, and she thought something needed to be done to relieve them. "Years of pandemic life had started to take their toll on us. We were less focused, more agitated and overall more anxious," Erika, who calls herself "queen of ethical porn", wrote in a blog post. Erika understood the effects stress could have on the productivity and general well-being of people. Right around the time, Masturbation Month kicked off in 2021. That's how she landed on the idea.
Masturbation Month inspired 30-minute masturbation break
Erika decided to give the month her own spin and introduced a 30-minute masturbation break at the company. "I decided to dedicate Masturbation Month to my team by giving them an extra 30 minutes off every day to use for their self-pleasure routine," she said. To help them easily do it at work, Erika built "the masturbation station", a private room at the office where people could easily do their business. She says that the move has paid off. Everyone is "happier, more relaxed and more focused". It has also boosted their creativity and drive, Erika added. Masturbation break at work wasn't only intended to help her staff get rid of stress. Another thing she wanted to do was normalise tools for sexual health, especially masturbation. "I also wanted to do something to normalise masturbation on a broader scale," Erika wrote.
Sexual well-being impacts mental health, Erika says
According to her, "sexual wellbeing is deeply intertwined with your overall mental health and physical health", which is why it needs to be talked about and "treated with the same respect and resources." Erika stated that her idea was also picked up by other companies around the world. She told The News Movement, while giving a tour of her office, that her staff swears by the re-worked version of the famous "An apple a day" proverb. "We always laugh at, 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away...as an orgasm a day..." However bizarre Erika's idea might sound, it has definitely put her company in the limelight.